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Loving and caring for cats is a huge part of Jenn’s life. In the daytime she is a Vet Tech at Williamson County Animal Center. In the evenings, during kitten season, she frequently fosters orphaned kittens who cannot yet eat solid food and require bottle feeding every couple of hours. It’s a serious commitment to say the least. In 2012 on Memorial Day weekend a litter of four, 2week old kittens were dropped off at the shelter late in the day. The kittens were covered in fleas, starving, and in desperate need of tender loving care. Sadly, the whereabouts of the mother were unknown and never discovered. At the time Jenn had zero experience with such young kittens, but knowing nobody else could foster them, she decided to take them home and give saving the little kittens her best shot. Otherwise the kittens were destined to starve to death without human intervention at this point, since there was no nursing mother to be found, and not even another mother currently nursing. And rise to the challenge she did! All four kittens (Natailia, Natalie, Natasha and Norman) survived! The following Tuesday, 2 more kittens (Nora and Noah) were brought to the shelter by the same person, so it was assumed they were from the same litter. Once again, Jenn was up for a challenge and agreed to take in the two kittens. For five weeks she labored with love and fatigue while bottle feeding six kittens. At eight weeks the kittens were ready for adoption. Having especially bonded with two kittens (nub tail Nora and no tail Natalia), Jenn felt especially sentimental at the thought of saying goodbye and seeing them them get adopted.

Natalia who was born without a tail had sadly developed nerve damage also known as “lumbosacral dysgenesis” and suffered from incontinence and  joint pain/malformation. With such nerve damage accompanies many healthy problems Natalia was destined to  struggle with such as chronic uti’s, constipation, diarrhea, hip pain, arthritis and more.  Heartbroken and never having to euthanize a pet, Jenn made the toughest choice any animal lover with make, to have Natalia humanely euthanized.

Despite knowing Nora also had the possibility of developing some of the same issues as her sister Natalia, since she too had a malformed tail, Jenn went ahead an adopted her the same day she said an emotional goodbye to Natalia. Thankfully, Nora has been a happy, relative healthy cat and is now 4 yrs. old. She is affectionate, full of energy, and even plays fetch. When Nora is in the room she is a constant source of entertainment and joy. I think it’s pretty safe to say Nora has Jenn’s heart wrapped around her paw.

When I met Nora she was incredibly friendly and  playful! My cat toys were a hit and she really turned it on for the camera. It was so heartwarming seeing Jenn’s eyes light up while watching Nora. The love, devotion, and emotional bond she feels for her beloved Nora was written all over her face during our time together. I think you will know what I mean when you view the pictures of the bonded pair. May the two have a continued healthy and happy life together!

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Some people are born cat lovers, or at least born into a family that loves cats, so they grow up understanding and appreciating cat nature. Others maybe didn’t grow up around cats and simply don’t know much about them. Sometimes allergies of a parent or child prevent people from having cats as well. Most unfortunate are the situations where parents simply dislike cats and pass this attitude down to their children.  Josilee has always been a cat lover and grew up in a cat-loving family. Tyler, on the other hand, grew up in a dog loving family and confessed how he previously didn’t understand the allure of cats. Newly married these two have more than bridged the cat gap! It all happened the day Tyler agreed to go look at kittens at Williamson County Animal Center, where they both ended up falling in love with their first kitten, Zoey, a calico tabby. Much to Josilee’s delight Zoey quickly had Tyler wrapped around her paw! Inspired by Zoey’s sweet nature and feeling a strong bond with a cat for the first time ever, Tyler made a solo trip to the shelter a couple weeks later while Josilee was grocery shopping. And it was that trip where he met and adopted a little white and gray kitten. When Josilee arrived home to her husband and their new kitten she was more than a little surprised! They named their new little family addition Rory, and like with Zoey were smitten by him immediately. Thankfully, Zoey quickly embraced her little brother and the two became inseparable. I’m told Rory nurtures Zoey like a little sister, even though he is the younger of the two. Eventually, Tyler and Josilee did end up adopting a dog and fortunately, she loves her kitty siblings!

It’s always so refreshing to see people who formerly weren’t cat lovers open up their hearts to cats. The benefits extend to all parties involved. The individual benefits from the bond with the cat and vice versa. If the individual is in a relationship with a cat lover the relationship is strengthened by the shared love. It’s win, win, win for everyone! In the case of Tyler and Josilee, Tyler isn’t simply one of those guys who now tolerates cats. He truly gets them now and is grateful for saying yes to cats! Below are photos of their two beloved felines.

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Photographing cats with their humans can be a bit of a challenge. The more cats and people involved in a portrait, the greater the challenge of creating an image where everyone looks good. I cannot thank Josilee and Tyler enough for their patience in the creation of the images below. It was definitely a team effort! Zoey and Rory are the absolutely endearing and I completely understand why they are loved so dearly!

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When I first met Luna (formerly Tinka) she had been owner surrendered to Williamson County Animal Center, along with another cat named Ebony. Their previous owner claimed to having too many cats. Both cats were a little fearful and being caged at the shelter only made matters even worse for them. Though the other cat volunteers and myself worked at socializing the two cats, being abandoned, then caged in a building with a lot of noise and other animals can pose an extra challenge for many animals. The first set of photos were taken of Luna and Ebony in their cages at WCAC in January of 2015. Both kitties were ultra timid with me, but I took my time and fortunately managed to get these sweet portraits of the two. It was my hope they both get adopted together, to someone who would give them the love they both deserved.  In May of 2015 my wish was granted and both kitties were adopted together to a great home.

