Home is Where my Cats Are.

I'm going to go a little personal with this post. Nothing profound, don't worry. When I was about to turn 15, my parents divorced. We lived in a great apartment downtown: I went to school in the neighbourhood, all my friends were there, and until that point, I had never lived anywhere else. It's been a really difficult time: long story short, my father didn't agree to the divorce. He fought with all his power to keep everything as it was, being often very brutal. He ended up refusing to leave and keeping the apartment for himself. So my mum, my cat Freddy and I had to move to a new place, in a completely different neighbourhood. I felt uprooted and robbed of my own home, even if the new apartment was wonderful and in a very hip place. But as much as I loved living there, it didn't feel like home. In this new apartment, we had a balcony Freddy used to hang out on: from there, he could access a roof he could use as an additional sunbathing spot. We thought he was safe out on the balcony/roof, but one day he disappeared. We searched around and called his name for a week, but he was nowhere to…

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Halloween and Samahain

I get to post this illustration only now, even if Halloween, as we know and celebrate, was last night (as I write, it is the first of November), but Samhain lasts until today, so technically, I'm not late! Or I'm like 365 days early on Halloween - Samhain of next year!! Life is about points of view, sometimes. Here in Italy, we did not celebrate Halloween or Samhain until relatively recently. There were some fun parties in discos, but no children in costumes, no carved pumpkins, nothing. Halloween is a fun, commercial celebration, but the original festivity, Samhain, has very ancient roots, here in Italy as well. I live next to a farm, and the farmer once told me how their grandparents used to bake sweets and decorate the house - with pumpkins too -to welcome the spirits of their ancestors, celebrate winter, and show gratitude for what nature had offered in the last harvest. I'm pleased to see more and more people reconnecting to the old meaning of Samahin, while also having fun on Halloween. Time changes and traditions evolve, but in this time of uncertainty, there's a need to reconnect with nature, to return to our roots. After all, nature is the only force we can see and…

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Always with me.

I believe I’ve always had a good relationship with death. Not that it isn’t a sad event for me, or that I don’t suffer terribly from the absence of those I’ve loved—quite the opposite. But I’ve always accepted the fact that life has an end. Living with animals from a very young age meant that I experienced the end of life often as a child. I clearly remember the death of my first cat when I was five, and before that, the death of my hamsters. Then, great-grandparents, a cousin when we were both very little, and some friends. But above all, I saw the end of my animals' lives. Many years ago, I began accompanying them in their passing, every time I could, when it was the right thing to do. Almost all of them crossed the door to infinity in my arms. And I call it the “door to infinity” because the whole “rainbow bridge” story makes my blood sugar spike. Especially given how the ladies on social media use it. You know the kind of comments: “Fly high on the rainbow bridge, little angel!!”—followed by a flood of broken-heart emojis, rainbows, and fluffy clouds. Gee. Death: that inevitable thing no one accepts, and about which you’re not…

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Spay, neuter, love.

Days are beginning to get longer, which means spring is close! I'm a summer girl. I need long sunny days and afternoons spent in the garden or at the beach. I wait all winter for signs of spring. I have a countdown app on my phone that indicates how many days are left until the end of winter. That end never comes soon enough. At the same time, spring is also the season I fear the most. Spring is kitten season! Every year around May or June I get the 'gift' of a new unwanted and very pregnant mama cat, or unwanted kittens. I always search for new families for them, but it is becoming more difficult as time goes by. If you follow me on social media, you may have seen pictures of this kitten. Her name is Margherita and she was dumped here a few months ago. She has a cleft lip and a few balance issues which are improving with time. Due to her cleft lip, her nose has a funny flower shape and she snores a lot. She was quite shy and scared but now she's a force of nature: she plays continuously, eats like a cow and loooovvves to cuddle. Her coat was matted and…

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A 10-minute sketch

This is my cat, Margherita, the last addition to the family here at Cat Cottage. Well, this is her portrait of course, the first 10-minute sketch I made in a long time. I currently have a so-called day job and very little time to draw. I plan to leave this job as soon as possible because it is slowly killing me and my creativity. It's so bad when you don't have the time to do what you feel like you were born to do only because you have to survive, pay the bills and fit into modern slavery (because this is what we're talking about). Anyways, there is absolutely no freaking way I'm going to give up doing what I want to do and live the life I want to live. For how things are now, finding the time to do things you like is a rebellious act. So, last night I was planning how to find the time to draw every day no matter what and remembered what I used to do when I had a career in interior design and as much free time as I have now (almost none). I did this simple but efficient and fun exercise: I'd set a timer for the time I could…

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Happy 2025!

Welcome 2025! Here's to new beginnings! advice from Yogi Tea Lately, I’ve found it a bit tough to stay positive about the future. With wars, environmental disasters, and some pretty wild billionaires in power, it feels like things are a bit out of whack. Sometimes, it seems like humanity isn’t evolving as quickly or positively as it could be, and that can be really frustrating! 2024, has been quite a ride for me personally. I lost a job that I truly loved, which made me almost give up my website. This led to some financial struggles, and now I’m in a new job that feels like a significant step back. To top it off, my health—both physical and mental—hasn’t been the best either. There were months when I didn’t draw at all, and I felt lost, exhausted, and completely uninspired. The current state of the world hasn’t made things any easier. However, when times are tough, it doesn’t mean all hope is lost. It simply indicates that more color and light are needed. As a creative person, I think that's something I can contribute. While I don’t expect my drawings to change the world, I know I can bring a little brightness to my corner of it, and that’s my…

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Welcome at Cat Cottage!

Hi, I’m Bobbi! I’m an illustrator and designer, and I live in a little place I call Cat Cottage. Yes, it really exists—a tiny, ancient house tucked away in the countryside, not far from Lake Garda. Here I draw, run my small creative business, and open my doors to cats in need of a home. My love for animals started the moment I was born. According to my mom, my very first proper word was “Micio” (Italian for kitty). Looking back, it feels like fate—but at the time, nobody suspected how much those early words would shape my whole life. I rescued my first pets while I was still in elementary school. As a child, my world revolved around two things: animals and drawing. I could spend hours with pencils and scraps of paper, illustrating the stories in my head. My mom worked in publishing and often brought home beautifully illustrated books. That’s how I discovered the worlds of Beatrix Potter and Tasha Tudor—and realised that telling stories through drawings could be a way of life. Books and comics soon sparked a passion for words as well. I devoured novels far beyond my age: Born Free, Life with Bears, the works of Jack London, Anne of Green Gables, and of…

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