Umbrella reclaimed by the cat

Ok,will leave the kids alone tonight. The cat instead. I need to learn to take a picture of black furry animal. I was explained a method but I forgot. Need to look it up. Less light is better I vaguely remember.
Well I have now read this, make sense,in theory but in practice...
http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/how-to-photograph-black-dogs-and-cats