I use a Pro-master Professional Tripod. It is light weight and meant for traveling. The legs fold back making a length of about 18 inches just fitting in the top of my camera bag. I have the model that takes 10 kilo of camera and lens but there is one lighter to take 5 kilo weight. One leg unscrews to make a mono pod.
I use a Desktop PC Jerry, but here is the website for what I use. Hope they have something for a mac. www.hdsentinel.com/
I have discovered that whatever external drive you have that keeping it cool is a priority. I have a program that tests all my disks and my external drive was always running way too hot until I removed the side panels. Now summer is approaching for me I'm thinking to connect a USB fan or something similar.
Composition , lighting and atmosphere the image generates is excellent. I wouldn't get tired of looking at it on my wall.
When you mask and use refine edge in photoshop you need to use the feather slider just a bit. This helps the edges of the cat blend into the background so as not to be so distinct.
I'm sorry but if the computer or camera doesn't recognize the card you have lost your images. The internal circuitry is damaged. I myself have to be careful not to force the card in the slot. If the card is visible on the computer but but no photos are present, recovery software 'may' help. [ Sandisk rescue pro]
In this situation I would also try bracketing 3, 5 or 7 shots in high speed and merge them in Photoshop HDR. You can filter out the movement blur when the images are combined and you can retain color and detail in the shade and light.