In this visual puzzle, I employed the strategy of categorizing. I categorized from basic shapes to subtracted shapes. The Green outlined triangles are the obvious shapes that make up the cat. Next in red, I outlined the shapes that were less obvious and were created by overlapping basic shapes. Lastly, I outlined in yellow the shapes that were made from basic shapes being subtracted from each other. After I finished outlining, I counted each color and represented that number with a color coded number to match so I could tell which ones I already counted. Lastly I added them up. 

Alex used a similar categorization technique. He used dots to represent the various triangles. His method seemed slightly less specific as in terms of which dot corresponded to which triangle and I think he missed a triangle as a consequence.

We both also used the strategy of finding. Finding is when you look for concealed shapes within other shapes.