Trying to get good pictures of Smokey is especially hard. I almost always end up having to 'flash' at him just so he will show up...otherwise he is a shadow cat!
Thought have the window would be good enough...camera thought it had plenty of light, but Smokey didn't show up...
I turned the flash on and at least you can see him, although his eyes look funny.
Now he isn't cooperating...I can't blame him though, getting flashed all the time!
One from above...you can see he is getting a bit thin in this picture. We are encouraging him to eat, and providing him with lots of special AD canned food. What are you other senior cat owners doing to help with this weight loss and 'old' look?
Looking better, although his eye is a bit puffy...such a gorgeous boy though!
Thought have the window would be good enough...camera thought it had plenty of light, but Smokey didn't show up...
I turned the flash on and at least you can see him, although his eyes look funny.
Now he isn't cooperating...I can't blame him though, getting flashed all the time!
One from above...you can see he is getting a bit thin in this picture. We are encouraging him to eat, and providing him with lots of special AD canned food. What are you other senior cat owners doing to help with this weight loss and 'old' look?
Looking better, although his eye is a bit puffy...such a gorgeous boy though!
Our mum has the same troubles taking pictures of Thomas and Charlie. She has founf turning on the lihgts even in the day time and taking black and white photos helps a lot.
ReplyDeleteEither that or she just follows us around outside.
Black and white photos are a great idea!
ReplyDeleteAs for food...Annie is only 10-ish and since she doesn't like kibble, it's hard to keep the weight on with just canned. She's still pretty energetic, but she's quite bony. A co-worker of mine feeds her cats raw and even her senior kitty has great muscle mass--it really does make a difference. I just can't see any of my crew eating raw because they don't even eat cooked human food--or very rarely.
Our mama can totally relate....she has a terrible time getting good pictures of Sammy.....and Sammy HATES the flash, so he usually always closes his eyes.
ReplyDeleteWe'll have to have mama check the black and white business.
We think you're handsome, Smokey.
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I had the same problem with Floyd, and even have trouble with the two tuxies a lot of the time (guess they have just enough black fur to mess with the camera.
ReplyDeleteAs far as getting the seniors to eat, well it is hit and miss - I just keep trying til I find something that is popular. And we have all day kibble out, but Kirzon doesn't eat it much (he has bad teeth so I think that is why). Lola our younger senior eats a lot of it. Kirzon seems to prefer the "pate" style to chunks or shreads (though that could be a tuxie thing because Virgil is the same way) and he does get a bit of people food once in a while - just a bit and not often. If it is hot there that could be part of the problem - mine eat less in summer (and with the AC out they are hardly touching anything). I tend to give them a little snack in the middle of the day when Kirzon seems to loose a bit and that helps - he is not usually too thin but sometimes he does loose a bit.
With two black and white girls to photograph we understand how difficult it is to photograph 'dark' cats. We try to use natural light as much as possible. But too much washes out the white on them -- can't win for losing. So it's a balance of light which is what I always find the most interesting aspect of photography. In all the many (MANY) pictures I have taken I still only have a handful of 'great' shots which I use repeatedly for special posts.
ReplyDeleteKibble is by far the best thing that will keep weight on. Abby (my senior) loves kibble, prefers it to most anything so I don't have a problem with keeping weight on her, she should probably lost 1/2 a pound. But as long as she stays where she's at weight wise I think it's better to have a little more floofiness. We wish you luck with Smokey.
Such a gorgeous boy! Especially the last photo!
ReplyDeleteBut all the pictures a great and well worth the effort!!!
ReplyDeleteSmokey is a beautiful boy. Lucy hates the camera too and loves to close her eyes or turn away.
ReplyDeleteWell, I wish we had that problem in this house. The two seniors here love to eat and Lucy is definitely overweight. If the vet says he's healthy, that's the most important thing. If he's truly underweight, maybe kitten food would help. It has more fat and protein than adult foods but I would check with the vet first. Well, you're feeding A/D, so if he likes it, hopefully that will help. Either that or finding something he really loves. Good luck!
Mommy is learning how to photograph Salem, who is mostly black. It's not easy.
ReplyDeleteWe all get canned food and our two older gals are pretty bony...we don't get kibble because of Grayce's bladder problems. You could try feeding kitten food--it has a higher calorie punch than adult food.
Poor Smokey -- you really can't blame him for not liking the flash in his gorgeous golden eyes. Yes black cat are very difficult to photograph indeed, unless you're in totally natural light.
ReplyDeleteThe only suggestion I would have for getting him to eat more is to try human baby meats -- especially ham. Our vet says this is very easy for cats to digest.
Awww Smokey is looking wonderful!! And I just love his "I refuse to cooperate" pic! Awwwww! :-)
ReplyDeleteAs for feeding up senior kitties - I had to resort to lots of freshly cooked boiled chicken and special diet food for senior kitties from the vets - my senior kitties got very very fussy the older they got and would only eat these.
Good luck with your fab seniors! I so agree with you - Smokey is a GORGEOUS boy!
Take care
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Oh I don't know, we rather like the black 'silhouette' photo.
ReplyDeleteYeah, mom has a hard time taking my picture too. Sometimes she uses the flash...which I hate 'cuz it's too bright in my eyes!! And sometimes she waits and takes it in natural light when there's lots of sun.
ReplyDeleteErnie
smokey is handsome
ReplyDeletesmiles a lot smokey!!!
Only the shadow knows, what tuna lurk in the bowls of kitties!
ReplyDeleteWhen my boys were about 15 or so, they both started having kidney issues - fairly normal in senior kitties, I was told. As a result, they both lost weight even though most everything else about them was normal. The vets told me that the weight loss was normal, as it was easier for the kidneys to provide for less mass. They both kept eating well, they just were thinner.
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