My cat is gray but everyone calls him blue — which is it?

Both, and it makes no difference to the art. Breeders say blue, most owners say gray, and the cat is the same either way. Solid gray, blue, silver, smoke and slate coats all come back as the shade in your photo.

Will it come out looking blue or brown, like my photos do?

That is the specific failure the tips above are aimed at, and it is a photo problem rather than an art problem. The art follows the color in the file you send — so a daylight photo with a known color in frame gives a truer gray. You see the finished art free before you pay, so you can check the shade before anything is printed.

Does a gray tabby count, or only solid gray?

Both work. A gray tabby carries striping through the coat and that pattern comes through, since we work from your photo rather than a template.

Custom Gray Cat Portraits From Your Photo

Gray is the color phone cameras argue with. A solid gray cat is close to the neutral tone a camera uses to set its own white balance, so it corrects against him — and he comes out faintly blue in one photo, faintly brown in the next, and rarely the soft slate you actually see when he is sitting on the arm of the sofa.

A custom portrait starts with the photo you already love and turns it into art made only for you. Upload it, pick a style, and see your finished art free — before you pay anything. What you see is exactly what we print.

Selected Style

Line Art

Clean, minimal single-line illustration (Pet Version)

Drop 1–4 photos — see them as art, free

or click to browse — JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC up to 15MB each

This style can combine multiple photos into one artwork

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Printed & shipped in the USA
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Styles gray cats shine in

Line Art

A single-color coat is where clean line work has the least to fight against.

Watercolor

Gray washes hold the subtle shifts a solid coat is made of.

Starry Portrait

Deep blues in the brushwork that a gray coat sits naturally inside.

Wanted Poster

For the one who has never once come when called.

The photo that works best

Include something with a known color in the frame — a white wall, a colored blanket. It gives the shot a reference point and stops a gray cat pulling the whole photo blue or brown.
Daylight, not indoor bulbs. Warm household lighting is what turns a slate cat into a brown one.
Look for the eyes. Gray cats are often green- or copper-eyed, and against a single-color coat that is the one strong contrast in the whole image — a photo where the eyes are sharp is worth more here than anywhere else.
Phone photos are perfect; no professional shots needed.
If your cat has crossed the rainbow bridge, we work gently from the photos you have — you approve the art before anything is printed.

Looking for a remembrance piece? See our pet memorial portraits.

Common questions

My cat is gray but everyone calls him blue — which is it?: Both, and it makes no difference to the art. Breeders say blue, most owners say gray, and the cat is the same either way. Solid gray, blue, silver, smoke and slate coats all come back as the shade in your photo.
Will it come out looking blue or brown, like my photos do?: That is the specific failure the tips above are aimed at, and it is a photo problem rather than an art problem. The art follows the color in the file you send — so a daylight photo with a known color in frame gives a truer gray. You see the finished art free before you pay, so you can check the shade before anything is printed.
Does a gray tabby count, or only solid gray?: Both work. A gray tabby carries striping through the coat and that pattern comes through, since we work from your photo rather than a template.

Other cats we make portraits of

Browse all custom cat portraits