I was there too
There’s one thing I loved about Istanbul, and that was all the cats. Some streets had many cats, some had none. Others had a cat wandering across the road, near a dog sprawled out in the sun, asleep. It was lovely seeing all the animals.
This feline family was photographed on the wall of the graveyard near Eyüp Sultan Mosque in the city. There were loads more about too!
| Aperture | ƒ/5 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 58mm |
| ISO | 2000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
Hey! There’s a cat on the roof!
Just one of the statues displayed at the Art+Soul exhibition in the Castlemartyr Resort was one of a cat standing on a large key. I thought it might be nice to see if the cat can stand on the roof of the hotel. 🙂
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
Being a guardian of the alley is tiring work and when they can, the guardians take a break. The lovely ginger cat I photographed in yesterday’s post jumped into this flower bed/shrubbery to rest and didn’t object when I took his photo.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 20 |
| Shutter speed | 1/220s |
Two cats protect a narrow street in Athens, Greece. Tourists were milling around, talking loudly, enjoying their food and drink on a warm afternoon. Cars drove past nearby, but the cats didn’t move until a delivery man drove up on the pavement. Even then, they didn’t go far. The ginger fellow lay down to sleep nearby!
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
Mommy Cat, the oldest of our cats passed away yesterday at somewhere around the age of 17. We’re not sure, because she adopted us around 15 years ago. We are sure that she was roaming the estate for some time before that.
She had lovely kittens, but only one is left now, Hoppy, who is in the centre of the image here.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 10 |
| Shutter speed | 1/340s |
Some photos are special, not because they’re wonderful photos, composed well, with striking colours or lovely contrast. The best photos are the ones that make your heart sing.
The cat on the left who is looking at me is Mommy Cat, the matriarch of all the cats we’ve adopted in this home of ours. The one annoying her is her son, Patches. There’s a whole series of photos here with Mommy Cat looking at me while her tail swishes up and way from Patches’ paws.
The photos were taken in 2009. They’re not great. They are a bit blurry because the exposure wasn’t fast enough for a long lens. Thanks to the modern AI tech in Topaz Photo AI I was able to sharpen it a little and present it here.
Mommy Cat is still with us. She’s an elderly cat now. Her fur was very matted on her back but in the past 2 years she has started sleeping in the kitchen. We managed to get her to the vet on Thursday, her first visit since being neutered, and they shaved her, and removed two bad molars. Only her head, her paws, and the end of her tail have any fur. But, SHE IS STRONG. She has a massive appetite. She’s on pain relief and antibiotics. She is a lot more agile than before, as the matted fur isn’t pulling at her. She is curled up on a couch now, where she couldn’t jump before, with one of the dog’s blankets on her.
So, I wanted to share a photo of Mommy Cat today, #Caturday. She is amazing.
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 300mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
First up is Hoppy. She’s around 13 and only has three legs but she’s a fast mover. In the past she didn’t mind the cold but now she likes to avoid it.
Here’s Mommy Cat. She’s Hoppy’s mom.
She’s around 16 as best we can guess, as she was around for a few years before she brought her kittens in to us.
For years, she would never come into the house, but now she spends 99% of the day inside, asleep. She doesn’t go any further than the garden now.
We can’t touch her as she’ll take a swipe at us if we do, but we still love her.
Then there’s Diego, our chihuahua. He was 8 this year. A middle aged dog with a special diet and who absolutely loves cuddles.
The cats and him sort of ignore each other, but if the cats get a treat, Diego makes sure that we know he wants one too.
It’s so very cold outside but Hoppy, Mommy Cat and Diego are inside in the warmth and putting up with me taking photos of them.
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 20000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
Hoppy, one of our cats, loves the luxury of having multiple beds she can lie in around the house.
Actually, all our animals can do that. Diego, our chihuahua, certainly takes advantage of that, laying himself down near whomever he wants to be with at any one time.
Animals in this house are spoiled? Whatever made you think that?
| Aperture | ƒ/2.4 |
| Camera | SM-G998B |
| Focal length | 9mm |
| ISO | 640 |
| Shutter speed | 1/35s |
