Brightly colored cats cover the walls outside Operation Catnip in Gainesville.
Orange tabby cats sit alongside other cats painted in pink, purple, blue, and teal. Each portrait originates from a photograph submitted by someone in the community.
Together, they make up a mural created by local artist and animal advocate Samm Wehman.
Wehman created the mural to support Operation Catnip, a Gainesville organization that provides resources and veterinary care for cats in the community.
She invited people to donate to the organization and submit photographs of their cats to be painted on the wall.
“As someone that works with animals in the community, every dog and cat and just animal like on this planet, they all are individuals just like us as people and they have their own story,” Wehman said.
That idea became part of the mural itself.
Many of the cats belong to people who have used Operation Catnip’s resources, cared for community cats or supported the organization.
Wehman said she wanted the animals on the wall to have a connection to the people and organization around them.
“I don't necessarily want the individual pets to truly just be random,” Wehman said. “I want them to represent a true individual with a true story.”
Wehman said painting each cat is about more than recreating a photograph. As a full-time artist who creates custom animal artwork, she looks at an animal’s coloring, but also considers what she feels reflects its personality or “essence.”
Some cats stay close to their natural coloring. Others are transformed into bright colors based on how Wehman sees them.
And as more people learned about the project, the mural began to grow.
People donated money to have their cats included. Others brought paint and supplies to help Wehman finish the wall.
“I didn't want anything in exchange for doing this. But I did reach out to the community to be like, hey, if anybody wants to donate paints or supplies or anything to help with the mural” Wehman said.
Soon, there were more cats than space. Instead of squeezing them together, Wehman continued the mural onto additional spaces near the entrance.
What started as a donated art project eventually raised more than $6,000 for Operation Catnip.
That money means more opportunities for the organization to care for cats throughout the community.
Leah Hawes, Operation Catnip’s development director, said the funds can help provide vaccines, spay and neuter procedures, and medical care.
“There are cats that are suffering out in our community, and we're going to have the opportunity to help even more,” Hawes said. “There's always going to be a cat that needs some sort of support. And we're very grateful that because of Operation Catnip, because of fundraisers like this, that we get to do that.”
But the mural is doing more than raising money. It is also helping people recognize where Operation Catnip is located.
The organization is located in a residential area, which Hawes said can sometimes make it difficult for people to find.
Now, the building’s exterior is covered with images of colorful cats. For someone who has found a stray cat – called community cats by the organization – and does not know where to turn, Hawes said, the paintings can serve as a landmark pointing them toward help.
“I want people to drive by and know that, ‘oh, cats are going to be served there. Oh, cats must be helped there. Oh, that must be that Operation Catnip that I've heard about.’” Hawes said.
The cats on the wall represent something more personal for the people connected to Operation Catnip.
“They have names, they have personalities, and they have history in this building long before they were on the walls,” Hawes said.
That history is what Wehman said she wants to capture.
The mural brought together her work as an artist and her commitment to animals, while giving the community a way to contribute to an organization that helps cats throughout Gainesville.
“As an artist and animal advocate, I try to use my art for good whenever possible,” she said.
Now, the mural continues to grow outside Operation Catnip, one cat, one story, and one connection at a time.
“This is truly a piece from my heart,” Wehman said.
