It had long been the hopes and desires of many at the shelter to find an artistic volunteer who would decorate one of the shelter cat rooms and make it more fun for many of the finicky felines and for those who were strolling through the cat area. After all, having an eye-catching theme enhances the viewing for visitors who can then come into the cat room and pet and frolic with the animals.
As it turns out, our wish was granted during a chance encounter several months ago at a volunteer breakfast meeting at Lehua Elementary School with teacher volunteer Michael Ulep. Michael had done several wall paintings at the school, sharing his time and talents to design some fun whimsical themes. Upon hearing that the shelter had recently built a new cat room that featured windows and ledges throughout the area, he took a tour of the shelter and knew exactly what type theme he’d be working on.
Since a cat is related to the bigger lions and tigers in Africa, it only seemed natural that Michael would use the jungle theme to have the cats feel that they were in their natural habitat. After tracing the outlines, picking out the paints and arranging his schedule to get the job completed, Michael started much of the painting himself. He was assisted by Lehua teacher Ms. Hillary Tucker, friend Mikell Spencer and several shelter volunteers (including Brianna Mortl, one of the shelter manager’s daughters who really had fun expressing her creative side).
After the painting was completed, the cats seemed much happier in their new natural habitat and gave him a special greeting to acknowledge their appreciation! MAHALO MICHAEL ULEP!!
As it turns out, the cats have already “mewed” their request for Michael to paint a new cat room for them when they move to their new location at Campbell Industrial Park the end of the month.
