It’s Halloween, and while trick or treating and all the usual festivities might not be on the cards this year, it’s totally acceptable to still dress up.
In need of some inspiration for your costume? Look to Fawkes, Nak, and Pike; a trio of cats that have nailed the art of kitty cosplay.
The three cats have worn all sorts of costumes over the past five years – from hobbits to Spiderman – thanks to their owner, the ‘Cat Wrangler of Cat Cosplay’, who goes by Freyu.
Freyu makes each costume by hand to make sure every outfit comfortably fits the cats.
Freyu, 37, began by dressing Nak for Renaissance fairs in the Seattle, Washington area.
People loved the outfits so much that he started making more costumes, while his fiancée designed the backgrounds for the cats’ photoshoots.
Freyu said: ‘Nak used to ride around on my shoulders everywhere, and once we put her in a little Jack Sparrow costume for a Renaissance fair.
‘Everyone found it so amazing that I went home and made a dragon outfit, with scales and fully articulating wings.
‘Now we have a whole room dedicated to props from previous costumes, including a whole box full of cat-sized glasses.’
Costumes usually take between six hours to a full day to make, but the more complex ones can take days of hard work.
‘The longest I’ve spent on one outfit was about 200 hours,’ said Freyu.
‘At the start I had to design all the patterns, and sometimes you have to scrap things and start over from scratch.’
Nak passed away two years ago, but Freyu’s other two cats, Fawkes and Pike, have continued the tradition of excellent cat costumes.
Freyu estimates his felines have worn over 200 costumes so far.
Freyu said: ‘Generally my favorite costumes are the ones I’m working on at the time, because the act of crafting them brings me so much joy,
‘I had a heck of a lot of fun making the recent vampire outfit with the beautiful cape.’
Freyu warns that not just any old feline can wear such elaborate costumes – their cats have been specially-trained for the process.
‘Our cats don’t mind, it’s all Pavlovian training,’ he explained.
‘You start small with little things that don’t get in the way of their movement and you combine that with a small treat, or playtime so they associate the items with rewards.
‘It’s been a series of trainings to get them where they are now.
‘Fawkes is a pro, he knows a series of commands, he will hold poses, he’s the consummate professional.
‘The costumes always have to be comfortable though, otherwise they’ll just reach up and pull them off with their paws. The sizing has to be just right.’
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