Mocha the Big Cat with Many Skills

To non animal lovers, a cat is a cat, it’s really just another cat. But to pet owners (the responsible ones, not those who treat them like a toy), that “another cat” is their best friend, their therapist, their light, their family member and much more, and they are absolutely special in their very own ways.
My friend Vivian lost her special one Mocha, and let me tell you a little bit about her.
Mocha was adopted in December 2005 when she was 3 years old. She was a Siamese with piercing blue eyes. She was a very vocal kitty and she could do tricks many thought only a dog could- she understood how to “sit” and how to “down”, she would roll over and even do high five, that was, of course, with a little yummy bribe. She was a mellow girl, very sweet and cuddly. But she also knew what she liked and did not like, because she was always able to find the tiny pieces of crushed calcium pill from her bowl, and delivered it to Vivian’s bedroom. “Here mom, you take your calcium crap.” How hilarious was that? Mocha was a chubby 18 lbs hugger, and her favorite snack was cricket.

To honor Mocha, the big cat with so much character, I’ve created a memorial bracelet made out of sterling silver, blue topaz, and a dash of Mocha’s ash.

Etching Mocha onto the metal piece was a challenge because she was dark in color on her face. The lack of contrast made it quite difficult to make her feature visible. A good amount of time was spent to fine tune the photo before I was confident that it would work. I was delighted to see the outcome after I worked on the patina finish after the piece was formed.

As requested, I have included Mocha’s name onto the back of the piece, and a dangling piece of blue topaz to remind Vivian of Mocha’s beautiful blue eyes. The most precious element, however, was undoubtedly incorporating Mocha’s ash into the piece. The blue gem looking piece on Mocha’s collar was made out of resin and her ash.

I have work with resin on metal quite a bit but since it was the first time I work with ash, I decided to still make a tester to make sure that it would cure as normal, and it did! It did not show very well in the picture but in person, Mocha’s white ash actually appeared to be sparkly! Combining that with a touch of light blue dry pastel into the resin, Mocha is now immortalized and transformed into a piece of heirloom jewelry.

This one of a kind bracelet will not replace Mocha’s voice, her many cool tricks or her warm hug, but I sincerely hope that it will at the very least bring Vivian some comfort, and remind her of the 13 years of joyful moments they have shared together. She will be missed.