Tag: Cats of University Heights

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The Cats of University Heights: Georgia Twain

While looking for Luci, who was lost but later found, I spotted an orange kitty cross the street and go into a yard at Monroe and Georgia. The shorthair later emerged, moseying into an apartment complex. There a pair of cats lounged far down the walkway. The newcomer’s invasion drew them close to the front, making a moment possible.

I shot the Featured Image one-minute to sunset, 7:52 p.m. PDT, and its companion one-minute after, on June 3, 2018. Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens is a low-light super combo. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 1600, 1/180 sec, 50mm. The companion’s EXIF is identical except for the timestamp.

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The Cats of University Heights: Gazers

Yesterday, while walking along Mississippi Street between Meade and Monroe, I spotted a pair of kitties looking at birds. They are the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth window watchers featured in the series so far. They presented poses that were irresistibly poignant.

I assume these are indoor beasties, but they do wear collars with tags, indicating perhaps some outdoor excursions. The Featured Image, which is modestly cropped, sets the scene. The two companions close in on the putty-tats. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Fluff

Oh my, this is the 200th profile since the series started in October 2016. I expected a month time-frame, never imagining that in a dog neighborhood there would be so many cats. Our friendly feline also is third in a row from Alabama and twenty-fourth featured from that street. The two recent others: Maxie and Striker.

Yesterday, while walking with my wife, I spotted the presumed Maine Coon between Howard and Polk. Fluff is appropriate nickname, don’t you think? The kitty stayed put long enough for me to get the farther Featured Image and to move in closer for the companion. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Maxie

Call me flabbergasted. Four days after seeing Striker, along Alabama between Mission and Madison, my wife and I encountered Maxie and his owner on the same block. The tabby is the twenty-third profiled from the street, and—gasp—another, spotted earlier today, will be next up.

Maxie came to his 71-ish caretaker about 24 months ago. The feline started hanging around, even though he technically belong to neighbors. They left about a year later, and the kitty stayed behind. Maxie rooms with another cat, whose story we may share sometime soon. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Striker

Yesterday, my wife and I walked along Alabama between Mission and Madison, beyond which we could make out silhouetted Itchy Valentino shading on the next block. I stopped, seeing orange fur against foliage along a driveway. A cat! She spotted his prey—an overly large lizard—that (sorry) was no longer visible when I shot the Featured Image using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. By posture, you can see stalking still.

Photo vitals: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/250 sec, 50mm; 4:13 p.m. PDT. The EXIF shows f/4.8, which the camera estimates based on other settings. I am sure about the aperture. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Dutch

We close out the month and first half of the year—on a Caturday! In celebration, please meet the husky shorthair nicknamed Dutch. I couldn’t approach close enough to read the tag attached to his collar. Thus, he earns the moniker for distinctive sighting: First feline on New York Street, which dead-ends into a canyon on one side and Madison on the other. In the 1620s, Dutch settlers claimed the area around and on Manhattan Island that the English would later rename New York. Does that make any sense of my choice?

I used Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens to capture the Featured Image, yesterday at 3:24 p.m. PDT. Same day, the camera manufacturer released new firmware, which I updated. Dutch has the honor of being first cat captured with v2.4.5.0, which changes default auto-ISO to 200—supposedly to improve dynamic range. The camera now also includes (guessed) aperture in the EXIF (e.g. metadata). Vitals: f/2.5, ISO 200, 1/750 sec, 50mm. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Spice

For some reason, June 7, 2018 was a busy day for feline finds. The tortoiseshell that I nickname Spice is third in succession, following Royal and Sleepy. We met along Florida between Madison and Monroe. I have seen the tortie twice since, in the same apartment parking lot.

I pulled out iPhone X to capture the Featured Image and companion at 6:08 p.m. PDT. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 32, 1/60 sec, .97 ev, 6mm. The other: f/1.8, ISO 50, 1/120 sec, 4mm.

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The Cats of University Heights: Sleepy

Cleveland cat sightings are surprisingly few, despite the expansive street’s neighborhood prominence. Among them: BellBlack, Black and WhiteFess (who disappeared), Fresh, Hunter, LeviLiloMellow, Mika (who moved away), MiniPepe (who was rehomed), Roly Poly, and Tortie. That’s fourteen out of the 195 profiles posted since the series started in October 2016 (hopefully I missed none in the counting).

The fifteenth feline—and the first new seen in six months along Cleveland—rested (hence the nickname) in a yard on the stretch between Tyler and Van Buren. I shot the Featured Image on June 7, 2018 using iPhone X. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 16, 1/345 sec, 6mm; 3:29 p.m. PDT. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Royal

I read about this beautiful Bengal for about a month in various posts on the NextDoor social network before finally making contact, June 7, 2018. Residents wanted to know who this animal belonged to, if anyone, with some confusing the regal feline for Abby, who lives about four blocks away.

Earning nickname Royal, the cat commanded great presence. During our early evening walk, the shorthair approached my wife and I, coming up Monroe Ave. Interestingly, a ginger followed about a half-block behind, eventually seeking refuge either in the alley or some yard between Louisiana and Texas streets. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Maui

We follow Phil with the twenty-first feline seen on Alabama street. This fellow lives in the same residence as Itchy Valentino and Mr. Kitty, no less. I take a chance not clarifying the name, which the owner told me recently. I asked if the spelling was Maui. He hesitated, then said yes. But, in retrospect, I wonder if he could have meant: Meowee, which isn’t a stretch considering the others’ monikers. I will change should that prove correct.

I first spotted Maui under the shade of a chair on May 15, 2018 but couldn’t get a good enough photo through the yard’s fence. He presented again, street-side, on June 1, when I shot the Featured Image using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/90 sec, 50mm; 9:37 a.m. PDT.

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The Cats of University Heights: Phil

Why are there so many putty-tats along Alabama Street? Phil makes the twentieth featured out of the 191 shot since the series started in October 2016. You will meet yet another tomorrow, and I know of several more living indoors yet to be photographed. I spotted Phil while walking to the Sprouts market late this afternoon.

I chose to shoot the Featured Image with the recently acquired Google Pixel 2 XL rather than Leica M10 slung around my back. The smartphone proved more than worthy. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 50, 1/176 sec, 4.46mm; 5:51 p.m. PDT.