@theodore I totally agree with the whole “I’m being cute for 1.5 seconds so just try to take my picture!” And in the mean time you’re fighting to get the right exposure etc.
When you have really cluttered backgrounds I always try to over expose it, so maybe try using a flash but that always makes the chance of getting a second try a lot smaller (cats hate flashes).
And a side note…When you are dealing with furry subjects try not to go over about ISO 800 as I have found that anything higher can make their fur look weird especially when brightening on the computer.
Hope that helps! (and makes sense) 🙂