Your cat has to agree to this. The good news: asking properly takes about a minute, it gets easier every single time you do it, and it is also what gets you the better photo.

Before you start

1. Attach the strap. 

Hook it onto both arms now, while your cat is in
another room. You do not want to be fiddling with elastic near your cat's ears.

2. Have the camera open.

Burst mode on. The frames are the easy part; missing the shot because you were unlocking your phone is the hard part.

3. Pick a spot your cat already likes.

A window ledge, the sofa arm, their own bed. Not a slippery table, and never a corner they cannot walk out of.

4. Expect the fifth time to go better than the first. 

That is not you doing it wrong — that is how it works, and it is why these are worth keeping somewhere you can reach.

The five steps

1 · Let them claim it.

Put the frames down and step back. Let your cat sniff them, paw them, rub their cheek along them. Cats leave scent from glands on their cheeks and chin on things they have investigated and accepted. Give this a full minute. It is the cheapest minute of the whole process.

2 · “Pay” before you touch.

Give a treat the moment the frames come out — before anything touches your cat. The order matters more than people think. If the treat only arrives once your cat cooperates, you have started a negotiation. If it arrives every time the frames appear, you have built an association. Your cat gets paid whether or not you get the
photo.

3 · Hold the treat further away than feels right.

About a forearm's length, and slightly above eye level. This does two jobs at once: your cat can actually see it (see below), and it lifts their chin into the angle you want in the photo.

4 · Slide down from the top of the head.

Not from the side. Not straight at the face. Rest the frames on top of the head and slide them down into place while your cat is looking up at the treat.

5 · Hands off. Count to two. Then shoot.

A cat who stays put is saying yes. A cat who ducks, backs away, or goes stiff and still is saying not today — and not today is a real answer. If it's a yes, take your photos, then take the frames off yourself before your cat asks you to. Ending on a good note is what buys you the next one, and the one after that.

💡 The thing almost nobody knows

Your cat cannot see the treat you are holding.

Cats cannot focus on anything closer than about a forearm's length. Closer than that, it is a blur. There is also a blind spot directly below and in front of the nose — which is why a cat will stand on top of a dropped treat and sniff in circles looking for it.

So the classic move, holding a treat right at your cat's nose, shows your cat nothing at all. Hold it out and up instead.

It is also why a hand coming straight at the face makes cats flinch: they can feel it arriving before they can see what it is.

Come from above. Always.

Taking them off

Lift up and back over the head, the same way they went on. Don't pull them forward over the nose — the arms drag across the whisker pads on the way out, and that is the part your cat will remember next time.

One more treat as they come off.

If it's not working today

• The frames slide down the nose.
  Snug the strap. If they still slide, you likely want the smaller size.
• Your cat goes completely still.
  Still is not calm. A cat who freezes is not enjoying this. Take them off and try again another day.
• Your cat only sits still for a moment.
  That is enough. Burst mode exists for exactly this. And a cat who was let go quickly is a cat who will sit for you again tomorrow.
• Your cat won't let you near their head at all.
  Do steps 1 to 3 for a few days and stop there — frames out, treat, frames away, never actually putting them on. Most cats stop caring about the frames within a week. There is no rush, and no version of this that involves holding your cat still.

Stop signals

Take them off if you see:

• Ears rotating sideways or flattening
• Whiskers pulled back flat against the cheeks
• Tail flicking or thumping
• Freezing, or trying to move away

Never leave your cat wearing them unattended.

📸 Visual Demo