This is an awesome post - I love it
I was a little bored the other day and this thread inspired me to take a few shots of my cat:
Code:
Camera model : Canon EOS 30D
Exposure time : 1/40 s
Aperture : F4.5
Focal length : 41.0 mm
ISO speed : 1600
Exposure mode : Manual
Metering mode : Spot
White balance : Auto
As it turns out, it's actually much easier to catch and keep a cat's attention by making it mad at you. Cats, like a lot of animals, avoid direct eye contact, as they wouldn't want to challenge your authority, but piss them off enough, and they're more than willing to remind you they have fangs.
I would assume he didn't think my camera was a giant eye, nonetheless, after a quick sniff and rub to mark it as his territory, he lost interest. He wouldn't look at me for anything, and snapping your fingers, calling him, and flailing your arms wildly only entertain a cat for so long, before they decide they're bored of you and move on or go to sleep. Using food with him doesn't work so well, because my cat will do almost anything to get to food if you tease him with it.
After lots of shots, I found playing with his tail annoyed him enough to get him to glare at me. This shot was taken in between his swipes at my hand - it's hard to pull your hand away in time to beat cat reflexes and take a steady picture at the same time. Don't worry, I didn't bother him too much. It didn't get to the point where he started breathing heavy and growling at me. After a few quick shots I left him alone to go back to sleep. Besides, being at eye level mere inches from a growling cat generally leads to bad times in my experience.
If you haven't had much contact with grown cats, imagine having a 10 pound bowling ball thrown at your face. Now add claws and teeth to that bowling ball.