Riley, a young cat lover, had been asking her parents to adopt two cats from the shelter. In May they visited the shelter to meet and Luna and Ebony. Neither cat showed well that day, but Riley being a wise soul for such a young age chalked it up to the environment and knew deep down she would be able to get the kitties to love her in time. Knowing both kitties were  very timid and sometimes a little hissy, Riley was very patient and knew it would take time for the two to warm and bond with her. Six months later, which was about the point when Riley was getting discouraged, she won Luna over by singing the Queen song to “Bohemian Rhapsody” to her. Ever since then Luna has been the most loving cat and Riley feels her love and patience paid off in the end!

While I was also hoping to photograph Riley with Ebony, it unfortunately didn’t happen, as Ebony was off on a walkabout on the property that day. Though a little more solitary, Ebony also is happy and well in her home!

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Here Riley is at home with her beloved Luna. It was incredible how much Luna had transformed from her shelter days where she didn’t like being handled. Now she is a confident, happy, beautiful cat! Luna even lets Riley pick her up, and hold her without fussing one bit. The love that exists between the two is clearly mutual! 

PINIMAGESince adopting Luna and Ebony, Riley’s family adopted two more kittens from Williamson County Animal Center.  I wasn’t able to get photos of one of the kittens (she was busy with other matters), but a did manage to get some photos of Riley with Harry. Isn’t it adorable how he would let Riley hold him like a baby! What a handsome little fella!

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This past summer I enjoyed working on a special project for Williamson County Animal Center, and this is blog post 2 of 10 from the project. As I mentioned in my first post, the project was for an art installation designed to show the strong emotional bonds that exist between humans and their pets.  Since I specialize in photographing cats, my part of the project consisted of photographing ten different sessions of guardians with their cat (or cats) previously adopted from the shelter. One image from each session will be printed and hung at the shelter in the coming weeks. Because there were so many great moments from each session, I wanted to share an individual post to feature each cat (or cats) with their guardian (or guardians). Now it’s time for you to meet Samantha and Binx!

Binx found his forever home on October 31, 2015.  It was Samantha’s second visit to Williamson County Animal Center, and Binx was one of three black kittens she was considering adopting.  The moment she picked up Binx and held him, he charmed her with kisses and cuddles! That was all it took, and Samantha knew in that moment Binx was her cat. The inspiration for Binx’s name (that wasn’t the name the shelter gave him) came from the classic Halloween movie, “Hocus Pocus.” In the movie, the main character Dani has a black cat named Thackery Binx whom she loves . Like the movie, Binx is loved and adored by his mom Samantha. Upon meeting Binx it’s easy to see why he is loved so much. Binx is the kind of cat who never meets a stranger! When I showed up to photograph Samantha and Binx, I was quickly greeted at the door and in minutes quickly made a new friend. The fact that I had some fun cat toys with me probably added slightly to my appeal, or perhaps he knew how much I love black cats! Even though Binx is very active and playful, he was so patient throughout the entire photo shoot. His friend Millie (Samantha’s room mate’s cat) was also eager to be a part of the fun. Even though Millie wasn’t adopted from Williamson County Animal Center, I couldn’t resist snapping a few quick pics of her too. I like to be inclusive and feel no cat shall be left behind! It’s so great Binx and Millie have one another, and they seem to get along well.  When Binx isn’t playing with Millie, he can be found snuggling with his mom and full of purrs. Below are just a few of my favorites portraits of Samantha and her silky, house panther. Purrs!

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This past summer Williamson County Animal Center asked if I would be interested in working on a special project for them. They wanted to do an art installation showing the strong emotional bonds that exist between humans and their pets.  Since I specialize in photographing cats, my part would entail photographing ten guardians with their cat (or cats) previously adopted from the shelter. One image from each session will be printed to hang on the walls at the shelter. Once the project is on display at the shelter I will do a special post showing the installed art.  Until then, I’m sharing a blog post from each session sharing the variety of endearing images captured of the guardians with their beloved cats. This is post one in a series of ten. I thoroughly enjoyed working with every guardian and all kitties photographed were exceedingly irresistible! It’s definitely more challenging photographing a cat being lovable with their human than showing the individual personality of the cat. For many cats, the sweet moments shared daily with their guardian are intimate and quite often reserved for times when no one else is around. Because of this, the project was both challenging and a great learning experience! Nevertheless, I’m pleased with the way the project turned out! Now it’s time to look at images from my first session

The first time I met Cheeto was at Williamson County Animal Center in early September of 2015.  Cheeto (formerly tails) was a stray kitten who was found with his sibling Shiloh.  Like many kittens and adult cats, Cheeto was extremely shy, cautious, and a little fearful.  Typically in such situations, a kitten or cat fares well with a little tender loving care in a foster situation.  Cheeto’s now mom (Kelsey) was and still is a volunteer at WCAC.  When she wasn’t busy attending nursing school at the time or studying, she was tending to the kitties at the shelter. Isn’t that impressive?! When Kelsey met the adorable, timid, ginger kitten he melted her heart almost immediately. Shortly after meeting him she knew he would benefit from being fostered and decided to foster little Cheeto. The first group of portraits show Cheeto as a kitten. Wasn’t he adorable?! In no time at all Kelsey and Cheeto quickly developed a bond and Kelsey became what we happily refer to in the shelter and rescue world as a foster failure!

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Now Cheeto is a handsome, confident, happy cat who is adored by Kelsey!  When he is not being cuddled and played with by his mom, he is busy hanging out with his buddy Ollie (pictured below).  Ollie is a tuxedo cat whose human is Katie (Kelsey’s roommate). The two young kitties get along so well and have all kinds of fun when their moms are away at work.  So if you are considering adding a kitty to your family, please consider adopting a shy cat.  Most often the way a cat behaves at a shelter or rescue can be very different than when they are in a home environment.  Given the right environment, and a patient guardian who understands cats, a timid cat will thrive in no time at all.  And behind every happy cat is a happy human!

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