diff --git a/vona/config/__init__.py b/vona/config/__init__.py
index b48888e..61ecd80 100644
--- a/vona/config/__init__.py
+++ b/vona/config/__init__.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import os
 from pathlib import Path
 import tomllib
-import mimetypes
 
 addr: str = "127.0.0.1"
 port: int = 5000
@@ -39,6 +38,7 @@ def _load_toml(path: Path) -> dict:
 
 def _read_signing_key_from_path(path_value) -> str | None:
 	p = Path(path_value)
+
 	if not p.exists():
 		_fatal(f"signing_key_path {p} does not exist")
 	try:
@@ -52,10 +52,6 @@ def _validate_cat_path(cat_path: str) -> Path:
 	if not p.exists():
 		_fatal(f"Cat photo at {p} does not exist")
 
-	mtype, _ = mimetypes.guess_type(str(p))
-	if mtype is None or not mtype.startswith("image/"):
-		_warn(f"Cat file {p} does not look like an image (mimetype={mtype})")
-
 	return p
 
 
@@ -86,12 +82,16 @@ def _apply_config(cfg: dict) -> None:
 		signing_key = str(cfg["signing_key"]).strip()
 	elif "signing_key_path" in cfg:
 		sk = _read_signing_key_from_path(cfg["signing_key_path"])
+
 		if sk:
 			signing_key = sk
+		else:
+			_fatal(f"{cfg["signing_key_path"]} does not have a signing key.")
+
 	else:
 		_fatal(
-			"`signing_key` is not in configuration. "
-			"A signing key can be generated using `cmd/generate_key.py`."
+			"A signing key is not present in the configuration. "
+			"A key can be generated using `python3 -m vona.utils.makekey`."
 		)
 
 	if "cat" in cfg: