Along the same apartment complex knoll where appears Bleu, I sometime see another feline—either alone or nearby. Since the nickname for one is translated from English to French, let’s do the same with the other; Noire, which is the feminine, for black.
I assume, and possibly wrongly, that Noire is not only female but mother to the Kittens discovered in the connecting property. Resemblance is unmistakable, which doesn’t make my presumption right.
Squinting may be necessary to make out this fine feline, which might be, uh-oh, a Russian Blue. Based on current social norms of conformance, businesses (or other entities) and individuals must boycott all things from Russia because of the country’s invasion into Ukraine. Being a devout nonconformist, I won’t penalize a cat for its breed.
Mock me if you like on the social media service of your choosing. I won’t see the post. What’s that quandary question: If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears does it make a sound? Similarly, if you post angrily about me and I don’t see does it matter? No. Go ahead, wriggle your grimy fingers on physical or screen keypad.
On two mornings in January 2022, the sound of a little girl giggling and flashes of her chasing something turned my attention along Alabama. The youngster was with other kids and adults, preparing to walk to Alice Birney Elementary. Object of her interest: A tiger tabby kitten.
On the Eleventh, I happened upon the frisky feline frolicking about. She scampered long enough for several portraits, including the Featured Image—all taken using iPhone Pro 13. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/369 sec, 77mm; 8:47 a.m. PST.
Heavy rains stormed through San Diego on the evening of Feb. 15, 2022, when a friendly but apparently stray tabby invited himself into the house where he had visited over several weeks. The family chose to keep him inside that evening, because of the ferocious weather. Next morning, the husband pulled over his car when seeing me to ask about the cat, which meowed from inside a carrier. The gent knew that I photographed local animals and wondered if I knew anything about this kitty. Damn, no.
Because the cat limped, my neighbor chose to take the feline for a microchip scan and maybe medical treatment. He was reluctant to leave a possible pet at the animal shelter. As we chatted, he decided to first go to a local veterinarian, see whether the tabby was chipped, and if so get it to the owner. What transpired next surprised and inspires, but there’s a postscript drama not directly related but possibly impacting shelter policy.
When this series started on Oct. 17, 2016, I expected to end it within 30 days. Because: How many cats could there be in a neighborhood where leashed-walked dogs are everywhere? The 24th entry, which I call Cozy, posted less than a month later.
Fast-forward to Dec. 29, 2021, when I spotted what could be the same animal but inside the home rather than casually reclining outdoors. But I am not 100 percent sure they are the same animal. The owners are known to have two kitties, but I don’t know if both are tiger-stripped. So after months of uncertainty, I make a decision and take the chance there are two somewhat alike (such as from same litter) and that this one isn’t the other. Fur length and head shape could be different enough.
I stopped long enough to shoot photos of this fine feline to draw out the homeowner. Uh-oh. Fortunately, he was friendly; someone else might have been irked. Turns out that the beastie isn’t his and he doesn’t know to whom the animal belongs. But the cat comes frequently by the Georgia street property, nevertheless, and that suits his kids I guess. Why wouldn’t it?
While the captures from Leica Q2 are better, the Featured Image comes from iPhone 13 Pro because the kitty turned away from the camera but posed for the smartphone. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/234 sec, 77mm; 12:55 p.m. PST, Feb. 3, 2022.
Ten days have passed since the last profile, which is way too many considering the backlog of unpublished kitties. Meet the eighty-fifth feline found behind door or window, not far from the Cleveland Ave. overlook. The Featured Image, taken using iPhone 13 Pro, is from Jan. 29, 2022—but I have seen Solemn (yes, a nickname) in the same spot as recently as day before yesterday. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 40, 1/122 sec, 77mm; 10:38 a.m. PST.
Typically, cats sit in closed windows to sun. But this vantage is shaded and stuffy. What I see is a tiger tabby looking out longingly, solemnly.
After the August 2021 clearcutting of their backyard habit and sale of the property two months later, I assumed that kitties Mimi and daughter Sweet Pea would make their home elsewhere—particularly in the outdoor space provided by the woman who cared for them. But as grass, plants, shrubs, and trees regrew, the Maine Coons clung to the territory where they had lived for the better part of a decade. Mimi unexpectedly posed for me on Jan. 2, 2022. Vitals for the Featured Image, captured using iPhone 13 Pro: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/126 sec, 77mm; 11:17 a.m. PST.
I saw one or the other longhair in the yard several times a week, last month; now, likely no longer. Looks like the new owners won’t raise the house to build a massive multi-unit structure on the massive lot—increasingly commonplace for San Diego real estate. Instead, renovation is underway, and it is structurally extensive. Debris and building materials currently occupy portions of the backyard where roamed the cats. The foundation is being massively reconstructed, which surely is sign the house will remain.
While rummaging an old external hard drive, I came upon some unprocessed, unpublished photos of our long-lost Kuma. Here, he nestles in the blinds of the sliding glass door of our old apartment days after he joined our household.
The Featured Image comes from Leica X1 on Sept. 17, 2010. Vitals: f/4, ISO 250, 1/30 sec, 24mm; 3:27 p.m. PDT. Portrait is composed as shot.
Our four-hundred-sixtieth profile, since the series started in October 2016, is the eighty-fourth from Alabama Street between boundaries Adams and Lincoln. Lilly lives on the same block. My wife and I met Dragon Claws leashed and walking with his owner on Jan. 27, 2022. His sister, whose name I didn’t get, doesn’t demand, or enjoy, these outings as much.
I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image, with difficulty. Dragon Claws explored everything and often turned away as I shot. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/176 sec, 77mm; 4:18 p.m. PST.
Our Caturday story begins in summer 2021, when my wife learned about two felines that frequented a property that wasn’t their home. The all-black, Loki, joined the series in July. We wouldn’t first see the other until October 17, when I used iPhone 13 Pro to shoot the long-delayed Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/22 sec, 77mm; 10:40 a.m. PST. I regrettably resisted adding the newcomer sooner because no name, and I couldn’t be sure there wasn’t a mix up and this kitty was Loki. Everything changed yesterday, when Annie and I chatted with another neighbor who identified the second cat as Tucker. Whew.
That introduction brings us to the drama. Tucker occasionally appeared during the end of last year but made a startling entrance on Jan. 2, 2022. As we approached the property where he is somewhat an interloper, I spotted the black and white on a fence and pointed him out to Annie. She observed what I missed. “He has feathers in his mouth”, she exclaimed.
The backlog of unpublished kitties is so long that I stopped taking every photographic opportunity. Hopefully, regrets won’t follow that decision. We resume with a longhair that my wife and I assumed was feral on first sighting: Alley separating Louisiana and Texas, on Jan. 13, 2022. The animal posed for some time before passing into a property facing Texas.
The Featured Image captures that moment. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/145 sec, 77mm; 11:58 a.m. PST. We next saw the feline along Louisiana, but on the other side of Meade, three days later. Because of location, I assumed we had come upon a different cat, but Annie correctly identified the two sightings as the same beastie.