If you have a white cat, and shoot it on a white carpet, you deserve the trashy pictures you'll get. At the other extreme, it's actually quite hard to shoot black or very dark brown cats at all, but you should resist the urge to find a white background for it. Because most cheap cameras are stupid and will adjust themselves to suit the white background rather than the black cat. Multiple similar-colored cats are a problem but not an insurmountable one. Shoot a lot of pictures .
Film is cheap.
Cameras are cheap. Processing is cheap. If you're worried about any of these costs, consider a digital camera. But not all of your shots will be golden. Most of your shots won't be.