Tag: cats

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The Cats of University Heights: Pretty Kitty

I simply cannot believe the weather we are having here in San Diego. High temperature tipped 26 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit). That kept the kitties in the shade or indoors, like the one from the Featured Image, which was shot on Oct. 14, 2025, using Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 80, 1/400 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 8:08 a.m. PST.

I came upon the pretty kitty along Lincoln, which marks the neighborhood’s boundary with North Park. She is the one-hundred-forty-third feline found behind door or window.

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The Cats of University Heights: Brier

My wife spotted this shorthair crossing Georgia street, as we walked on Dec. 14, 2025. Normally, I would have nabbed a full body shot. But instead of Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, I carried Pixel 10 Pro XL, for which I am less familiar. Yeah, I bungled getting the camera ready fast enough, and the cat settled behind shrubs.

Something else: I couldn’t see the screen so well in the blinding sunlight while wearing sunglasses. That’s strange, since the Google screen has greater peak brightness but lacks reflective coating that makes the Samsung smartphone shine outside.

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Was He Naughty or Nice?

This flu holds on tenaciously, and seemingly everyone around here has it. My wife started her decline late morning. I am three days in and feeling almost as crappy tonight as the first evening. As such, I present another sickly post; something easy before early bedtime overtakes me.

Granted, Christmas is behind us. Ho. Ho. Ho. I neglected to share a special stocking for Rick, who appeared in my “Cat’s of University Heights” series in August 2021. He relocated himself from a home in an alley to a house on the street, where he is treated lavishly by the new owners and garners massive amounts of petting by passersby.

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Room 8 Class Antics

Yesterday, in my news feed an odd story popped up: A cat wandered into an elementary school and made himself comfortable with the kids. He returned every school day from 1952 to 1968, delighting teachers and students. They named him Room 8, because that’s where he consistently went.

One commenter to the story flagged it as Artificial Intelligence fraud because of how it was written and Room 8 nomenclature. Not even kids would choose that name, he asserted, but AI would. I must admit that the story’s sentence structure was juvenile, which could suggest AI fakery—of which there is too much.

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The Cats of University Heights: Bella (Ragdoll)

Time comes for another slog through the backlog. This beautiful longhair rooms with mighty Maine Coon Smokey, who joined the series in January 2022. The Featured Image is from Feb. 23, 2024 and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 32, 1/500 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 4:05 p.m. PST.

Bella is a ragdoll, and what a beauty, too. She is the one-hundred-seventh kitty seen along Alabama Street, somewhere between boundaries Adams and Lincoln. That’s out of 620 profiles, including this one. She also is the third Bella to appear in the series. (What’s up with that name?) The others: One and two (both from Alabama).

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The Cats of University Heights: Christmas Cat

Merry Christmas! We celebrate the holiday with a kitty seen yesterday along Monroe Avenue (cross-streets withheld). This fine feline takes the day for posing beside a holiday tree. What could be more appropriate than that?

I used Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra to take the Featured Image and companion. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 100, 1/125 sec, 115mm (film equivalent); 10:59 a.m. PST. The second: f/3.4, ISO 50, 1/60 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 10:59 a.m.

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The Cats of University Heights: KitKat

I may not have the spelling right—two words or perhaps “C” instead of “K”—but the name is correct. This forlorn little thing came to her current owner quite unexpectedly about three years ago. A young man and woman came by looking for the, ah, pet parent after witnessing some beastly human kicking the cat in the face, injuring her jaw and breaking considerable number of teeth.

They were going to drive the wounded cat to San Diego Humane Society but instead left her behind. The couple had come to the home of an animal lover. She puts out food for stray cats, possums, skunks, squirrels, crows, and other birds. She once rescued a snake whose tail got crushed by a car. She nursed it back to health and had it released six months later. She likewise cared for KitKat (and had help from a relative who is a veterinarian).

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The (Honorary) Cats of University Heights: Swarthy

Not every first photo is a winner. This one is more of a loser but nevertheless is worthy enough to be the Featured Image. The companion capture is much better, albeit still somewhat lacking. Both pics come from Pixel 10 Pro XL, which replaces the still functional and charming Pixel 2 XL. But, alas, Google stopped supporting the smartphone at Android 11 (current version is 16).

For today’s morning walk, I left behind Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra for chance to get a first shot with the Pixel. Opportunity presented on Arizona Street, which is one block beyond the neighborhood boundary. Hence, the honorary designation. My wife spotted the blackie that paid little attention to us as it stalked birdies.

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The Cats of University Heights: Peppers

Meet the last remaining member of a small community cat colony. The oldest two, an abandoned bonded pair living in the alley for at least six years, are absent. Floyd found his way to foster care about a year ago for health reasons. He was adopted earlier this month.

Jingle was left behind with Pops, who was also recently adopted, a sadly emotional debonding. Turns out that Floyd’s new owner would like a second cat, which could be Jingle. Problem: He hasn’t been seen since November 8. One possible reason: The property that the cats claimed as territory is in the early stages of a disruptive renovation, following the death of the homeowner.

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The Cats of University Heights: Brim

We briefly step back from the backlog and present the one-hundred-fortieth feline found behind door or window. Nickname Brim, this handsome kitty lives somewhere along Panorama Drive. Date: Oct. 19, 2025.

The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 80, 1/2000, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 10:08 a.m. PDT.

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The Cats of University Heights: Batman

This fine feline doesn’t dress up for Halloween. His black coat and witchy allure are already perfect—and his name is appropriate for the day of cosplaying: Batman. Well, it’s on his collar tag.

I first encountered Batman at 8:52 p.m. PDT on Sept. 23, 2025. But he was so engaging and seeking of pats that I couldn’t get a full-face view; night shot required him to be still, too. I encountered him once more around two days later in late afternoon.

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The Cats of University Heights: Tinkle

This series started exactly nine years ago—Oct. 17, 2016, with a kitty nicknamed Scruffy. Living in a dog neighborhood, I expected to wrap up in about a month. How many cats could there be? Nearly a decade later, there are 613 profiles, including this one, and a backlog of photographed but unpublished kitties.

The problem with procrastinating posting putties: I don’t recall shooting some of their portraits, and I must look closely to ensure the animal hasn’t already been published. Oh, my aching aged memory.