If a fence is crisp but the animal behind it is soft, the autofocus area may contain objects at different distances. The camera can select the foreground instead of the intended eye. Move or narrow the focus target using supported controls, or use an appropriate manual-focus method. Do not expect an AI portrait tool to verify the eye detail that the capture did not resolve.
Recognize a distance-choice problem
Nikon's D850 autofocus guidance lists a subject inside a cage as a difficult case because the focus point can contain objects at different distances. It also describes other challenging targets. That explains why a focus indication alone is insufficient: the camera may have found a focusable thing, but not necessarily the animal feature your portrait needs.
Keep an original frame and inspect the bars, the eye, and the fur near the eye at the same magnification. If the bars are sharp, the lens is not simply incapable of making anything clear. The next useful question is which distance and target were selected, not whether the entire photograph needs stronger sharpening.
A safe target-selection exercise
This is an unexecuted reader plan. Practice with a stationary toy behind a simple foreground grid, so no animal needs to be disturbed. Keep the camera and lighting steady, and record lens, focal length, aperture, and autofocus mode. Take a frame using the broad focus area that produced the problem.
Then use a supported smaller or deliberately positioned focus area on the toy's eye-like detail, keeping clear of a bar where possible. Take another frame and record whether the camera confirms focus and which detail is actually sharp. If autofocus still struggles, compare a careful manual-focus frame using the camera's available magnification aid. Preserve every original so the test does not become a selection of only successful attempts.
Transfer the lesson to a real pet
Choose a safe, permitted position that gives a clearer line of sight; do not push a lens into an enclosure or encourage the animal into an unsafe pose. The goal is a source where important facial markings can be inspected. Subject-detection features may help on supported cameras, but their presence does not guarantee success through every obstruction or for every species.
A barrier may also remain visible as an out-of-focus foreground shape. Correct focus on the eye does not make the fence disappear or reveal occluded fur. If the brief requires an unobstructed portrait, obtain another authorized view when possible and preserve the distinction between recorded areas and a creative reconstruction of hidden ones.
For an Imagild pet transformation, use the clearest actual face reference and list identifying markings that must be retained. Compare the output's eyes, muzzle, ear edges, and coat patches with the original. A plausible reconstructed eye should be approved as an interpretation, especially when the source eye was soft or covered, rather than described as recovered factual detail.