Bad cat makes good in new calendar

Lewes resident Jill Stokes lives with not one but two models, and she doesn't expect much from these housemates besides the pleasure of their company.

The models lounge around the house purring and preening themselves, never making a move to help with cooking, cleaning or chores, but Stokes takes it in stride.  After all, these models are cats.

In 2013, her domestic short-haired tabby JR will be featured in two calendars created by Workman Publishing.

"Our other cat, Jules, was in the regular, 365-day calendar a couple years ago, and we've always bought the calendar each year just to have," she said. "The picture of JR is a picture of him just sitting in front of a basket of his toys."

The first is a monthly calendar, the second, a page-a-day "Bad Cat" calendar where the same picture of JR will be featured with a quip about the nature of his toys.

As it turns out, Workman Press decided the 16-year-old tabby is the purrfect feline face for May. He is the cover cat for the month in the first calendar, and the month wraps up with his submitted photo on May 31 in the second.

The company also publishes a similar page-a-day "Bad Dog" calendar. Between the two, no less than three pets from the Cape Region were chosen as models.

With thousands of electronic pet-photo submissions coming into the company for the calendars yearly, Susan Bolotin, editor-in-chief at Workman Publishing, said in an email that it takes a special something to get noticed.

"It’s never an easy decision; everyone who submits a photo of a pet thinks that theirs is the most beautiful or the cutest or the funniest, and we tend to agree!" Bolotin said. "Still, we think that setting the bar very high makes for calendars that people love to look at day after day, year after year."

Stokes said she stocked up on JR's 2013 calendars to give as gifts over the holidays.

The Workman Publishing Bad Dog and Bad Cat Calendars are still available at Browseabout Book, www.browseaboutbooks.com or through the publishing company, Workman Publishing at www.workman.com.