THE PERFECT SHOT

The dogs are relatively easy. Skittles and Patches like the attention, and they "sit" for us while visions of Marro Bones™ dance in their heads. The cats are not so pliable. They don't want to "sit"; they are not interested in the treats we try to bribe them with; and as soon as we get them into position, they move!

What can I do? The theme of my cards this year is our menagerie and it requires pictures. It is already December 13th, and with the snail mail bogged down it will never arrive on time. Last week we made several efforts to photograph the elegant but elusive cats. BunnyCat was restless and hopped off. Mr. Paws was more interested in the couch cover we used as a backdrop; and Sanchez, the Siamese, preferred to sleep! My husband is normally a good photographer, but with the still life not holding still, taking pictures was like catching snow flakes: As soon as you got one, it was gone!

The trick was going to be getting the cats as they looked. For this I decided to use the computer. After all, web sites like Google© and Wikipedia© should have pictures of cats that I could copy onto my card. So I began my quest for cats that LOOKED LIKE MINE. The first one was easy-BunnyCat is pure white. How hard could it be to find another white cat? After half an hour of looking at "cat photos" I found one called "Spooky" who for all purposes was BunnyCat's twin. Encouraged I went on to Sanchez, a pure bred seal point Siamese. How hard cold it be to find a "mesee" kitty on the Internet? I have learned that there are various "colors" of Siamese cats, such as "chocolate point", "lilac point", and like Sanchez, "seal point". My job was to locate a Siamese that was dark enough to look like my cat but light enough to show up in a photograph.

I surfed through page after page of cats of all breeds, but no Sanchez double. They were either chocolate pointers or positioned wrong. Normally we could find the "Gentle Giant" napping on the recliner or a couch, but now that we really needed to have him like that, he was no where to be found and I had been forced to go on line. Other than his bright blue eyes, his major feature was a light stomach under a coat that was so dark as to look black. He loved being groomed and frequently followed me into the bathroom where a stool sits to help me get around. Out comes the comb I keep there and with several strokes I practically have another cat! But I don't need another PHYSICAL cat. I need a PICTURE of one. Finally in desperation I turned the job over to my husband so that the cards at least had a chance to get out before Christmas. He is now visiting the same sites that I did, but with better results. He's found a Siamese that really looks like Sanchez.

That leaves only Mr. Paws, the stray that adopted my son in Ohio. From the outside Paws looks like a gray cat. But a closer inspection will show that he has a taupe tummy just the color of our carpeting as well as striped "stockings" on his front legs and "Whiskles" of fur in his ears. He is a lover and follows my husband and me around the house making his distinctive noise that sounds like a squeaking door. It begins as a "meow" but shifts midway into a "screek". Then it can change into a pathetic moan as he steals a dog toy and drags it into the living room. He almost sounds like a female cat in heat!

Wait, my husband has just found a picture that captures Mr. Paws' attitude. He is over on his back showing that taupe tummy for all to admire. You can see the striped legs and the ear whiskles. It's him! Now he has to capture that shot and move it onto the Christmas card. When we actually get to the stage of printing the card out, I will have to note the sources of the cat photos. I don't want to be accused of stealing the work of other cat lovers, but my husband said that as long as I give credit and am not selling anything, doing that is OK.