Calico Cat Motel | Catty Callie

I love this sign! I’ve had the image on my desktop for months, waiting to go into a blog post. It isn’t the pinkish cat image I like (not very calico), but the coloring and typography of the sign itself, especially the words “Calico Cat”. Cool, retro font! I found the photo of the sign on Pinterest (yes, home to my many calico images) and the hotel is apparently in Tacoma, WA.

I’d almost stay there just for the sign. I wonder if it’s a hip motel, or one of those, um, motels by-the-hour kind of place.

I’ve been collecting calico images in three categories beyond the obvious one of calico cat images:

1) other calico (i.e., tricolor) animals,

2) what I call “deconstructed calico”–i.e., anything using the calico palette not in one cat, and sometimes not in a cat at all, and

3) calico cats on objects (like this sign), as objects. What I might call calico-as-commodity or calicos in advertising. Regular readers of Catty Callie may remember my informal marketing survey of how often images of calicos and tricolors are used to sell pet products.

Here is another cool calico-in-business, the Cat & Fiddle in Los Angeles:

And just in case you’re visiting Tokyo soon, you can go to the Calico Cat Cafe (see below). Do send along any other images you’ve found of calicos in business!