I won't say that I'm exactly the world's biggest cat-lover, but I did grow up with cats around all the time and I do find them the most captivating creatures.
In recent months, I've been going on pretty regular walks along the Hobart Rivulet Linear track, and within a distance of less than 1km there is what I call the "Cat Zone", where I regular see a bunch of different cats, with their own sort of individual characters. There's a cluster of them, possibly a family, that often hang out by the rivulet below Vaucluse Garden's retirement complex, possibly lurking with intent to see if they can snaffle an unsuspecting duck or just get a drink of water. There are a couple of kittens who seem to enjoy it as a play area.
So while most people are looking out for one of the elusive platypuses, to get a slightly crappy photo on their phone of it as it's momentarily rises to the surface, I've been snapping some of the amazing looking cats around. Of course, some of them really shouldn't be there, and this does highlight the carelessness of cat owners in letting their cats roam outside their yards into an area of native wildlife. Be that as it may, they are a compelling subject for photography
There are a couple of regulars, who I've given some names for the purposes of identification.
First we have, Fat Cat, so called partly as an homage to the Australian childrens' TV character from the 80s, and partly because he's a well-fed, self-satisfied looking sort of fellow. He often sits overlooking the start of a narrow track which is often full of birds and the occasional pademelon. Fortunately, I have not seen Fat Cat cause any damage yet, perhaps he is well fed enough ?
And here we have the Don Corleone of the local cat community. A magnificent beast who stalks the street like a gangster with a stern look of a cold-blooded killer.
But he is surprisingly friendly, or perhaps he is just ingratiating himself to strangers with ulterior motives ? Such a captivating subject to photograph.
Then there's guy - Patch the Friendly Cat, who is always wandering out onto the track to get pats from people. Whenever I get my camera out he'll come straight for me, that how people-friendly he is.
Then there is the colony of cats who lurk around what we call Cat Central. An area on the far bank of the rivulet just below Vaucluse Gardens. At one time there were reportedly some 8-9 cats and kittens around there, possibly of the same family. This dark long-haired one, who I photographed getting a drink, pops up along the rivulet at different places from time to time, always with a somewhat guilty demeanour. A stunning animal though. There are also some smaller black cats around the same area, possibly related, but short-haired, as you may be able to see in these pictures.
As well as these various strays and wandering house cats, you did get the odd cat who just seems to have got lost. This guy seemed to have got stuck in the part of the rivulet just near the Historic Women's Prison, where the banks are quite steep. He looked like he was going to have an encounter with a family of local native hens, but it perhaps recognised it was going to be outnumbered by some quite sharp beaks, and quietly retreated, and eventually found a way out. But again, people need to be a bit more careful about letting their cats wander too much about the neighbourhood !
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