The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) held their annual charity gala on May 18, in the hopes of raising S$300,000.

To meet this sum, silent and live auctions were held for a variety of items and experiences.

This included a guitar with pop star Taylor Swift's signature on it, as well as several artworks, one of which was painted by Acres co-CEO Anbarasi Boopal (also known as Anbu).

Grumpy cat

One of the art pieces available for auction was painted by famous local mural artist Yip Yew Chong.

The piece is that of a grumpy-looking grey cat, holding, of all things, a steaming cup of kopi.

Speaking to Mothership, Yip shared that he was approached by Acres to contribute to their fundraising effort.

"I knew about their good work so I decided to support them," he said.

Yip shared that he did not have any existing stocks of artwork to contribute, and as such, would only be able to provide a new, "small and simple" piece.

The cat featured in the piece isn't actually based on any actual cat Yip knows or has seen before.

However, he added that he has painted this tubby, grumpy cat several times.

"Thus I am very familiar with it and believe I can create it easily. To give it a local twist, this round I have him sipping kopi."

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A post shared by Yip Yew Chong (@yipyewchong)

Here's the cat in his Kampong Glam Basket Shop mural:

You can also spot the same cat holding a stick of satay in Yip's Lau Pa Sat mural.

The piece for Acres took him several hours over the course of two days, and it was eventually auctioned off for a hefty S$10,800.

Yip jokes that the cat "is getting popular", and that he might paint him "doing other 'local acts' in the future".

Success

Anbu told Mothership: "We are very grateful to Yip Yew Chong's gracious donation of a beautiful and cute artwork, which was a hit at our charity gala auction raising S$10,800."

Acres' gala was a success, and a total of S$310,000 was raised by the end of the night.

Anbu added that the money raised will go towards its animal protection efforts, including its repatriation efforts for trafficked wildlife, as well as for the expansion of its wildlife sanctuary.

Top photo from Yip Yew Chong / IG