Cute Cat Photographs from Dash Kitten

It’s summer here and holiday time so I am sharing a retrospective of some of my favourite cat photographs from this year at Dash Kitten. New readers may find some new favourites amongst the selection here. You can let me know your favourtie at the end!

January’s Monochrome Portrait

This is Silver enjoying January’s summer sunshine on the front drive. I thought his look was so intense it looks amazing in black and white.

Little Miss February

Two sisters, Zoe and Nabi, came into Neko Ngeru Cat Adoption Cafe as kittens and charmed everyone. I was able to capture this lovely shot of Zoe when some students from the nearby college visited for a welcome lunch break and the kittens made themselves right at home on student laps. This has to be one of my cutest cat photographs in 2020.

Thomas is the Calendar Boy for March

One of the most popular toys we received thanks to the Cat Writers’ Association (CWA) is this splendid unicorn. Thomas in particular loved to cuddle up and snuggle. This is one of those grab your smartphone and never mind the settings photos that I always tell my students make the most special moments.

I had a short period of time before he moved into a less charming position so I grabbed my smartphone for the shot. Not the sharpest photograph (and I have to edited it) but one of my sweetest photos of this gentle tuxedo boy.

April is Love Your Senior White Cat Month

Harvey sits on the deck after our builder stripped it of dirt and paint. This was after getting two thirds of the way painting the house. In the background you can see Harvey’s cuddle mat from Bionic Basil and the B Team, where he has been relaxing during the late warmth of the day.

New Zealand went into total lockdown on 25th of March 2020 for four weeks, so Harvey enjoyed some quality time with his blonde wood deck because no work got done at all. Thankfully the painting work was finished not long after lockdown and we now have a clean white house. Harvey approved.

May is Monochrome Month

I have been investigating black and white photography, or monochrome, for as long as I have been earning about my camera. It is not the only way to take beautiful pictures, but for a cat like Natasha when I was working on sharpening my focus, the simple shapes looked lovely to me.

Faceplant in June for Peaches

I was hoping for a spectacular action shot, and maybe Peaches was too. What we both got was a dive into one of the cat cafe’s cushions chasing down a wand toy.

This is another photograph that is not technically perfect but full of humour and, don’t worry, Peaches was on her paws ready to chase the toy again, moments after her ninja faceplant.

A Celebration of Dot Kitten in July

I wanted to celebrate Dot with one of her most dynamic poses. She died suddenly on the first of July and her unexpected departure left me feeling lost for many months. She was a shouter and I always told her to be quiet as she was getting breakfast as soon as I could, and now I want her back, and her over the top chattering sweet self.

Dot Honoured By The Cat Writers’ Association – August

No excuses for including the award winning photograph that was my first ever Muse® Medallion winner. I was in tears when it was announced as the top prize winner. The fun and happy image celebrates such an amazing cat. The subsequent Kuykendall Image Award for Chenzou’s portrait was the icing on the cake for me as an aspiring cat photographer.

September is Cute Bundle of Trouble

I have several photographs of Peanut, former Cat Cafe resident. She is a small cat, and but her petite build did not stop her from being a whirlwind around the cat cafe and making Tiger Lily, the Boss Lady Cat, despair at her hooligan antics.

Needless to say, the little minx went on to govern her own forever home with a demanding solo paw!

Gentle October Means Cat Cuteness

Tiger Lily was glad to wave mischievous Peanut farewell, but her affections for sweet natured Connor remain constant. She runs the cat cafe with a firm paw but always has time for the professor of ‘pastoral care’.

Connor’s gentle nature belies a rough start as a frightened stray, but his transformation into the cafe’s most beloved resident is complete. New kittens receive patient grooming and learn manners and confidence from the cafe’s sweetest tabby. By the way, Connor can be a bit of a dynamo too.

November Arrives Like A Whirlwind Cat

Toulouse arrived in September 2020 and spent his first month having the run of the house and spending each night in the spare bedroom so the other cats could use the cat flap without us worrying he would get out and disappear.

He is the only cat who can leap on to the kitchen counter and so he does, often. In the end we have cleared the window shelf so he can watch bird TV. It was on one of his visits to the window that I took this photo with my new telephoto lens. I got the love bokeh effect of soft focus behind Toulouse with my new telephoto lens.

Welcome Sunny December Enjoyed by Toulouse

The hot December sun means that the tarmac on our drive is a cat magnet, and sometimes every single cat is sat or laid there enjoying the summer evening. Of course, I often find myself laid on the tarmac to capture a shot like this adding to my hundreds of cat photographs in 2020.

Toulouse has gained confidence and is allowed outside while wearing his TabCat tracker (for short distances of about 120 metres/400 feet it is totally fantastic) I can track him down and bring him home more easily. In this shot he was relishing the evening warmth and just kept rolling and rolling.

I hope you enjoyed revisiting some of my favourite photos here at Dash Kitten. Have you taken any memorable cat photographs in 2020 that you treasure and want to share? Add them to the Four Fun Photos Challenge.