On Photographing Tuxedo Cats

I got this shot of our Maximum Leader about a week ago as I took a bunch of macro pictures at very close range. Out of 15 or so photos, this was the only one that came out well.


Her fur has such enormous contrast that the camera doesn't know how to adjust it's lighting levels. If it focuses on the black, her white fur becomes saturated in the image. If it focuses on the white, the black fur comes out as indistinct blackness. I really need to learn how to use the manual settings on the camera if I want to do these kinds of close ups.