This is an update on an earlier post which showcased Teddy’s portrait in black and white. I wanted to add a couple more dramatic selfies and update you on how he is settling in to family life.
Teddy is now allowed the freedom of the house which means I have more opportunity to take better photographs. I am not sure what you think but using monochrome for his photographs is really effective, whether I use my DSLR or smartphone camera.
Triptych from Layout app.
I will add more photographs to this post and add it to the selfies from time to time so you can see his progress, as well as how I do with his portraits and, maybe in the future, action shots.
High Contrast Shot of Teddy – ISO 3200 f 4.5 1/400
Tuxedo Cat Portrait
Teddy is the blockiest squarest cat we have ever had. One piece of surprising news is that he weighs the same as our leggy tabby Toulouse! They visited the vet on the same day for their checkups and are the same weight, which surprised the humans! I can still lift him up and can groom him so I am hoping he will calm down and establish a place in the cat heirarchy and match the dignity of his portraits.
This is our neighbour cat Dory. She is a confident feline who comes to visit but who always goes home after a short while. If you look at her portrait, isn’t Dory doing what every cat loves to do? She adopts a confident model pose full of assurance.
I guess she’s saying, “I am a cat! Now, give me a treat!”
As you can see Dory is a cat who knows how to pose. What you can’t hear is her usual assured and loud MEOW when she drops by. We always know when she comes to visit.
Tabby Portrait
The quality of ths portrait is less than pinsharp for a reason. Dory was on our deck’s wooden railing looking in through the patio doors. Thanks to recent downpours and storms our doors need a bit of a clean and I admit, this had not yet been done! It was no good, Dory was so temptingly posed that I had to grab my camera and take a portrait with the lens fitted at the time.
Thankfully it was my 55-250mm telephoto lens that I often use for cat photography. I strongly recommend a lens like this if you have a DSLR or a mirrorless camera. This lens or your model’s equivalent will give you endless opportunities for great cat photos without invading your cat’s personal space. Just ask your camera supplier, they will give you their best recommendation.
I would just say that this is not the most powerful telephoto lens out there. It is, however, a lens I absolutely love for my cat photography and it has helped me win prizes and Certificates from the Cat Writers’ Association. Until I win the lottery my camera and curent lenses are the gift I need to take cat photos!
Has your cat ever surprised you but given you time to take the picture you want to?
If your cat is having trouble reaching their favorite spots, such as the bed or sofa, custom cat steps may be the solution. These hand crafted New Zealand made steps are designed to fit your cat’s needs and abilities, letting them climb up and down without effort. With these hand crafted cat steps for older cats, your cat can continue to enjoy their favourite spots well into their senior years, and maybe still wake you at 3 a.m!
This is NOT a sponsored post. We purchased our own steps for Jack. We are very happy with Beloved Pet’s cat steps.
Our sweet Jack is a ginger boy with a chunky physique. He is beginning to slow down a little and the family realised that he was finding it difficult to climb the small set of senior cat stairs we had put together ourselves. Changes had to be made but where would we find steps to suit Jack that were well priced and well made?
As someone who values craftsmanship, I wanted to see and inspect the steps myself, rather than relying on measurements and guesswork from an online purchase that might not fit my requirements.
Beloved Pet Furniture
Enter Bes and Stu at Beloved Pet Furniture, a small Kiwi business providing practical bespoke step furniture, crates and bedding, handmade in New Zealand for New Zealand’s pets. Beloved Pet Furniture focuses on top quality service and great workmanship. Bes and Stu can advise you on everything from accurate measurement to ensure a perfect fit, to delivering your steps safely, well-wrapped in recycled packaging.
My partner and I first met Bes at the Wellington Pet Expo in the Te Rauparaha Arena near Wellington. She was setting up the display of cat and dog ramps and steps and gorgeous crate covers. We liked what we saw and chatted about the kind of cat steps Jack and future senior cats would need. We asked if Bes and Stu could work with our, quite specific, requirements and she said yes.
