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7-year-old with colour-blindness draws for charity

Words by Smiley Team

Seven-year-old Jude is happiest when he is immersed in painting and creating. He lives in central York with his mum Candice, dad Ben, and cat Teddy, who is a rescue cat from Cats Protection

Jude was born just short of three months early, and therefore has various visual impairments and colour-blindness. But that doesn’t stop him producing art.

When he was six, he started drawing monochrome pictures – because of his colour-blindness – which he now calls ‘The Way I See It’ art. 

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Now, he wants to use his art to raise money for Cats Protection. He drew a picture of a cat – which is in the Cats Protection logo shape – and titled it ‘Paisley the cat’.

“Jude loves all creatures great and small, when he’s older he wants to ‘buy a big house just for animals that are in need of a home’,” his mum, Candice, tells Smiley News

“But for now, he knows that, especially during the pandemic, more and more pets are sadly being abandoned leaving 1000s needing a home. And one charity in particular, Cats Protection, do a fantastic job of caring for unwanted, stray and often sick cats. 

Jude wants to raise awareness of the importance of re-homing an animal and his cat Teddy is a perfect example of how wonderful it is to see a happy ending for a stray kitten, says his mum.

"Ted was from Cats protection in Beverley, which is run by a lovely lady called Sheila, one of the many hard working members of the CP team, and even though Teddy often steals the best spot on the sofa, Jude wouldn’t be without his beautiful furry pal," adds Candice.

Jude hopes to sell quality A3 prints of Paisley the cat for £10, with all proceeds going to Cats Protection UK.

Anyone wanting to purchase a ‘Paisley Cat’ print can do so via Jude's Twitter account. Can you help Jude raise money? Cats Protection is a UK charity dedicated to rescuing and rehoming stray, unwanted or homeless cats and educating people about cats and cat welfare. To support the organisation, find out more on its website

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