We don't have a cat because Boz, as gentle as he is, is intolerant of the feline set. But I love cats.My experience photographing dogs is limited mainly to Boz and his pal Sprocket, both of whom are shy - Omega dogs, if you will. They're photogenic but not great at close-ups because they don't like to challenge the camera.
Cats are indifferent to the camera. Look at it, don't look at it, whatever. I have a nap to take, a bug to annoy, a glorious body to lick.
This photo was one fun result of an ill-fated tea outing with friends in August (other fun results were good company and Miss Havisham's post).
26 comments:
I'll side on the intolerant side with Boz re cats. Notice Obama was afraid to touch this very hot button issue. Coward. Cats are indifferent period.
I use cats as my pets.
"Here, here pussycat. Fetch my dog food."
Signed, Alpha Dog.
Love your description of cats.
Nice seeing you "capturing" this cat.
Beautiful composition!
Hey, looks like my cat. We get a self portrait in the window as an added bonus!
This is such a lovely scene. Everybody do click on the photo to enlarge. Sleepy cat, concentrated lovely Petrea - I fell about at Miss Havisham's Post!
Such a delightful photo! I try to emulate cats when I can -- especially taking naps in the sun. And I agree that getting a glimpse of you in the photo is cool! I'll be sure to bookmark this photo so when winter is in full force I can look at this photo, pretend it's summer, and "be the cat".
The soft colors are the perfect background for this feline. I agree with JM, composition-right on.
Timely reminder!
I agree about cats. They are so independent that you can't help but love their attitude and style. I baby-sit for my friend's two beautiful golden retrievers and they are the most well-behaved, good mannered dogs I've ever seen. But, they hate to have their picture taken. Even if I use the tiniest of cameras, they seem totally intimidated by it. But, every time they stay at my house, I try again to get a great picture.
You got me laughing with your depiction of a cat's daily priorities: nap, annoy and "a glorious body to lick."
What a great photo. Looks like the subject of a watercolour, Petrea. I don't like cats; scared of them! I love dogs though.
Cats are not indifferent. They are quite selective, however, and almost assuredly have better things to do than what might be on some human agenda.
I'm partial to cats, especially tabby cats.
Nice to see you've included yourself in this "picture" window :)
I guess only humans can be expected to be tolerant, C.O. Your master is an excellent dog trainer. I wish Boz could type.
Dina, I realized after I posted that's two pictures of me this week. I liked the one John took the other day; this one's more about the composition. I really don't go around taking pictures of myself.
JM: accidental composition! I was taking a picture of the cat and later I found this on my computer screen.
Hi Keith. Pasadena Adjacent mentioned a couple of good coffeeshops on Myrtle Ave. in Monrovia. Want to join the coffee shop quest?
Jilly, this scene could be in Menton if only the porch were made of old stone! I agree, Miss Havisham's post about that tea is one of the funniest things I've ever seen online. She received thousands of hits and was recognized on Wordpress for it.
Nap in the sun. Katie, that sounds perfect.
Merci Virginia. Huit jours! Ensuite, Paris!
It was the day I met Altadenahiker!
Sharon, your comment made me think of this post on JT's blog.
Lynn, I remember your cat fear. Do you want to tell us why?
A good distinction, Chuck. I do believe you're right.
I remember that outing. Very funny! You got a good cat photo out of it though. I like how you've described a cats attitude - very true!
What? That cat is still lazing around!
I ck'd out that kitty hours ago & looks like it hasn't moved an inch since! Indifferent? Wow, that's putting the best spin on them.
I'd better call the cat-catcher. Wait, - that's me!
I wish Petrea would give Boz his own telephone....
Cats are the best.
Great to meet you today, Petrea. Thank you for the lovely time.
I'm off to read about that ill fated tea party.
you do realize that you can tell the temperature by the length of the cat laying out on a warm day? the longer the cat, the hotter it is.
only thing funnier is watching a squirrel do that and NOT care that a human is within eating distance!
