Needs more info for me to know whether or not this would be appropriate, but it seems to me it's still rescuable... I'd stick to your guns and exhibit it, tweak your statement and be honest about what happened. It is after all a perfect illustration of the inherent uncertainty in this world, and that even things you expect to be permanent can turn out quite ephemeral. Don't BS around it, just allow the incident to make you think about the connotations and metaphor surrounding the destruction of an artwork by an oblivious cat, then write about it. -- Your friendly neighborhood art student :P

Id be having some cat soup that night

Call it a catsbtract painting... .

You can eat the cat. If you're planning on killing it

Damn cats. You can't have anything nice if you own one. I would know

It's called "abstract"

That sucks having to repaint, and dig a cat grave in the same day.

Your cat is a dick, sorry OP. :/

Cats are evil...

Why did you leave it somewhere the cat could ruin it