Claudia has been giving back to numerous organizations that she feels strongly about since 2005. You can read about some of the causes that are most meaningful to her below, and find more details on her Favorite Links page. 

Cats for the Cure™ is an art collection that Claudia started after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. After she finished her treatments in 2006, she began painting cats again, which she found to be very therapeutic and calming. That led her to want to do something meaningful with her artwork around her cancer experience.

With Cats for the Cure, she has given via donations of her art and time. While her original mission for Cats for the Cure was to spread awareness about breast cancer, she also wanted to connect with other people and their families whose lives had been touched by breast cancer. 

She completed her first piece, Purrsie’s Hope in 2007. Purrsie, the Purrfect Platinum Pussycat, was a perfectly adorable platinum-colored American Shorthair. Purrsie’s heart-shaped markings made her the perfect model for Purrsie’s Hope. Since then, the painting has appeared on many Cats for the Cure products. Purrsie belonged to Suzie Geraldi, who was Claudia’s assistant at the time. See a tribute to Suzie below*

After having lost cats to various fatal diseases, Claudia soon expanded her mission to raising awareness about feline diseases. She became a strong advocate for the research and work that Dr. Niels Pedersen at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine does to look for causes, cures, and prevention of feline diseases.

After Claudia's cat Lucy passed away from FIP**, she became a founding member of SOCK FIP, whose mission statement is to: “Save Our Cats and Kittens from Feline Infectious Peritonitis (SOCK FIP) and is a volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) through advocacy, community education and financial support for UC Davis-CCAH FIP Research.”

Claudia is still on the board of SOCK FIP. She encourages you look at their website and read about Dr. Pedersen’s work. He has been extremely successful with his FIP research, which recently led to a cure for the still common, almost always fatal disease.

Over the years, Claudia has supported numerous feline organizations throughout the country by donating her art to help them raise money at their fund-raising events.

**Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) is a fatal disease. Only recently have medications been developed to cure (some cases) of FIP. Because Lucy and numerous other cats were losing their lives to FIP, SOCK FIP was born, and the painting of Lucy because the official logo for the non-profit organization.

In Conclusion

Claudia continues to paint cats for the Cats for a Cause collection. She always hoped that her art would make a difference–whether that was making people smile and lifting their spirits, enhancing their home decor, or enjoying her wearable art and jewelry. She encourages you to support and donate to your favorite non-profit(s), whether that is cancer, feline disease research, or one of her (or your own) favorite causes. Please consider purchasing something from our Cats for a Cause products collection for you or a cat-loving friend.