Joseph Lamour is the food reporter at TODAY.com and is based in Washington D.C.
A dearly departed feline got a very fitting sendoff. On March 12, Los Angeles-area artist Lisa Laureta posted on Threads about a handmade gift they created: a custom urn for friend Kristin Clifford’s cat, Sandwiches, who died last August.
“My friends cat Sandwiches passed,” Laureta wrote, adding that they were asked to make the urn — a plain wood box — “look like a sandwich.” Laureta showed off the urn, which is made of painted paper clay, in a video attached to the post. The trompe l’oeil sculpture features deli meat, lettuce, tomato and other sandwich toppings. They also included a photo of Sandwiches’ final resting place on Clifford’s mantel. “I asked for sandwich ingredient preferences and she made sure I put some french fries in cause they were his fave food,” they continued. “RIP lil sandwiches, you absolute legend.” The post went viral, garnering over 480,000 views and many comments lauding the artistic act of friendship. “I’m so sorry you lost your boy,” wrote one user. “What a fantastic and unique tribute to him.” “I’m so sorry for your loss, but what a beautiful and unique tribute to such a loved kitty,” added another. Many other users shared stories about their departed pets, also named after food, and some shared pictures of the custom urns friends made for them. Clifford also commented on the post. “It’s me I’m the friend! I’m so glad this is getting attention,” she wrote. “Lisa is truly a wonderful friend and an incredibly talented artist.” “I wanted a friendly cat because, at the time, I was doing stand-up, so I was like, ‘There’s always people in the apartment and stand-ups might be crashing here,’” Clifford tells TODAY.com, adding that she eventually adopted Sandwiches from Kitten Rescue in Los Angeles. “I didn’t want a skittish cat who’s gonna freak out because I wanted them to be happy. And he never left.” How the Urn Was Made For Laureta, who also paints pet portraits, all this attention on their art was unexpected, but very welcome. “The whole time I was making it, I was like, ‘I should probably have a plan,’ but I didn’t, and it worked out okay,” Laureta tells TODAY.com with a laugh. “That’s kind of how it always goes for me.” Laureta says the base of the urn, a wooden box, was purchased from Michael’s Craft Store and painted different colors for all the layers of a submarine sandwich. They then made two buns for the box’s lid and bottom, along with all the topping pieces, which are separate mini-sculptures glued in place. “It was kind of like putting together a really fun puzzle, figuring out where I could squeeze in some lettuce, or, ‘Hey, there’s a little spot here for a french fry,’ and popping it in there,” they add. A Eulogy for Sandwiches the Cat Sandwiches is described as a very friendly, sociable cat who loved drinking out of the shower — both Laureta and Clifford shared stories of him following them into the bath for a drink — and he had a particular interest in Mexican foods like tortilla chips. “One time he stole a taco out of my roommate’s hands, like he leapt up and grabbed the taco and started eating it,” Clifford recalls. “He was just a funny guy, and he was very, very sweet and very silly,” Laureta adds. “Everyone who ever met him loved him,” Clifford says. “Everyone was just like, ‘He’s the best cat.’ People even were like, ‘No shade to my own cat, but I like your cat more.’” She says she was amazed at how “realistic and incredible” Laureta’s urn turned out, and that one of her favorite aspects is that you can open the urn by pulling on a little tomato. “It makes me smile now, and he always made me smile,” Clifford continues. “Just knowing that he was around, being entertaining and so sweet, always made me smile. So now I have this everlasting memorial that I feel like is a good tribute to how hilarious, special and unique he was.”
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