herding cats

Cats are very different than dogs.  I know a fair amount about dogs – I understand their body language, I’ve learned tricks to get them to warm up for me.  Most dogs are easy, but I’m confident that I can work with pretty much any dog.  Cats?  Well, it seems they choose whether or not they like you, and there’s not much you can do about it.  Most cannot be bribed, no matter what you offer up.

So when I was recently booked for a session with five (no, that’s not a typo) cats and a dog, I was a little nervous.  Luckily I was not trying to get a group shot (they aren’t all fans of each other).  It was fascinating to meet the five – no two look alike and they all have very distinct personalities. Four of the five were adopted from a rescue organization; the fifth, Boris, was a stray that found his home on his own. Most weren’t particularly outgoing, but after a little time, they began to tolerate me stalking them around the house, with a big camera in their faces.

Boris is, by far, the most friendly.  He’s an orange tabby and the only feline boy in the house.  He was also the most playful.  I wasn’t expecting him to play with the toys I brought (I was just hoping they’d attract his attention, even briefly), but he was a big fan.  He’s a bit of a troublemaker and will try to dart out the door if you’re not careful.

I’m going to try to keep the blog from becoming too too kitty-heavy, but there will be shots of the others in the coming weeks!