Sweet Cat Ultraviolet; with Cameo by Shelley

Ultraviolet making herself comfortable

Our new cat Ultraviolet has been with us since around the end of August 2017. Rescued from the streets, she took some time to settle in. Now she is one of the sweetest kitties we’ve ever had! She sits with us, adds necessary purrs, and helps with all our activities.

In a previous post I noted that she makes a meow movement with her mouth but we don’t hear anything. We’ve found she actually can meow! But only a series of deeper, calling meows, from the distance of another room, when she wants company or food. Of course we answer, “Kitty,” when we hear this, and give her whatever she wants. When she’s within visual range, looks up at us and opens her mouth in a greeting meow, there’s no sound.

Bright, inquisitive Ultraviolet

I think she has some Persian ancestry. Looking at the shape of her face and her noggin with it’s smoothly rounded dome like you see on the roof of the Smithsonian, a little googling, and some study of pictures of Persian cats convinced me. Her facial structure, wide-set ears, deep-set eyes, short muzzle, high cresting cranium, and the appearance of her profile is unlike the morphology of any other cats we’ve had and so much more like that of the Persians. She’s nowhere near purebred, but I suspect some part of her heritage came from Persian cats.

The vet thinks she has food allergies. I didn’t believe she’d like hydrolyzed food, but she devours it. So much that we may have to control her portions. That’s not going to sit well with her. Although she has a pretty good grasp of electromagnetic radiation, she just can’t compute “empty food bowl”.

Ultraviolet stretching and reaching with flexed paw

She’s really hard to photograph; if she’s awake, she’s moving. Because she’s a black and red cat, she’s also hard to photo edit. If I saturate to make the black deep enough, the red looks too red. If I adjust towards blue to counter that, the black goes too blue. It’s fun to experiment though, while I slowly learn(?) photo editing from the ground up.

She does look blacker than she did in the summer, maybe because she now has her winter pelage, or maybe the ruddy color was partly caused by sun exposure and has faded under indoor light. But look close and you can still see red tones in her fur. I don’t think she’s a variety of tortoiseshell; her reds are darker, like clay earth and dried pine needles, unlike the sunny orangey-red I see in tortoiseshells. Here’s a picture of Shelley, my friend’s tortie, for comparison. “Phhsssst!” says UV, “A strange cat in my post, that is so not cool!”

Shelley the tortie

I’ve learned from this article by Franny Syufy that some long-haired black cats may be genetically predisposed to sun “rusting”.

https://www.thespruce.com/black-cats-variation-554865

The genetic mechanism described in the article appears to differ from the one that causes tortoiseshell coloration, which involves the pairing of a red X chromosome and a black X chromosome. In my opinion UV is not a tortie.

I’m also seeing more and more photos of long-furred black cats who appear to have red “frosted” areas like Ultraviolet, on the internet. There was even one found wandering downtown on the streets. Kind people placed him in a home. So reddish floof over black is in the local gene pool?!

Ultraviolet has a sweet way about her

Domestic long-haired cats are only about a tenth of the random-bred cat population in the US, so maybe it’s not so strange that I didn’t know this color configuration existed. I had never seen a basically black cat with so much ruddy fur. However there’s also this: I haven’t seen enough cats! I so need to get out more!

Elegant Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet’s take on cat scholarship is that I need see no other cats, only her. She’s the one cat I need to study. I’m trying to convince her that although her wise, mature presence has taught me more than a universe of other cats and kittens ever could, I can still glean useful cat facts from observing other felids. If I know my cats, it may work to her benefit, I tell her. “Puuurrrrrrr.” She’s content with that answer, for now.

Here is the link to the quick announcement when Ultraviolet arrived.

https://catwoodsporchparty.wordpress.com/2017/09/14/new-cat-brings-joy-and-a-mystery/

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Fall 2017 Part 2; Creek, Forest, Remarks by Cat

Vanishing act

Looking back to November 2017, to leaves long gone. The first two pictures are from the November 11th trek to the creek depicted in Part 1. Scan the first photo closely and you might see a red dot on the far bank; it’s the leaf that was the source of so much startling reflected color and shape in some of the Part 1 pictures. You can also see the twisty double tree, a major shadow-maker.

Now you see it, now you don’t

You just never know what visuals will pop up on this creek!

Ultraviolet has sass!

“Hey,” Ultraviolet pads up and chimes in. “I would flat sure pounce on that thingamabob in the water.”

