CAMBRIDGE, England — Some residents of Cambridge are so fond of their local cattle that only Latin can do justice to their feelings.

“It gives a sense of rus in urbe, which means rusticity in town,” mused Alex Perkins, a Cambridge University librarian, as a dark red steer meandered across his evening commute.

About 120 cattle roam amid the city parks and Gothic towers of this medieval university town and, stepping over the cow pies, the human residents profess an improbable pride in their bovine neighbors.

“Seeing a cow gives a kind of rural feeling, the momentary illusion of being out in the country,” added Mr. Perkins, who works in the university’s Jesus College. “Parks do that to a certain extent, too, of course. But cows do it better.”