Cats!

Today’s Post by Mildred Alpern

Cats are fun to photograph given their unique personalities and unexpected poses. The three that I recently photographed in a New York City apartment are no longer kittens. All grown up, they are very affectionate and people friendly. Most times they are languid, stretching out and reclining. They bring to mind the expression “take a load off your feet.”

The English poet T.S. Eliot has written a humorous poem on the naming of cats which includes these lines:

“But I tell you, a cat needs a name that’s particular,

A name that’s peculiar, and more dignified,

Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,

Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?”

These cats have such particular names; The tabbies are Roxas and Xian, and Axel is the Scottish Fold cat with his bended ears, a genetic mutation. His eyes are like amber, bright and gleaming, as he makes eye contact.

They are all limber, able to leap on tables and countertops, but Axel takes the cake with his resting position. He lies on the corner of a countertop next to a candy pail and dangles his front paws. It is a posture closest to the “Child’s Pose” in yoga basics.

All images were taken with the Olympus M-5 Mark II and the Lensbaby Velvet 56 f/1.6 lens in manual. No EXIF data.