Tag: Cats of University Heights

Photo by Joe Wilcox
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The Cats of University Heights: Blue

I hadn’t seen any cats on Campus beyond Madison in the months after learning about Copper’s demise; she was a neighborhood favorite. So I was surprised to find her long-time companion, whom I call Blue (real name unknown), on Oct. 9, 2016, in the outdoor space they shared and where they were fed. I featured her in a photo comparison testing the HTC One M8, in Spring two years ago.

What a smile that Blue evoked. The cat, and another, live outdoors. Copper was a stray, as Blue may too be. I shot the Featured Image at 6:17 p.m.—five minutes before official sunset, but already quite dusk—using iPhone 7 Plus’ second lens to zoom. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 320, 1/60 sec, 6.6mm. Below the fold is the comparison photos shot with the M8 in May 2014. I hadn’t known how much the kitten Blue was two years ago. Look how she has grown! 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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The Cats of University Heights: Mates

Sunday night, Oct. 23, 2016, I crossed Monroe at Maryland, where the street makes a horseshoe that comes back to Maryland at Meade. A few houses down, two cats—almost certainly littermates—accosted me for attention. Were these two ever eager, meowing and rubbing on anything close; including me.

The cross-eyed one leaped to the sidewalk, rolling about and demanding pets fervently. The other did likewise, but never leaving the ledge and rubbing the bush repeatedly with her head. I shot more than 20 photos, using the Fujifilm X-T1 with Fujinon XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS lens, but selected just two from among the last of them. 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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The Cats of University Heights: The Colonel

Easily the handsomest street roamer in my neighborhood is The Colonel—and, yes, that’s his name. I spotted the furball six weeks or so ago, meeting his husband-and-wife owners at the same time. East Coasters, like me. Even better: New Yorkers. That NYC attitude and frankness is so refreshing! Love it! They’re also renters, but a house with their first lawn ever.

Back East, The Colonel was an indoor pet, who spends more time outdoors now that he is a Californian. (Year is long enough to establish residency, right?) The cat doesn’t roam too far from home but moves about enough to have lost weight. 

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