Vladi is a Hong Kong-based Russian graffiti-artist. He has painted five cats in different places around Hong Kong.
His painting “the Cat in a House,” a large brown and white cat with green eyes nestled snug inside a box, at Tai Mo Shan, has became a popular check-in place for hikers since October.
!["The Cat in a House" in Tai Mo Shan, painted by Vladi. (Courtesy of @viadimir3230/Instagram)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F12%2F19%2F158_1_EmbedImageSize.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
!["The Cat with a Crown," on the bridge pier in the Ting Kau Village, Hong Kong, created by Vladi. (Courtesy of @viadimir3230/Instagram)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F12%2F22%2Fcat.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
The cat murals are were welcomed by Hongkongers and instantly became an internet hot topic, and the artist was invited to paint another cat on a wall of a new restaurant in Ma Wan. People named it “Ma Wan Cat.”
!["Ma Wan Cat" on the wall of a new restaurant in Ma Wan painted by Vladi. (Courtesy of @viadimir3230/Instagram)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F12%2F19%2F158_2_EmbedImageSize.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Later, Vladi also created a fourth cat mural. It is situated beside the stairway outside a restaurant on How Ming Street, Kwun Tong. It has big bright eyes and is adorable as the previous cats. It was named “Kwun Tong Cat.”
!["Kwun Tong Cat" situated next to the stairs outside a restaurant painted by Vladi in How Ming Street, Kwun Tong in Hong Kong on Dec. 14, 2022. (Cheuk Sheung-yu/The Epoch Times)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F12%2F19%2F158_3_EmbedImageSize.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
He started at dusk on Dec. 14 and completed it at 6 a.m. on Dec. 15. It took Vladi almost 10 hours to create the artwork, from cleaning the metal door to completing it.
The fifth cat, “Mong Kok cat,” has big eyes and shows a facial expression of surprise, slightly different from the previous artworks.
![“Mong Kok Cat" painted by Vladi at Kwong Wing Cafe in Mong Kok in Hong Kong on Dec. 15, 2022.](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F12%2F19%2F158_4_EmbedImageSize.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
![“Mong Kok Cat" painted by Vladi at Kwong Wing Cafe in Mong Kok in Hong Kong on Dec. 15, 2022. (Cheuk Sheung-yu/The Epoch Times)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F12%2F19%2F158_5_EmbedImageSize.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Vladi said there was a real cat behind every cat drawing but he draws every cat mural randomly and does not select a cat in advance.
However, the first cat had been vandalized and blocked by the authorities who left a sign saying “government land, no trespassing.” The second cat was whitewashed by government workers who said the area was not safe and might cause a traffic accident. Vladi expressed discouragement on social media and said there would be no more cat pictures.
He thanked Hongkongers for loving his murals.