Tag: Cats of University Heights

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 24, 20185:11 pm

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.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 23, 20187:11 pm

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.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 22, 20186:17 am

The Cats of University Heights: Darth Mew

It’s a Friday doubleheader: two beasties with Star Wars names—and real they are! We follow Princess Leia with Darth Mew, whom my wife and I met on June 10, 2018. Texas Street is the neighborhood’s designated boundary, and we saw Darth just beyond as we walked in the direction of Arizona.

The Featured Image comes from iPhone X. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 16, 1/60 sec, 6mm. The other is an ever-so-soft-focus portrait taken with Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. Composed as shot: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/60 sec, 50mm. Time for both is 8:52 a.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 22, 20186:13 am

The Cats of University Heights: Princess Leia

We celebrate this fine Friday with the start of a two-part Star Wars theme. Who would have guessed that yesterday I would meet a Calico named Princess Leia along Louisiana between Meade and Monroe. She worried me, though, with her scratchy and continuous mews, that she might be lost—or maybe just lonely. She sounded and moved like a mature madam. I regret only getting her name from the tag.

I used the Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens to capture the Featured Image, which is composed as shot. Vitals: f/11, ISO 100, 1/45 sec, 50mm; 12:30 p.m. PDT. The companion, cropped 3:2 and auto-corrected, comes from Google Pixel 2 XL, which I acquired last week to replace iPhone X. (Oh, yes, it’s gone!) Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 91, 1/4673 sec, 4.6mm.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 21, 20189:08 am

The Cats of University Heights: Bushy Black

My wife and I expanded our neighborhood walks earlier in the month, searching for Luci, who disappeared on June 1, 2018. To my utter surprise, the 17 year-old tortoiseshell returned to her home yesterday after a […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 16, 20186:33 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Little

My wife called it a “tiger cat convention”—three beasties from the same household gathered around the front yard. We had never seen such a sight, and the owner later told me that it was a rare occurrence.

Little, who is shy compared to companions Bruce and Guido, is reasonably reluctant. At about two weeks old, he pushed through a neighbor’s fence to escape several dogs. That gent didn’t know what to do with the kitten; Guido’s mom stepped in, even feeding the furry tyke from a bottle those first days in her care.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 11, 20186:19 am

The Cats of University Heights: Gipper

We follow up Dare with another white furball that my wife and I saw along the Campus-Cleveland Avenues’ ally between Madison and Meade on May 22, 2018. As expressed a few days back, there is a backlog of photographed but not published cats. More are in store.

I captured the Featured Image using the Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. The companion photo is the uncropped, but edited, original. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 50mm; 10:29 a.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 10, 20188:26 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Dare

A few buildings down from where Moose lives along Adams Ave. East of Park Blvd., a shorthair—who for no particular reason earns nickname Dare—looks out on May 20, 2018. The putty-tat is the twenty-fifth window watcher among the 184 profiles since the series started in October 2016.

I captured the Featured Image using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. Focus was a bit difficult to nail perfectly. The portrait is good enough if not viewed full size. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/60 sec, 50mm; 10:51 a.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 8, 20188:50 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Smokie

Here’s the continuation of an unexpected story. In late January 2018, I met Lola, as her owner returned home with groceries. When the cat came outdoors, she spooked another kitty that neither of us humans had seen. The little grey returned, continuing to do so over the months since—or so I would learn.

Walking to my daughter’s apartment today, I observed that same frisky feline sitting in Lola’s yard. I snapped the Featured Image, using iPhone X, at 8:43 a.m. PDT, along Polk approaching Park. Late afternoon, when returning home, I saw Lola’s caretaker working in the yard and asked about the visitor.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 7, 20188:16 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Stripe

Because my website has unintentionally become a cat blog, I’ve slowed down posting new profiles, which has caused a backlog of beasties photographed but not presented. So we begin bit of catchup with—if my count […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 2, 20186:12 am

The Cats of University Heights: Vivienne

Our first feline of June is Vivienne, who adornes this fine Caturday with her loveliness. We met on May 31, 2018 along Meade between Campus and Cleveland. Coincidentally, she resides in the same house as Sophie, who moved away with her owner around Sept. 1, 2017.

In the adjacent property, feral kittens and their Momma briefly lived before being trapped by neighborhood teens and taken to the local animal shelter for adoption. They joined the series in mid-August 2017.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 28, 20186:12 am

The (Honorary) Cats of University Heights: Envy

The one-hundred eighty-first profile in the series is the fifth where we take liberties with the neighborhood’s boundaries. One-half block beyond, along Mississippi between Lincoln and University, the juxtaposition of squirrel outside taunting its freedom before an indoor kitty was just too timely to resist. So here we be, with a shorthair I dub Envy. The rodent remains nameless.

I shot the Featured Image with iPhone X on May 22, 2018 at 4:06 p.m. PDT. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 16, 1/417 sec, 6mm. The companion comes from Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens, one minute later. Vitals: f/8 or f/11, ISO 100, 1/45 sec, 50mm. The original camera capture is more color accurate than the handset; however, I changed contrast and hues to make the animals more obvious.