Black and white....

Hey all! It didnt take me long to figure out what I needed help with.... Id like to know if you could help me.... I started off in photography, just by taking pictures of planes, and I really didnt take many pictures of things that didnt intrest me..... well, Ive since changed my ways, and now I hope to learn a few things about every day photography.... In the aviation field, rules for photography are quite stringent, photos must be compsed well, and tack sharp..... I've tried to apply this method to all photographs, but it just doesnt look right..... Im hoping that I've started to turn the corner with this shot, (altho it may be a bit oversharpened).... can you help me out with some pointers in shooting black and white???? I took this picture of my cat, critter, just as I was finishing a batch of plane photos..... a bushel basket behind him, lit naturally by sun thru the window.... I got down on my belly and got a shot off...... any pointers of wrong and if anything turned out right, would greatly be appreciated......
-Jay

This is a fairly good shot, Jay. I like the fact that you got down to the animal's level rather than shooting from above. It gives a much more pleasing shot. Nice use of available light and your focus and exposure look good. The background is a bit distracting because of the dark area to the right. Perhaps a slight different angle to keep more of the basket behind the cat. (I realize that getting things perfect with animal portraits is next to impossible as they rarely do as we wish).

Thanks for looking! I appreciate your imput....contrast and brightness was tweaked in PS... I tried to make it look bold, but I wasnt sure if I went overbored...... thanks again, Ill keep the background in mind next time!!
-Jay