Documenting the Cats of Madison

According to Jason Nolen, there are three types of cats: The cats who love strangers, the cats who hate strangers and the cats who are indifferent. Nolen, founder of the Instagram account “Cats of Madison” says the first kind of cats are difficult to photograph because they get too close and rub against the camera. The second kind get scared and flee. But the aloof cats are just right.

“They sit there like a tableau,” Nolen says.

I joined Nolen to go “catting” — the term he uses when he searches for felines to photograph — in the Willy Street neighborhood on a warm, sunny afternoon in late October. Nolen, who mostly photographs cats he finds outdoors, says this might be one of the last good catting days for a while. With winter coming, the cats of Madison will be heading indoors. Nolen, like a squirrel hiding nuts away, is storing up photos to last him through winter.

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