Anyone who knows me well knows I love animals. I love all animals and have been a vegetarian for over 10 years because of this love; however, specifically, I love cats. I have nine of them in my own home and they are all my little fur babies. 
I do both macro and regular photography of my cats. I like both and feel that they both lend a different take on the cats’ personalities and physical characteristics. Regular pictures are definitely easier to take, as you can take them from a distance without the cat even really knowing you are doing so. The hard part and most challenging for me is macro photography. You have to almost touch the subject to get a really good macro picture, and touching a cat means getting its attention (not always what you want!).
I recommend taking your macro photos when the cats are sleeping or very calm. I also recommend thinking outside of the proverbial box, if you will. Don’t focus on their faces or bodies or whole selves alone. Focus on one eye, a whisker, a toe pad, etc. Really get in there and LOOK at the cat in all its wonderful beauty. Their hair is often multi-colored from skin to tip, their noses contain a print just as individual as our fingerprints, and their eyes are wonderfully bulbous and come in shades humans only wish they had.
All in all, pet photography is rewarding (I have won several small photo contests with some of mine) and fun. While it has its own obstacles, and those obstacles differ slightly among animals, it is so worth it in the end for an animal lover like me. On a bit of a side note, I know that this post deals solely with cats, as I have no dogs or other pets (besides a Flame-bellied newt who doesn’t like being touched)! However, these same tips and thoughts can be applied to almost any type of pet, and I hope you will try them with your pets!
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