The cobwebs are supposed to be a shiny gold. I used two strobe lights and one flash and tried many different positions for the lighting. This is the best I could get but it did not light up the bottom and the background has uneven lighting with no light hitting the bottom material where the cat sits. Two years ago I tried a couple of softboxes that gave me good lighting of the material but too dark for the cat. Any suggestions on where to set the two strobes and if two softboxes are added, where to set them. And this would be to get a good gold color as well as the cat.
I tried setting the strobes high and tilted down on the sides and front. Then I tried both slightly tilted in front. This shot one strobe was almost pointed at me on the camera right and the other was 45 degree angle slightly tilted down on camera left.

I frequently photograph metallic products- just about every week- items like jewelry, coins, "chrome" plated appliances, tools, etc. The basic concept to keep in mind is that when you photograph shiny, highly polished metallic surfaces you are actually taking a picture of the light source as it is reflected in the object. You are also depending on the correct angle of incidence and camera position to make certain that the items is well defined and the reflection of the light source is picked up by the camera.

If the ligh source is significantly larger that the subject and well diffused such as a big soft box or a very large white reflective panel the job will be easier.

Here's the important part- If the camera angle and the angle of incense is such that the reflection is properly recorded so as to accurately render the correct color of the object (silver, gold or othere color) the lighing is said to be LIGHT FIELD. If, however, the angles are not well coordinated and the silver or gold object shows up as BLACK or GRAY, the lighting is said to be DARK FIELD. If you look at the shot of the coins that I will post, you will notice that most of the coins show as gold or silver, however, one of them recorded as black. Most of the coins were in the ligh field and the exception was in a dark field- that coin did not "see" the ligh source because of the way it was tilted and therefore changed the angle of reflection. Remember the rule says; the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. If gold subject record as silver or white it is due to overexposure and/or specular reflections that are caused by a light source that is not large or diffused enough.

Thanks for your reply and examples. This will be a hopefully fun problem to solve. I see you are using a beauty dish? I have one too and will try that as a light source for the cat.
In your shot- you would need the aforementioned kinda light source and quality to properly and evenly render the metallic threads of the webs. You would need a lower ratio or smoother contrast to compress the dynamic range in order to render detail the black cat. OR- you could light the web as I have suggested and place another more concentrated light source, in behind the web, to light the darker subject- 2 layers of lighting.

This applies to any type of ligh sources- flash, LED, Tungsten- whatever you want to use.

NOW for- Electronic flash nomenclature. Technically speaking a STROBE is a rapidly repeating electronic flash configuration. You see them in stage and disco lighting, atop emergency vehicles, in instrument auto mechanics use for engine timing and in photography the are used for special effects, motion studies, scientific photography and notably for high speed motion studies to diagnose mechanical issues in rapidly moving machinery. True stroboscopic photography entails equipmet that is adjustable to various flash frequencies.

HOWEVER- The term "STROBE" has become common photo-slang for just about any electronic flash unit- such as "portable strobe", "studio strobe" etc. We all use the term. "Speedlight" was a generic term again for most forms of electronic flash based on the relative short flash duration (as compared expendable flash lamps) and their ability to freeze motion when the are the primary light source. Early electronic flash units where powered by very high voltage and relativity low capacitance as compared to modern units therefore, durations of one hundred-thousandth of a seconds were commonplace- speeds capable of recording a bullet in midair or glass shattering. Nowadays we call small, one piece, shoe mounted flash gear "speedlights" and some manufactures use the term to brand there models. "Studio flashes, back in the day, were usually two piece units- a separate power supply wired to a lamp head or multiple lamp heads operated from a single large power pack- theses are still manufactured. Portable versions were sometimes called "strobes" as well. New we call one-piece studio type units "mono-lights"! "Studio strobes" and mono-lights usually have modeling lamps.

It's all etymology*, slang or common usage- Nothing to do with power. A camera mounted portable electronic flash lamp head, connected to a shoulder carried power pack can have more power that a studio unit- depends on the make and model.

*et·y·mol·o·gy
/ˌedəˈmäləjē/Submit
noun
the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.
the origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning.
plural noun: etymologies
synonyms: derivation, word history, development, origin, source
"the etymology of a word may be unknown"