CAT PHOTOGRAPHY FOR AMATEURS. 



333 



where the feathers in the hat, one of the motives 

 of the composition, are almost lost in the 

 scrolls of the curtain used for background. 



Three things are absolutely necessary to 

 successful photography of cats for either com- 

 mercial or artistic purposes time, patience, 

 and an unlimited number of good quick plates. 

 Of all animals the cat is possibly the most un- 

 satisfactory sitter should we attempt by force 

 to secure the pose we desire. By coaxing we 

 can generally get what we wish. Patience is 

 the keynote of success. Before commencing, 

 make up your mind as to what points you 

 wish to show ; then pose your cat gently and 

 wait patiently until the pose becomes easy. 

 She may jump down or take a wrong pose or 

 go to sleep a dozen times or more, but never 

 mind, give plenty of time. It is here where 

 patience tells. Wait and coax until you see 

 just what you desire, then release the shutter 

 and make the exposure. At this point never 

 hesitate or think twice especially with kittens 

 or the desired pose may be gone, and will 

 possibly cost you hours of waiting again to 

 secure it. 



Before photographing a cat for its general 

 appearance or for any special points, it is 

 essential to have it thoroughly groomed and 

 got up as carefully as for show. Speaking 

 generally, the coat of a long-haired cat should 

 never be roughened ; it altogether spoils the 

 shape of the animal, and does not in any way 

 improve the appearance of length, quality, or 

 texture of the coat. In all cats where their 

 markings are one of their chief points such 

 as tabbies and tortoiseshells, etc. this rough- 

 ening should be specially avoided. There is, 

 possibly, one exception to this advice, and 

 that is in the case of smokes, where it may be, 

 and sometimes is, desirable to turn back a 

 small patch of the fur to show the quality 

 and purity of the silver under-coat. In such 

 cases the turning back must be done only for 

 this purpose, and in such a natural way as 

 not to interfere with the general flow of the 

 fur or the shape of the cat. In posing a cat, 

 it is well to remember its faults as well as its 

 good points, so that the former may be hidden 



as much as possible and the latter displayed 

 to the best advantage. Let us take this some- 

 what extreme example : A friend has a 

 domestic pet a so-called Persian, but with 

 weasel head, long back legs and tail, large 

 ears, small eyes, short coat, but some slight 

 pretence to a frill. What can we do ? To take 

 him in profile will result in a very sorry carica- 

 ture of the noble Persian ; so we coax pussy 

 to bend her back by sitting on her hind legs, 

 and so partly hiding them as well as apparently 

 shortening her back, inducing her also to curl 

 her long and scanty tail round her feet. We 

 brush out the ear tufts, if she has any, and 

 press up the fur at the base of the ears, for 

 this will tend to make them look smaller. 

 Having placed the camera well in front of and 

 nearly on a level with the cat, so as to fore- 

 shorten the nose and head, while showing 

 what frill there is, a sharp squeaking sound will 

 make pussy open her eyes to their full extent ; 

 we press the ball, the exposure is made, and 

 we have secured a fairly presentable photo- 

 graph of our friend's perchance charming pet, 

 yet most indifferent Persian cat. 



A few good examples of cats taken for the 

 purpose of showing points should prove use- 

 ful, especially to the novice, and many such 

 examples are to be found in this present work 

 on the cat for instance : p. 29, " Litter of 

 Siamese Kittens"; p. 100, "Champion Jimmy"; 

 p. 138, "Star Duvals"; p. 139, "Omar"; 

 p. 145, "A Perfect Chinchilla"; and p. 150, 

 " Dossie." With these examples and the many 

 others that are to be found scattered through 

 the pages of " The Book of the Cat," the 

 would-be photographer of the cat for her show 

 points should have little difficulty in setting 

 up a standard to work to, and by patience 

 and perseverance succeed in attaining it. 



Turning now to the more artistic side of 

 cat photography, we find our real difficulties 

 begin, for in photographing for the showing of 

 points we seldom have to deal with more than 

 one cat at a time. It is when we attempt 

 deliberately to pose two or more cats or 

 kittens, to carry out a preconceived idea, that 

 our real troubles begin, and also that the 



