The Portrait Range began with dogs, moved to horses, and always meant to include cats. It just took a bit of extra work to get right.
Cats are, as anyone who lives with one knows, harder than dogs. A dog gives you a face — the tongue's out, the ears are up, you know exactly what you're looking at. A cat gives you an expression. The half-closed eye. The slight ear tilt. The look that says I have thoughts about you. Getting that on a mug meant training the tooling to notice things it wouldn't normally bother with.
We got there. Meet the Purrtrait Mug.
Any cat. Any coat. Any attitude.
Cats come in more varieties than most people realise, and cat people notice all of them. The tooling handles:
- Coat patterns. Tabbies (mackerel, classic, spotted, ticked), torties, calicos, tuxedos, colourpoints, solid blacks, ghost-white ragdolls — each one rendered specifically.
- Breed shape. The rounded face of a British Shorthair, the wedge of a Siamese, the tufts of a Maine Coon, the folded ears of a Scottish Fold, the not-a-single-hair Sphynx.
- Eye colour. Whether they're gold, green, blue, copper or the striking odd-eyed heterochromia — kept honest to the photo.
- The moggie factor. Every rescue's mixed heritage produces a genuinely one-of-a-kind portrait. Backyard cat with no known lineage? Perfect.
What comes back is painterly, warm and specific — not the generic "AI pet portrait" you'll have seen elsewhere.
How it works
Four steps. Same for every order.
1. Head to the product page. Standard mug personalisation flow — familiar if you've bought from us before.
2. Upload a photo of your cat. This is the challenging bit, because cats don't pose. Wait for a moment when they're sitting still — ideally sunbathing on a windowsill, or the classic loaf. Head-on and eye-level is perfect. Phone photos work brilliantly.
3. Hit generate and wait a minute. Our Purrtrait studio produces three painterly options for you to choose between. Same photo, three interpretations — pick the one that feels most like your cat.
4. Add a name (optional) and check out. Their name printed underneath the portrait, if you'd like. Ready to press the moment your order comes through.
Create your Purrtrait Mug
Upload a photo, pick your favourite of three, add a name. From £14.99.
A note on photographing cats
Cats, famously, do not cooperate. A few tricks that work reliably:
- Wait for the loaf. The paws-tucked, eyes-half-closed compact position. They'll hold this for ages.
- Use a treat. Hold it just above the camera lens. You'll get the ears-forward, eyes-locked moment for about 2 seconds.
- Natural light. Windowsill in the morning is the sweet spot. Avoid flash — cats hate it and it flattens the fur detail.
- Get down to their level. Photos taken from standing height look like every dull cat photo you've ever seen. Sit on the floor.
- Sharp, in focus. If they're mid-yawn, mid-blink or mid-leap, wait for the next moment.
If your photo isn't quite right, we'll tell you before we press anything.
Made in Sussex, made to order
Every Purrtrait Mug is hand-pressed to order in our Sussex studio. Not mass produced, not drop-shipped, not printed in a warehouse.
Same premium mug stock we use across the range — ceramic in a choice of colours, or elegant Bone China if it's a gift. Every mug comes with our 1-Year Print Guarantee — if the print fades or peels under normal use, we'll replace it. Hand-checked, double-walled smash-proof packaging, dispatched ready to gift.
Who it’s for
Cat people have a specific kind of love. It's quieter than dog-love but no less deep. A Purrtrait Mug is for the people who understand what the cat is thinking, who know exactly which corner of the sofa is claimed territory, and who can identify their cat's meow from three rooms away.
- Birthdays for someone whose cat is essentially a small angry roommate they adore.
- Sympathy gifts for someone who's lost a beloved cat — small, warm, considered.
- Christmas and Mother’s Day for cat mums who love the cat more than they'll ever admit.
- For yourself. Because when else are you going to have a mug with your cat's actual face on it?
The Portrait Range so far
Purrtrait joins two siblings:
- Pawtrait Mug — the original. For dogs. First one was Rosie's, our Sipfull Pup.
- Ponytrait Mug — for the horsey ones. Every horse we've been shown so far has come out beautifully.
Same tooling, same studio, same standard. Different animal.
The practical bits
- From £14.99. One-of-a-kind, hand-pressed to order.
- Free UK shipping when you order two mugs or more. Tracked delivery £3.99 otherwise.
- 1-year fade guarantee. If the print fades within 12 months, free replacement.
- Hand-pressed in England. Every mug, every time, in our Sussex studio.
- Choice of ceramic or Bone China — the latter recommended for gifts.
- Personalised means non-returnable. You pick your favourite portrait before we press — nothing goes to print you haven't approved.
Ready when you are
Upload a photo. Pick your favourite of three. Add their name. From £14.99.
One Last Thing
The Purrtrait Mug completes the Portrait Range. Pawtrait for dogs, Ponytrait for horses, Purrtrait for cats — three siblings, three species, one hand-pressed studio in Sussex.
Send us a photo of your cat. See what we can do.
Danni & Guy
Sipfull of Design ☕
P.S. — Yes, we've thought about a rabbit version. Currently on the maybe-list.