Bes told us that all Beloved Pet’s furniture is all hand crafted by her husband, Stu, and with the measurements we provide, they could create a set of perfectly sized steps for Jack.
Once I got home, I looked at the company’s website and checked the impressive range of products for cats and dogs. Let me list a few, because I know you will want to take a look yourself:
I admit that without my partner’s help I would not have had been able to work out the number of steps and fit them into the amount of space we have. Measuring and numbers intimidate me so, on my own, I would have definitely emailed Stu and Bes for help.
Beloved Pets prides itself on the quality of its workmanship, so accurate measurements are important. Never hesitate to call them for help. It will save you time, and money.
To get an idea of what you need, check the list of tips below.
How To Measure
Decide on the location of your cat stairs. Are they going to be placed beside a bed, a sofa or beside a window?
Work out how high the stairs need to be for your cat to step off onto the bed or sofa and how much space you have to fit them in.
NOTE: If you look at my photos of the pet steps profile, you will see the unit comes half way along the side of our bed leaving me plenty of space to get into bed.
Not enough room along the side of the bed? Rethink your location. Would they work at the foot of the bed?
When in doubt, I suggest emailing Beloved Pets with your questions. They would prefer lots of questions to an ill-fitting set of steps (or a ramp that is too short).
Wooden Step Support Close Up
Jack’s Cat Steps Arrive
Every day until the steps arrived I was telling Jack that ‘his steps were coming‘! OK, I admit I was more excited than he was, so when the courier van pulled up with a bulky parcel I could not wait to unwrap it. Then all I had to do was unfold the step support and put the finished set of steps beside the bed. Voilà!
Jack took a little longer to admit his steps were exactly what his senior bones needed. One week to be exact! The narrow cat sized steps were, he realised, perfect for him for an independent senior cat.
We tempted Jack with treats on each step. We put his food on the top step to encourage him to climb up. We praised him every time he put a paw on the steps, and this gentle encouragement worked. Now Jack walks up and down the steps with complete confidence. I suspect that watching the other cats go up and down the steps, as though it was the most natural thing in the world, helped a little too. No cat wants to be left out!
Wooden Step Support
Carpeted Steps Ready for Jack to Use.
Are We Happy With Our Custom Cat Steps?
Yes, most definitely.
We were given a clear time frame for the creation of the steps and an approximate delivery date. Had we lived in Wellington we could even have collected Jack’s steps ourselves but we decided on home delivery which was prompt. The parcel was securely wrapped against any damage and the steps are now very much a part of all of our cats’ lives!
Beloved Pet Furniture ship through New Zealand (also further away, depending on the cost and your location) and they can be contacted here for the best pet steps NZ has to offer:
This week’s post was inspired by the voluntary work I have done creating display printables for Place for Cats foster network in New York, USA. It is an image of a single cat with a story and it is a photograph that moved me and many others. Not with sadness, but gratitude for a foster who stepped up and the courageous cat who spent her last times happy and safe.
This lovely image made me wonder. What moves us in a photograph, especially one that captures such a special bond? Does it have to a photograph taken by an expert? Is it the story, or the composition that matters most?
For famous social photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson you are touched by the defining moment of an event, for Walter Chandoha it is the expressions of impish delight on kittens and cats. For foster mom Sarah, who took this photo, it was a sweet and magical moment she captured of a sightless foster cat.
I have the Director of Place for Cats permission to share this lovely image and words with you.
The Photograph’s Story
Mia Lancaster at Place for Cats, a busy foster network in New York City, took on Puddy Tat who was known as “PT” to her fans in the rescue’s Facebook group. She discovered that PT was an extraordinary cat who navigated her surroundings with confidence and undertook numerous vet visits with patience and calm until she passed in August 2022.
