Feline Fotography.

So this morning, I had the best idea! I need to somehow break into the world of cat photography. I love cats, I love taking pictures, and as I was mindlessly scrolling back through the 2000+ photos on my phone, I happened to notice just how many pics were of – you guessed it – cats.

Of course, my own cats are my first muses and inspiration. 

 

But I’m finding that there are pics of a lot of other cats on my phone, too. It’s becoming a thing – I see a cat, I take a pic of it. Many of them are from the adoption center where I volunteer for the BCAA (Burlington County Animal Alliance – cat division). I decided to put all of the photos of all the cats I took pics of into a folder, and try to get myself some gigs as a “Feline Fotographer.”  I would do it for free – I really just want to help cats find the purrfect home. Here’s a few of my favorite shots:

 

It was really hard to choose my favorites – there are like over 100 more photos in my feline folder already, and all of them are great, thanks to my adorable subjects.

The only editing I really did was crop some of the photos – no filters or anything like that – just me, my phone and cats. Imagine what I could do with my real camera!!

Anyway, if you have cats, like cats, or work somewhere where cats are, I’d by happy to come take pictures – for free of course. The cuteness is all the payment I need. 🙂

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Say “Meow!”

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The Great Gumdrop Caper.

I had just fed the #catsquad and was preparing my own dinner. They were both milling around, like they often do after they’re finished eating (hoping for more food I guess?).

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hangin’ around.

Anyway, I was at the counter with my back to the rest of the kitchen, when I heard a small “thump” behind me. It didn’t sound like anything major, and when I turned around to investigate, there was nothing on the ground anywhere near the table, and nothing had fallen over. Berlioz was under the table and Wednesday was all the way across the room, so I brushed it off and went back to getting my own meal ready. I finished up, and turned around with my plate, ready to go in the other room and enjoy my leftover pizza, when I noticed Berlioz apparently eating something under the table. I put my plate down, and walked toward him. As I approached, he looked up, surprised, and inadvertently dropped what was in his mouth onto the ground.

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A pumpkin-shaped gumdrop. THIS was what the mysterious thump was that I heard earlier – the gumdrop being dug out of the CLOSED container, and dropped to the floor. Once Berlioz realized I was going to take it from him, he quickly scooped it back into his mouth and started running. I’m still bigger and faster then him, so I was able to grab him, and wrangled it out of his mouth, much to his chagrin.

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post-gumdrop-snatching shame.

He did manage to lick off a bunch of the sugar before I caught him though. I’m still trying to figure out how he opened the container without me hearing that part. I guess I’m so used to the noises of bad behavior, that I’m starting to become immune to them.

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Wednesday, meet Berlioz.

Wednesday was here first.

And she won’t let anyone ever forget this. Especially Berlioz.

Wednesday was about 5 when Berlioz arrived on the scene, a mere 3 month old kitten.

Wednesday had been an only child for 2 years. She ran this place – the beds were all hers (including ours). The laps were all hers. The food was all hers. She was fine with this. Except that she often attacked her own tail and seemed to have some anxiety. And she bit us. All the time. But she stayed away from the plants, didn’t try to eat any people food, and only destroyed one particular spot on the couch. Not too shabby, for an odd-eyed cat from the streets of Philadelphia.

But that all changed in July of 2018. I was anxious to introduce Berlioz to her. He was upbeat, had no fear, and loved to be near people and other cats. This was not Wednesday. It’s not that she’s unfriendly – she enjoys being in a room where people are and she is not afraid. She’s just kind of aloof. She likes her space, and is going to let you know when she’s had enough of you being in it. Berlioz had no concept of this, and I knew this would be trouble. But I hoped his extroverted-ness and naiveté would rub off on her, and that her laid back persona and chill attitude would rub off on him, to form one perfect Uber-Cat.

Nope.

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Haters gonna hate.

It was certainly not love at first site. Well, that’s not entirely true. For Berlioz, it was love at first site. For Wednesday, it was more like hate. For about a week, it was absolute torture. She hissed. She growled. She hid. But he kept coming back like nothing happened. He tried to love her. He tried to play with her. He thought they were best friends. I don’t know if she got tired of fighting, or actually found his persistence charming – but one day, without warning, she had a change of heart.

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Acceptance.

And best friends they became.

A cat has absolute emotional honesty. Human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.

— Ernest Hemmingway

 

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