No. 097, in seven platesA Cat in the Bath
Two white eyes, two pointed ears and a great deal of water: one black cat, quietly unimpressed, in seven shades of blue.
The drawing could hardly be simpler. A cat is cut out as a single flat black shape, given two round white eyes, a few hairline whiskers and nothing else, then lowered into water drawn as thin pale strokes on navy. The palette never leaves blue and black, and that discipline is what makes seven plates feel like one joke told seven ways.
And it is a joke, delivered deadpan. In one plate the cat floats high in a pale periwinkle haze with a tiny cross for a mouth; in another its eyes slide sideways as if someone has just walked in. Bubbles rise around a fuller face with long whiskers. One version sits behind a lighter band of water like a horizon, and the smallest is barely more than ears and eyes poking up from a wide black sea under an enormous sky.
On a phone the arrangement is unusually polite. Each cat surfaces around the middle of the screen, so the upper third is plain blue and the time sits there without touching anything. The water below darkens towards black, which is exactly where the dock lives, and white app labels read cleanly over it. With a dark Home Screen and tinted icons the whole thing feels like looking down into a pool at night.
Cat people with a dry sense of humour will get it at once, as will anyone after a minimalist cat wallpaper that is still unmistakably funny. High Tide and Sideways Glance are free in full resolution, so the wary bathtime can begin without spending a thing; the other five are premium.
Nothing above the waterline but ears, eyes and mild suspicion.
Try each one on before you save it.
Tap any plate to hang it on the Lock Screen, then switch to the Home Screen to see it behind your apps. This is the same preview the app gives you, on your own phone, with your own clock.
Every plate here can be ordered as an unframed matte print, from A$59 with free shipping. Or hang three side by side: any three plates from A Cat in the Bath, 8 × 16 in each, for A$179.
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Plate IWhiskers Out -
Plate IIHigh Tide -
Plate IIIEars Above Water -
Plate IVRising Bubbles -
Plate VClose to the Surface -
Plate VISideways Glance -
Plate VIIBehind the Horizon
How A Cat in the Bath wears.
Deadpan, calm, nocturnal, minimal. Flat ink-and-navy cartoon illustration, sized for every iPhone up to 2160 × 4800.
On the Lock Screen
The cat surfaces mid-screen, leaving a clean band of plain blue above it for the time and date.
On the Home Screen
Water fades to near-black at the bottom, so the dock and white labels sit on the darkest part of the picture.
Full resolution, every model
Each plate is delivered at the exact size of your iPhone's screen, up to 2160 × 4800, so nothing is stretched or soft at the edges.
- Bathwater navy#202060
- Periwinkle haze#4060A0
- Deep end#000020
- Ink cat#000000
- Ripple blue#204080
Free plates, and the rest.
Open A Cat in the Bath in pxCream and preview any plate on your Lock Screen first. Prices come from the App Store in your region and are shown in the app before you buy.
A Cat in the Bath
Two free platesFree
Full resolution, saved straight to Photos.
A single premium plate10 credits
Yours for good: re-download it any time, on this iPhone, at no extra cost.
pxCream UnlimitedMonthly
Every premium plate in A Cat in the Bath and the rest of the gallery, for as long as you subscribe.
On the App Store · iPhone only · No account needed
About A Cat in the Bath.
Is there actually a bathtub in these cat wallpapers?
No tub, tiles or taps: just the cat and the water. The title does the scene-setting, and the empty blue leaves room for your clock and widgets.
Which plate gives the most space around the cat?
Ears Above Water. The cat is small and low, so nearly the whole upper half is calm, plain blue.
Do I need to pay for any of the seven?
Not for High Tide or Sideways Glance, which download free in full resolution. The other five are premium: 10 credits each in the pxCream app, yours to re-download forever, or all of them with Unlimited.
Something else? Support answers within two business days.
A Cat in the Bath, in your pocket.
pxCream is on the App Store for iPhone, with A Cat in the Bath and the rest of the gallery inside.