“Nothing is there, you’d only get sopping wet.”

Shadows and ripples

On to the November 26 pictures later in the month, later in the day, with more subdued colors.

Tree shadows shift as the sun moves, all day

“Meow! I could so hunt in that light. It’s like, crepuscular.”

Water stays busy

“It wasn’t quite twilight, sweet one. Close, though.”

Drawn by unassuming hues

“I should have been let out to walk down there with y’all so I could hunt!”

Bewilderment!

“Well no, you need a hypoallergenic diet, with hydrolyzed protein. Fresh game isn’t on your menu.”

Sumptuous ripple architecture

“Phssssst! I mean, Fish! I could scoop up fish from the creek. Hydrolyzed doesn’t sound tasty!”

The closer we look, the more colors unfold …

“It will taste tasty! You’ll see when it arrives. Haven’t seen any fish in the creek, and fish are highly allergenic anyway.”

Current news

“That study sounds fishy to me! Send me the link! I’ll have to look into that myself!”

“It’s ok to dream, it’ll help us get through this cold spell. That’s how I got through feeling so ill over the holidays.”

“Fish needs to be devoured with some good stout creek water, slightly bubbly, a little foam on top.”

“Um … dream on, kitty.” High in the trees, the sweetgum seedpods were still greenish.

November 13, 2017, looking up 

Nov. 10, 2017 Fall means berries

“Now I could so climb up those trees! Those squirrels that tromple on our roof at night, I’d stop them in their tracks!”

Sweetgum leaves wave at us Nov. 22, 2017

“It’s freakishly cold out there now, UV. You wouldn’t much like it.”

Sun sneaks into the canopy, November 22, 2017

“Girlfriend, have you seen me? I’m furry!”

“Hey here’s a toy mouse for you.” (Blap, scuffle, swish. She springs high in the air, lands, tilts her head this way and that, eyes locked on the mouse, as she angles in for the next strike. Our little hunter kitty got toy mice for Christmas and she’s already lost the gray one.)

November 26, 2017, I’ve been watching

“We’ll talk again.” (SMACK, snort, jump, thump, bump, swish, bump bump.)

Bonus picture, Ultraviolet, with souped up color.

Ultraviolet dreams on

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Fall 2017: Creek and Cat, Part 1

Breath taken upon arrival

Fall is moving in fits and starts this year. It’s like we hardly noticed masses of color  crinkling and dropping off the trees, fast. But a few mature bright patches still linger around us, while farther up the road, we see panoramas of newly minted reds, yellows, and oranges. Greens too, they’re still out and about. These photos were taken November 11, 2017 and are unedited. Except the cat picture from August, which I did tinker with.

Wait, there’s more

There’s a tree on the opposite bank, a Sweetgum with two trunks that fused together and then diverged. Beavers have chomped away on the base near ground level. This double tree casts large shadows into the creek at the point where the rapids increase. Those shadows change with the shifting of sun slants, currents, water volumes, canopy leaf loads. The varying shapes might look humanoid at times, though not always.

Emerging shapes that can be anything

Here comes one of those shadows!

I can prove it’s autumn

Evidence of fall, of leaves turned color and shed.

Smart Little Ultraviolet Girl

“The color’s off in those pictures, there’s not enough ultraviolet. You can’t tell because you don’t see into the ultraviolet but I do.” So says Ultraviolet, the cat with a flair for editing. And science, up to a point.

The large leaf is Broadleaf Magnolia

“Um …”

Leaves jam and sparkle

“I heard y’all go out, and then crunch leaves all the way to the creek. I should’ve been taken along. Y’all needed more Ultraviolet, not less, and I needed a drink of that creekwater.”

Leaf pack examination

“Sweetie, your presence doesn’t increase ambient UV radiation. You know that. Nice try, though.”

Hanging in there

“Yeah, I know. But you’re always saying you don’t have the best light to photograph me in the house. The answer is at our doorstep, take me outside and I’ll outshine any leaf or tree or creek. You won’t have to edit pics of me!”

As currents go by

“You’re already prettier than any scenery, no matter how low the light.”

Close Travels

“I am! Purrrrrrrrrrr. Ya know, the creek is a perfect backdrop for a black cat like me, it would bring out all my red highlights and dark depths, I’d look so fetching out there, I would light the place up. Best thing you could do for your website.”