I wish we could have a cat, but my husband is really allergic to them. My new dog appears to be part Basenji, which are referred to as "the cat of dogs." He has the best of both: he jumps like a cat but follows me like a dog.
Nice seeing you today! The best locally-run La Canada coffeeshops are Penelope's and Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse. Many people also go to Zeli's, Starbucks and Goldstein's Bagels (near the movie theaters.)
Take care!!
Okay, I volunteer to be the bad guy, here, and type secretly into this convivial blog, late at night, the darkest of secrets: that the cat, of the domestic kind, Felis domesticus, a.k.a. Old Tom or whatever such, is simply not a very bright variety of animolecule—that the old mouser, loyal since the pharaohs and supple as sex, is, quite simply, dumb as a stick.
Dumber than most dogs, especially; an important distinction, for it is that furry cur dozing on your hearth who's got the snub, by the superficial assizing of our culture—that (to wit) dogs are the doofuses, the bumblers, and are to be pitied, if not derided, in comparison to the housemate descended from lions.
This is a great ill—a misapprehension born of projection (that inherent plague of primates). We simply see in each beast the qualities we want to see, and neglect the evidence of … evolution.
Yes, Darwin, that bugbear of antiquated misperceptions. Neither was the Deluge the hand of a Creator, nor do miasmas cause consumption … nor the cat the aloof intellectual of our homely admirations. Simply, wild cats are, mostly, solitary hunters—though fleet and fearsome—while dogs go after their prey in packs. We know from studying our own lethal kind what cooperative hunting engenders in an animal: heightened cognition; abstract spatial reasoning; social engineering—even our crowning glory, language.
Who knows what dogs might evolve toward, were they unencumbered by our infantilizing eugenics (Lysenko has nothing on the AKC)? While all those ages along, poor cats would suffice merely for the kill, the rut, the nap. So dulled by their simple choices; no wonder they’re benighted.
Why is a cat so hard to train? Because he's disinterested, or disabled? Why does a dog seem so eager to please? Because she's gullible, or manipulative? One is like liquid sculpture, the other like furred clods—but there's fossil evidence, in Manchuria, of partnerships between dogs and humans that predates any such domesticated cat by an easy 11,000 years.
I grew up around cats and dogs. I lived for 18 years with a Siamese (a chocolate-point) who was like a person to me: talkative, rambunctious, grouchy in his last years. I loved him, as only a primate can adore a creature so genetically incapable of returning anything as subtle as love (there's projection again). I was holed through when he died, in my mom's cellar, napping, in sunlight, on a fresh load of laundry. That cat visits me sometimes in my dreams.
So I hold no rancor toward the feline—no undue disrespect. But I long ago recognized cats for what they are: beasts of profoundly limited mien, fantastic ornaments, but finally not the partner a hunter wants, whether he's stalking a mammoth or a mocha latte. When I go with my dog for rambles, we walk abreast, as equals. A cat would run off, get lost in the bramble and become lunch … probably for a coyote.
hi,.its creative blog,.providing great photos, good job...thanks for sharing with us
Welcome JCK and dede, new visitors! Oooh, I love new visitors.
Kathy, thanks for the suggestions. I've put them on my list. Until there's a La Canada Flintridge Daily Photo, I figure they're fair game.
Petrea, I would if I could, believe me! Absolutely no idea. My mother also doesn't feel comfortable around them, perhaps it was transferred as a child? I've no recollection of anything bad happening, but I have lots of nightmares about them. Mainly big cats, I have to say. Leopards, tigers, cheetahs etc. LOL ! Curiouser and curiouser... :)
Sounds like fun. I'm only an occasional coffee drinker so, unfortunately, I can't offer much info on Monrovia's coffee shops.
Our golden Amy loves HER two gray cats that came to live with us in August - really helped that they would not run off when she approached them. All other cats are enemies & fair game.
Wonderful portrait of Boz.
Thanks, Keith.
Tash, that's sweet that Amy likes her kitties! Very picky.
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