By SWIFTMANTIS in Papaioea, New Zealand.

SWIFTMANTIS: This is a portrait of a local alley cat called Squishee. We found her living under our old brick studio just a few blocks away from where this mural is painted. She had half an ear missing, a short tail, and wouldn’t let us get close. But she kept hanging around till we eventually earned her trust. She moved from the junkyard to the doorway, then inside the building itself till we finally gave her a real home with us.

SWIFTMANTIS: Been a whole year since I painted our little alley cat Squishee, i really poured my heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears in to this mural, even cut my head open at the end tryna finish in the pouring rain!

But seeing people’s reaction was a beautiful thing, its definitely inspired me to pursue more stray stories with my work…and I’ve got some really cool cats im excited to share with you guys very soon!

Much love to @street_prints for giving me the opportunity to share her story with the world! And all the other Artists who contributed to the beautification of my home town Papaioea, Palmerston North!