The light from one red leaf goes out to play in the water:

Where are we?

“That’s a great idea, maybe one day I’ll learn how to photo edit you into the creek pictures.”

This scene hasn’t been seen before

“Whoa!? I meant I need to actually smack that water with a paw. You wouldn’t be able to  match the lighting on the creek with the lighting on me in editing. This needs to be paws on!”

Talented ripples and swirls

“I hear more yipping coyotes out there than ever this year, sweetheart. What do you say, I’ll scritch and you purr?”

Dancing by the banks

“Puurrrrrr. This discussion isn’t over though, puurrrrrrrrr.”

Back around the house, those trees!

Lofty tangles

Trees always know what they’re doing

“Puuuurrrrrr. Not over. Puuuurrrrrr.”

 

Wild Fall Color, Sussed Out by House Cat

From 2016, that is. A few leaves began to flare this August but somewhere along the way, our present fall stalled out, y’all. That’s not unusual, peak autumn here just might wait for November.

October 6, 2016   Autumn Beginning, Up Close in the Trees

October 6, 2016  So much to do

November 4, 2016, Yellows are entering!

There’s this one spot high in the trees, a juncture, a jam, of leaves and pine needles. It’s threaded through by a gnarly old longleaf pine tree that lost all its branches in a storm long ago; only one side grew any branches back. Looking from the landing, there’s an elm tree and a sweetgum in front the pine, slightly to its side. At least two elm trees stand behind it, and twining everywhere, living vines sport fresh foliage alongside old dead vines. All this throws the light around and makes messy, complex tangles of effects in the canopy, most notably in the fall. This calls to me. It’s a part of the forest that grew untended, no thinning, no perfect shapes.

Ultraviolet, Beautiful Always

Ultraviolet took to editing right away. She came out of invisibility to tell me just what I can do with my light. Here’s she shines via photo editing, to fit in with the colorful season. Like the previous editor Bud, she wants to know why, if these trees are right outside the door, she can’t go out and climb them.

“Um … getting back down is not so easy for a kitty.”

What’s out there? October 10, 2016

There it is! October 12, 2016

And there! October 17, 2016

Red leaf arrival October 17, 2016

Mysterious berries, identity unknown  October 8, 2016

The large leaves go with the berries, that’s all I know. It isn’t pokeweed, although it has a similar appearance. October 28, 2016

“And I’ve heard water running in a creek out there, so why can I not go drink from it?” she meows. “A cat likes to take a stroll and drink far away from where she eats.”

Feast of reflected color October 30, 2016

Sunshine at play, October 30, 2016

“I know, it’s a behavior from cats’ wild days when they left prey on the ground that might spoil,” I say. “Well sweetheart, coyotes also drink from that creek. We’ve found their tracks there.”

Floating in green waters November 10, 2016

“What are coyotes?”

“A sort of big wild dog, running loose. You may or may not have seen them in the city. Keep listening and you’ll hear them at night.”

Leaves make a splash

Trees have their ways, November 10, 2016

Getting away with a dazzle

“I hid from dogs in the city. So I get that part of it, sort of, but I still want to explore what’s on the other side of that door you know, my ownself. I know light, and I don’t mind telling you how to post your light graphs, but images just don’t do it for me. I’ll need some direct observation if I’m to keep sorting pictures. I’ll need to eyeball the trees and creek, climb to the canopy, and drink the water.”

Orange treat, November 17, 2016

“What if I open a tin and you can chow down now?” (I figure I’ll get her mind off the great outdoors.)

Meanwhile, the forest floor is busy, November 29, 2016

“I’ll wolf it down! Then I’ll go out and drink from that stream!”

“Um ….” I look at her and blink slowly. I learned that from our cats years ago.

December 14, 2016, fall color was still going strong

(She won’t get to go outside, it’s too dangerous. I expect she’ll want to edit again regardless. Wishing for a catio one day!)

 

 

Eclipsed Sunlight; Cattitude by Ultraviolet

12:00 noon August 21, 2017, one minute after eclipse began

12:01 pm  August 21, 2017

August 21, 2017. Our area had about 90% occlusion of sun by moon shadow, from about 11:59 AM to 2:57 PM, max coverage about 1:30 PM, CST. I didn’t photograph the eclipse itself, although we did view it through a heavy duty welder’s helmet. Instead I photographed the light in the forest that you don’t see every day. These partial light photos may resemble twilight and the photos may not fully convey the difference in weird eclipse light and regular twilight. None of these outside photos have been enhanced. It’s already autumn, I know, I’m late posting this. But we’ll get to fall later; we’re still having warm weather anyway, with only a few specks of color.

