Cat to become world famous in Feilding
Rustle to grace new mural as part of street art festival
Rustle the cat is about to be world famous in Feilding. The 4-year-old tabby was the muse for a huge mural by artist Swiftmantis on a bare brick wall of the Courtesy Ford Bowen St apartments, as part of the Manawatu¯ Street Art Festival.
Horowhenua Chronicle contacted Rustle’s owner Sophie Oram to find out more about him now the cat was out of the bag, and to see how he was handling his newfound fame.
Turns out Rustle was born in London. Oram returned home to New Zealand soon after the initial outbreak of Covid-19, having spent nine years abroad.
There was never any question her precious moggie would follow her home although Rustle ended up having to stay on in London a further six months while separate travel arrangements were made for him.
Rustle was able to doss down with friends during that time, before boarding a flight for New Zealand.
After picking Rustle up from his three-day stay in quarantine in Auckland they had time for a catch up in the drive back to Feilding.
“I was expecting him to be a bit hacked off with me, to be honest, but I think he was just relieved to see me,” she said.
So, what was Rustle like? He was bigger than your average cat, but Oram said he was a gentle giant.
“He’s gentle. He’s quite a chilled-out cat. He’s not very good at being a cat — he’s not very good at jumping and catching. And he is quirky. He likes to sit next to you rather than on you.”
Meanwhile, artist Swiftmantis was putting the finishing touches on Rustle for his mural this week.
Swiftmantis used photo realism as a medium for his street art murals and that involved a photo shoot with Rustle this time, using the best of those images as a reference point to translate to each wall.
“I always go for a local cat,” he said. The photos were purposely taken at a slightly upward angle to give the perspective that the viewer was at ground level.
He then hired a scissor lift to hoist himself high up the wall, working away in solitude. He just zones into his work with headphones on to keep concentrating.
“Every mural is different and you never know exactly how long it is going to take,” he said.
His real name was Mikal Carter. He said he had always loved cats, but he wasn’t restricted to cats in his art and tattoo work. He could work with all animals. Most of his work was animalinspired.
“I’m passionate about cats. I’m passionate about all animals,” he said.