The Cats of University Heights: Georgy

Last night, approaching El Cajon from Georgia—on my way to shoot The Boulevard sign—I passed by a ginger lounging upon grass. The fluffer came out to visit, during which time I unsuccessfully tried to capture several good portraits; sun set 15 minutes earlier, and I needed more ambient light, or narrower aperture, for less noise and wider depth of field.

Only after the kitty got his fill of pats and returned to the property from whence it came could I get something usable. The angle makes the cat look unflatteringly flabby, when it is furry and fit; big paws reveal a naturally husky boy; hence, the nickname. I manually focused Leica Q2 to take the Featured Image. Vitals, aperture and shutter speed manually set: f/1.7, ISO 6400, 1/250 sec, 28mm; 8:14 p.m. PDT.

Update, Jan. 22, 2022: Well, I got the first and last letters right, in nicknaming Husky. I learned from the Pets sections on Nextdoor (using my wife’s account) that the name is Harvey.

Update, July 12, 2023: Yesterday, someone flagged me down asking if I am the guy who takes cat pictures. He asked if I knew anything about Bruce, who is missing. Turns out he is the other owner of Bella; I met his wife when walking the petite Burmese in November 2017. Sadly, Bella passed away during  SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns, he told me.

But bigger surprise grabbed us both. The couple had adopted another street cat that had lived on Georgia Street in a renoviction property that became squatter villas: Harvey. Except he was legitimately misgendered. Most gingers are male, but he turns out to be she. They call her Georgy, for short, and even play The Seekers’ song “Georgy Girl” for her. Ah, how sweet.

Georgy’s relocation elevates her to the coveted status of being from Alabama Street; she is number ninety-seven since the series‘ start in October 2016.

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