Ultraviolet is a smart cat

“That light ain’t right, no way, no how!” Ultraviolet the Cat chimes in. “I’m a light expert. I lived outside. And I listened in on physics lectures at the University.”

“Um, I know … and our guy knows a lot about physics.”

“Oh a lot has changed since he was in school. Anyways my picture is enhanced.”

“True, but the eclipse scenes are not.”

This will be an incomplete eclipse light record because it was one of those partly cloudy days when fairly full sun and cloud cover kept swapping around. So I’d wait for a little sunshine for the moon’s shadow to mess with, then step outside.

12:10 pm August 21. 2017

12:18 pm August 21, 2017

12:19 pm August 21, 2017

12:30 pm August 21, 2017

12:30 pm August 21, 2017 getting there

12:38 pm August 21, 2017

12:38 pm August 21, 2017 lovely not-twilight light

12:38 pm August 21, 2017 Crescent shadows mingle with leaf shadows

We had a few signs of autumn in the forest in August, and on a regular day you could see a few hints of red in late afternoon when certain light intensities at a certain slant would bring the red of a few turning leaves into view. But I swear, those particular red spots had a greater degree of visibility during the eclipse, though you may not be able to see it in the pictures because the eyes and the camera see differently. I take a photo of one place in the canopy and its surroundings every day, as part of a long-term project to track this magical forest display as it changes in all seasons.

August 21, 2017 1:21 pm approaching max at 90%

1:21 pm August 21, 2017

1:21 pm August 21, 2017 eerie not-twilight

The closest we got to totality, max sun blockage at 90%, around 1:30 pm.

1:30 pm August 21, 2017, at max sun coverage

August 21, 2017, 1:31 pm. Ya don’t see light like this every day

We had to leave for awhile. We came back to regular ole everyday light.

The eclipse had been over for awhile when we got back to the house 4:46 pm August 21, 2017

Bud takes a moment and pops in from the Rainbow Bridge

“Phssssst. Who is that floofer, anyway!?”

“Hey, Budster! Ultraviolet presented this post.”

“Phssssst. And just who is that up on the banner where my momcat Annabelle used to be!?”

“Um, that’s our friend’s cat.” Ultraviolet starts to phsssssst too.

It’s a regular phsssssstfest around here, a three-way hissing match between my ghostly feline editor, my budding in-house feline editor, and my friend’s tortie as viewed above. Each cat swears to eclipse both those Othercats at once. I tell them it doesn’t work that way, but to no avail. Even smart cats can’t do phssssssst and physics at the same time. Sigh.

More about the banner cat later!

New Cat Brings Joy, and A Mystery

Our new kitty, bright-eyed Little Ultraviolet Girl!

Cats have always just walked into our lives. When our Bud departed for the Rainbow Bridge in June and left us catless, we thought we’d have to go looking for a kitty. I thought, well, we’ll go to a shelter or rescue and I’ll seek my favorite fur color, black.

The pictures are dark and may not show our new cat’s colors very well, but I don’t have time to brighten them for this quick announcement. UPDATE: I’ve now had time to try to do some quick beginner’s editing on the first two pictures. They still don’t show the color well as the two colors in the fur mean a challenging edit. I’m trying for a natural look, but when the black areas are dark enough, the reddish tinges become too red. It’s not important, she’s the sweetest little cat and that’s what matters to us! The backgrounds need some more work too, another time.

Our new black kitty, Little Girl aka Ultraviolet or UV.

Then we found out a friend who feeds ferals was also feeding a friendly black cat outside who showed up about a year ago. Our friend has a No-Other-Cats! sort of cat and couldn’t take Little Girl in, and would be pleased if we’d scoop her up and give her a home.

Little Girl has more reddish-brown on her than our friend had remembered, but she’s a solid black cat. She just has a blaze of ruddy color on her floofy back, and elsewhere. It’s like “tipped” fur, with a black undercoat.

Ultraviolet is a small cat

We have a feeling it’s her natural coloration, not the “rusting” that black cats can undergo in the sun, and the vet is of the same opinion. She also has red on her chest and legs, areas that don’t get so much sun exposure. And I could swear a few of her extra-long whiskers are ruddy.

