How to Take a Selfie with Your Cat

I’m sorry to say, but our cats don’t care about our selfies.

Recently when I shared a selfie with my cat, Ladybug, lots of folks on Instagram said : I wish I could get my cat to do that! But the truth is, while Lady and I might make it look like she’s into taking the photo with me, she isn’t. And really who’s cat is? Our cats just don’t care about our selfies.

Still we want them to be in our photos. I know I sure do. So in my attempts to get Ladybug in the frame none the less, I’ve uncovered a few tricks I thought I’d share with you!

Take LOTS of Photos

This is a tip I like to suggest for any sort of selfie taking. Don’t stop at just 1 photo and assume we can’t get the shot we want. It takes everyone a lot of tries to get that shot they really love and this is no acceptation!

So whether taking a selfie solo or yup…with your cat…try a whole bunch in order to get that one you really love. Get a variety of them too, try some of the tips below or just give yourself the chance to get playful and creative and capture that sweet feline of yours alongside you!

Your cat doesn’t care about your selfie…so follow it’s lead.

From my experience with Ladybug, well, she couldn’t care less if I’m trying to take a selfie. In fact its rather annoying to her. So how do we accept that fact and still get a great shot? That’s where we simply have to let go of trying to plan out a shot and well, do what works for our cat.

Often when I’m sitting at my desk, Ladybug will come sit right in front of me, in that space between myself and my computer. You know, where they are completely blocking your view. After peering around her for a while I often give up and then say “Fine then, we’ll take a selfie”! What works is that she’s sitting on my desk so if I bring my face near hers…selfie success!

Now, on the opposite realm, if I try and pick her up and force her into a selfie…it’s just not going to go well. The theme of the selfie will become her trying to escape from my arms (and you will see some of those below). Because again, your cat doesn’t really care about your selfie. But we want them in them none the less, don’t we.

So if your cat is sitting on the ground, get down on the ground too.

If your cat is looking out the window, look out the window too.

If your cat is sitting on the top of the couch, don’t ask it to move…move towards it yourself.

Follow your cats lead! I’m pretty sure it’s the only way to make it happen!

Attract its attention

I think sometimes with dogs you can make them sit and then the person with the camera can call them, but with cats and with selfies…that just doesn’t work.

One trick I’ve been using lately to try and get Ladybug to actually look at the camera is while I’m holding it to kind of scratch on the back of it with my fingernail. Cat’s love noises so it drew her attention and I was able to get one that looked like she was looking in the camera.

Make it quick though as after a while she totally caught on and started ignoring me! Cause, well, that’s how cat’s roll!

Get Silly

While I haven’t actually had a successful shot like this yet, the whole Cat Beard Selfie phenomenon…oh my gosh…I love it. I just can’t imagine my cat letting me do that!

But there are other ways to get silly with your cat too. Sometimes when Ladybug decides to sit on my shoulder I pull out my camera as it kind of looks like she’s photobombing me. Um, here’s some other cat photobombs that cracked me up (especially if you’re having the kind of day where you need funny cat photos…cause some days we just do).

Or I just go with the flow and follow the lead of what she’s doing and often they end up looking quite humorous. Have fun with it (and you never know you just might get some hilarious outtakes out of it too)!

Use Your Timer 

My answer to so many selfie questions is to use your timer! My favourite app is called Gorillacam and it allows you take a whole series of photos one after another. I recommend setting the camera to take around 10 or 15 (or even 30) and find a place to prop it where you and your cat are in the photo. Then you have both hands free to be in the photo with your cat! It helps big time, especially to get more candid or even silly cat selfies!

You could also use the Gorillcam timer for an arm’s length selfie and not have to press the photo button each time as the app will capture the photos for you!

Get Candid

Following along with the idea of using your timer, it can be so fun to let your timer capture candid moments with your cat. Does your cat sit on your yoga mat every time you do yoga? Why not set up your timer and capture it. Maybe even put your camera down on the ground especially if like me and Ladybug…she follows me everywhere around the apartment (when not sleeping) and I’d love to get a shot of her little feet following mine.

Or is there a spot you both sit? You could set up your phone and timer (or get a remote like the HISY Remote for your phone) and get cozy in that spot you always sit together. There are so many possibilities. Especially if your pet is a big part of your life and your day, why not invite them into the visual story too. I love how every session of the Be Your Own Beloved class, pretty soon after we start taking our selfies, there’s always a large portion of them that involve our pets just naturally!

Think Outside the Selfie Box

Just like with our selfies in general, they don’t have to be an arm’s length face selfie do they? There are so many more options, many of which are wonderful ways to tell the visual story of you and your cat. You could aim downwards at your cat and your feet, capture the photo in a reflection or a mirror, put the camera on the floor and capture it from ground level.

Remember, following our cats lead is our best plan and thinking outside the selfie box is a way to make that happen!

Get Creative with your Cat Selfie

One of my favourite things to do with photos these days is to take Double Exposures and it can be so fun to use this or other creative tools to have fun with our selfies, especially the ones we might not love as is. This image above was an example of that, where I didn’t really love the way the photo worked out originally but when I added a layer to it, I ended up loving it.

You could play around with making your cat selfies black and white or colour, combining a bunch of them to make a GIF or hyper lapse. You could make double exposures with images of you and your pet together or even combine a portrait of you and of your cat separately into one image, double exposure style.

 

But Really…

I know that I’m gettin’ a bit silly with y’all here cause cat selfies doesn’t seem like a very serious matter, but I do want to share why it’s really important to me to take cat selfies. Because…I’m so darn grateful to have this little purring, kind loving little being in my life. These pets are a part of our families and the more photos we can have with them the better (even if they still don’t care about being in our photos). We care that they are in our photos.

This image above…while in a way it’s an example of how not to take a selfie with your cat because Ladybug looks absolutely terrified. When I shared it years ago, people laughed. And I see why…we both look like a deer in the headlights. But my other cat Elliot had just passed away and I had just found out that she had the same condition that took him. I was feeling like a deer in the headlights and she was probably freaking out at why I was suddenly making her be in a whole bunch of photos. But I thought I’d loose her any day. So this photo feels important to me after all.

Even the photos we might not like at the time, that aren’t destined for Instagram, they are important. Inviting our lovely felines (or canines too or pets of any sort) into our photos is not just funny…but of such value to us. I know I won’t regret taking a moment every so often when she seems patient enough for it, to get out my camera and aim it at her and when I can, get into the photo with her too.

What about you? Have you had any successful pet selfie moments or photos? I’d love to know your favourite way to take a photo with your beloved pet?