Kristy Taylor calls her business "Kristy's Mini Menagerie" and for good reason. "If I could I'd have my own little zoo of animals, but unfortunately our apartment won't allow that. Only cats allowed, so we have two of them."

The first is a stray named Otis who was at death's door when Kristy took him in.

"After about a year, I got the feeling that Otis was a bit lonely. Well okay, this was just an excuse to adopt an adorable little kitten from the Humane Society. We got Scout (named after the character in "To Kill a Mockingbird") when she was five weeks old. She and Otis became fast friends."

Kristy is inspired by all kinds of animals.

"Without all that cuteness in the world, I don't think I'd be creating anything at all."

Kristy adores Otis and Scout, but there are times when it's a bit tricky to work with them around.

"My two tend to make me a bit nervous while I'm working. They often stare at my hands and watch every movement I make when I'm sculpting or furring an animal. I'm not comfortable being watched so intently while I work, even if it is just my cats. I truly believe they think I'm making them a toy to play with. I learned early on that I need to keep my work in a cat safe zone when I'm not working on them, or else they actually will end up being a cat toy!"

Still, Kristy loves them and shared her secret recipe for the cats' treats.

"Water and chicken!! It's just that simple. Scout and Otis do have to pay a price for their treats though. I taught Scout some basics such as sit, lie down, come, stay, shake, and beg. But she looked so forward to our little lessons and was such a quick study, I felt I had to come up with more and more. So I also taught her to jump (over hurdles, through hoops, from stool to stool), run through a tunnel, walk a balance beam, play a toy piano, push a toy stroller, ring a bell, and climb up on my shoulder, to name just a few...all with a simple command or subtle movement.

"Otis, on the other hand, has an attitude towards tricks and excels in just one, giving high fives."

Otis probably gives high fives as a thank you for not getting stuffed into some crazy Halloween outfit every year.

"It's tempting to dress up your pets because they look so darn adorable, but I don't think animals were meant to wear clothing. I do have to admit however, that I did have Scout wear a little "cat T-shirt" for her circus performance in front of my nieces and nephews. It was hot pink with rhinestone letters that said "Super Star". I couldn't resist!"