I read Mia’s report on PT (which can be read in full below) and reached these words “Her habit of sitting in front of the terrace door for hours to breathe in fresh air and feel the breeze against her face was her very favorite thing to do.” This simple joy was captured by foster Mom Sarah and it caught my heart. I hope it will yours too. It is a magical moment when a caring foster captured the cat she cared for doing something that gave her such pleasure, as a cat who could not see.
A joyful blind cat safe in foster care, enjoying the simplest of pleasures, the breeze in her whiskers and the sounds of the busy city of New York humming around her. The quiet tension in her body as she leans out and enjoys the world is the best kind of beauty.
What separates a simple snapshot from a stunning success is the story the image portrays. Emotions, by their very nature, do not follow static rules…..they just happen and don’t limit yourself by believing emotion can only be captured in the face.
MCP Actions
I include the words of Mia Lancaster, Director of Place For Cats, as they tell the story behind Puddy Tat and allow me to acknowledge the vital importance of compassionate fosters like Sarah. Thank you Sarah for making PT’s last months a time of great joy and happiness.
PT The Blind Cat’s Story
It was a privilege to be able to provide top quality hospice care to blind, 18-year-old Puddy Tat for the last 5 months of her life. “PT” as she was known to her Fan Club was extraordinary, a trooper who couldn’t see at all but who navigated her surroundings, who patiently withstood numerous trips to the vet for diagnostics and treatment, and who, though blind, created the most interesting and endearing set of habits.
Her habit of identifying her favorite spot on the sofa through her sense of touch and then jumping straight up like a hopping bunny to attain her spot was as sweet as it gets. Her habit of sitting in front of the terrace door for hours to breathe in fresh air and feel the breeze against her face was her very favorite thing to do. She so endeared herself to her hospice foster mom, Sarah, that Sarah was willing to forego her annual summer trip abroad and would have done so next year had PT lived that long.
Sadly, PT took a turn for the worse on August 18th. The cumulative effect of many age-related issues caught up with her. The Animal Medical Center vets found fluid in her lungs and determined that no procedure or series of procedures would benefit PT’s quality of life. Sarah held PT for about 90 minutes before the vet came in and we finally said good-bye to this wonderful loving dear old cat.
Dash Kitten has been using video for a long time now and even hosted a video challenge for readers way back in 2017 and I know that my video posts are as essential now for short form videos on Instagram and TikTok now as they were when the posts went live.
I have gathered my top four posts, including a Cat Writers’ Association winner, so that you can choose which one might be useful for a video you can create right now. No matter how small your video might be.
Do I Have To Make Videos?
First let me say something.
I know many of my readers find movie making intimidating or frustrating. Remember though video takes many forms, and you don’t have to stand in front of the camera if you don’t want to. Everything from an instant Magic iPhone Movie to a planned promo video (see the end of this post) counts.
You don’t have to spend a lot of time creating video either, but it is really good to know you have the skills to call on when you want to capture a special moment with your smartphone.
Think about the kind of things you can do with just a smartphone video camera:
The simplest, cutest look your cat gives you over its shoulder.
Crazy zoomies down the hallway with bonus points for knocking over the lampstand.
Record an event, trim the clips and upload quickly so friends and family can share a cute cat moment.
Film a product review of a cat toy or water fountain. Show the product, how it works. I showcase a product video at the bottom of this post.
Video outside a window. Our friend Brian showcases his feral community with heartwarming footage.
Create a video showcasing your local rescue. These are often small organisations so insights to the dedication of volunteers is priceless. Seniors, kittens and closeups of volunteer hands at work will melt hearts.
Make a crafty how to. Check out our friend Bionic Basil for amazingly creative projects like this astonishing cat tree makeover.
A tutorial how to using photos, video clips. The overlay video here is a quick and positive how-to with music.
Valuable tips specifically for rescues and adoptions can be found in this Cat Writers’ Award winning post.
A cat winning its first trophy at a show or a proud family graduation video, these are as important and valid as any work done by a big influencer. Try creating a video, maybe share it only when you feel confident but give it a try – today.
