11: three cute cats - the auroran sunset

Here at abelard.org, we take a lot of photographs. Many of them are pretty or interesting. This is the eleventh in a regular “photograph with little or no explanation or comment” feature.

abelard doesn't like cats, but the yaks do. abelard was out-voted. ^_^

Here are two cats I grew up with. The first is Marmaduke, the friendiest, most regal and laziest cat I have ever met. The second is Eloise, a younger, more impetuous and more independent-minded cat. Eloise spends her days in proper cat-ish activities such as torturing birds and mice. Marmaduke spends his days lazing in the sun. Eloise often tries to torture Maraduke too - she seems to particularly enjoy attacking his tail. Maraduke pretends to sleep until Eloise becomes too annoying, at which point he roars - sending her skittering - and returns to his slumbers. They are a very sweet couple.

A beautiful long-haired ginger cat called Marmaduke. Image credit: the auroran sunset
[Taken in England on the 30th June 2003.]

A beautiful long-haired grey and white cat called Heloise. Image credit: the auroran sunset
[Taken in England on the 30th June 2003.]

Temples and shrines in Japan often have tame cats wandering around the place. I found this cat at Daizaifu, the biggest shrine in Fukuoka, southern Japan.

White temple cat at Daizaifu, Fukuoka, Japan. Image credit: the auroran sunset
[Taken in Japan on the 22th September 2003.]

In Japan, cats are seen as symbols of welcome. The Japanese beckon people towards them by pawing with their hand facing downwards, much like a common cat gesture. Many Japanese shops have sweet stylised models of cats making that action, usually in the window and/or next to the till. These cats are called “maneki-neko” or “welcome cats”. Here are some examples from my collection:

Some of my maneki-neko collection. Image credit: the auroran sunset
[Taken in France on the 30th July 2006.]