It takes a lot of work to keep a cat looking relaxed. |
A picture might be worth a thousand words, but a thousand words are insufficient to tell the story of what a picture doesn’t show. That’s especially true when a
cat is in the picture. For instance, here I am in my living room holding my cat Sophie. That’s my couch, my throw blanket and my cats’ tree, but what you can’t see is far more interesting.
If you’re wondering what has Sophie’s gaze, directly in front of her is a giant strobe light and CatChannel Managing Editor Anastasia Thrift holding a shiny reflector. BowTie Studio Manager Gina Cioli was behind the camera. And Editorial Director Melissa Kauffman was behind Gina making noises to get Sophie’s attention.
You can imagine what Sophie was thinking! She’s never seen anything like this in her home before and we cat people know how
cats relish familiarity — especially when it comes to their own territory, about which they tend to be, well, territorial.
If I look like I’m holding her snugly so she wouldn’t bolt, it’s because I am. She would have run upstairs and found somewhere to hide where I couldn’t find her. (It’s amazing how cats manage to obtain top secret hiding places unbeknown to us within our homes.)
I will speculate that she was much more comfortable getting her picture taken at home than she would have been at the studio with the accompanying
cat carrier, car rides and hanging out in the kitty “green room” (aka my office). Plus, once the photo shoot was finished, her home went back to normal within minutes.
You may or may not agree, but I think it’s a lot easier to bring the studio to the cat than it is to bring the cat to the studio.