She’s not a tortoiseshell, her fur isn’t brindled, or patched with discrete areas of red and black. I’ve never seen anything like this, though I’ve seen a lot of cats. I checked The Messybeast Cat Resource Archive by Sarah Hartwell and found a description of a “smoke” black cat – black with a light or silver undercoat – if I’m interpreting that correctly. Messybeast also notes that “tipped”, “shaded”, and “smoke” refer to three types of hair shaft color banding, described as being over a lighter undercoat. Again, that’s my take on it, which can always be wrong. Source: http://messybeast.com/colours.htm

I went looking for images and descriptions of the Abyssinian breed of cats because I remembered one phase as being a deep red and black combo. But, they are basically ruddy cats and the few black areas are “ticked”, in other words black is just on the top part of the hair shaft, the undercoat is red.

So where does our kitty fit into known cat colors and phases??? Known or unknown, she’s a fetching kittygirl! Not a tortie, but a diva nonetheless!

Little Ultraviolet Girl aces lounging

I’m going to call her Ultraviolet, UV for short, although like as not we’ll call out “Little Girl”, or “Sweetheart” too. The vet says she’s about ten years old and basically healthy. She’s lost all her teeth to resorption, but eats like a horse. She has a loud purr and she trills a bit. When she opens her mouth to meow almost no sound comes out. To acknowledge, I say, “I see that meow.” She’s such a purring joy of a kitty, and I hope for many years with her!

Do I hear a Phssssst from the Rainbow Bridge?

Sorry Buddy! She’s found your favorite sleeping spots and trails through the house already, but at least she hasn’t shown any interest in editing – so far.

(As is often the case, I may not be quick to post and answer comments due to too doggone much to do.)

Troubling Times Bring Bud Back from the Beyond

Looking through old pictures, I feel a warmth. Bud, is that you?

Solar Bud

“Purrrrr …. hey, even I sorta like that one.”

“You in October light last year, remember?”

Blink.

I blink back.

Spectral Bud

“Gah! I’m supposed to be at the Rainbow Bridge, not wearing it!”

“I need cheering up.”

“Purrrrrrrr”

“Well, here’s an unretouched picture.”

Bud the Editing Cat

“Ruhruhruhruh, MEOW! I look regal!”

Bud knows a trick or two

“RAWR, that is so court jester!”

“Uh, how do you know about court jesters?”

“You think I was going to let that Complete Works of Shakespeare just sit there while you were asleep?”

Bud reclining on purple

“I miss us. Lounging around on chilly winter days.”

“Me too.”

“But I’m really always with y’all.”

“We know, but, sigh …”

Bud sees deeply and clearly into the human heart

“You seem sad, troubled. It’s Charlottesville, isn’t it.”

“Yeah … ”

“All the animals at the Rainbow Bridge are upset and want to know, what the heck? We’re all checking on our humans. You were demonstrating for peace, love, and nonviolence in the 60s, amiright?”

“The 60s were way before you were a kitten. So how … ?”

Bud with pizazz

“Oh I went through all your old photo albums while you were napping. Lots of 60s pics,   and I was also impressed by the number of cat pictures. Y’all humans need lots more peace, love, and nonviolence and big girlfriend, you’re too activity-limited now to be in demonstrations, or even online as much as before, but your heart still can’t rest.”

“I’m heartsick.”

“The cats where I’m at now had good chances to study their humans for a long time. I mean, you know we’re always watching. Cats know humans are social, they should all get along. So why don’t they? Why are there hate groups?  We don’t get it.”

“We and our friends, we don’t get it either, Buddy. We love all humans, and animals too.”

“Well, we’re still watching. Keep trying. Stay hopeful. That’s all I know to say. I have to go, but I’ll be back to check on you.”

Bud begins to fade back to the rainbow bridge

“Please don’t go … I need to tell you we plan to get another cat, I’m catless and forlorn without you.”

“Phsssst. I said I’m always with you.”

“Well, yes, but,”

“Don’t you be lettin’ any new cat scratch my edits! Phsssst.”

Always in our hearts, purrrrrr

“You haven’t changed. Wait, don’t go … ”

“I can’t stay, but I do stay. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.”

August, with gloom

The room cools, the sun slants and glows. Even in the forest, peace and comfort feel far away.

(It may take me some time to publish and answer comments because, eclipse, and I have energy deficits and a giant to-do list.)