Photographer’s Adorable Series Shines a Light on Rescue Cats

3 days ago 6

An orange and white cat lounges on a gray sofa, playfully reaching out. Beside it, a fluffy white cat sits inside a large woven basket with a curious expression. The background is simple and neutral-toned.

A photographer who usually reserves her lens for dogs embarked on a project focusing on rescue cats and their stories.

Traer Scott tells PetaPixel that rescue cats are an invisible problem as 3.2 million of them enter animal shelters each year and almost half of those end up being euthanized.

“There aren’t enough homes so spay/neuter education is critically important,” Scott says. “Unlike dogs, I think there is also still a widely held perception that cats are interchangeable, replaceable, and that has to change.”

A gray and white cat with a fluffy coat is using a blue wheelchair for support. The cat is looking upwards, wearing a plaid harness. The wheels are visible, indicating mobility assistance. The background is a neutral color.

A curious tabby kitten peeks out from one of three circular holes in a wooden play structure. The kitten's paw rests on the edge of the opening, and its body is partially inside another hole.

A gray cat is playfully reaching up with its front paws towards a fish-shaped toy hanging in the air. The cat is on a wooden surface, and the background is a solid light green wall.

Scott’s project, which is now a book titled Rescue Cats, saw her follow a selection of rescue cats mostly working inside people’s homes with minimal equipment: just a DSLR, a flash, and occasionally a portable background.

“Although some cats travel well, most don’t and I wanted to be able to photograph them when they were feeling as relaxed as possible,” Scott explains.

“Dogs can generally be won over with food but cats are much tougher to convince. One of my three cat gurus accompanied me to every shoot and helped wrangle and cajole the subjects. Together we determined where the best place to shoot was, usually a compromise between where the cat was most comfortable and what seemed most aesthetically viable.”

A sitting tabby cat with bright yellow-green eyes, a mix of black, brown, and orange fur, and white paws and chest, against a neutral background.

A fluffy, curly-haired cat with cream and orange fur looks upward against a black background. Its ears are perked, and its expression is curious.

Two curly-haired cats, one sniffing a green ball at the end of a stick, the other sitting calmly, both with green eyes, against a soft pink background.

Close-up of a black and white cat with bright green eyes grooming itself, showing its pink tongue extended as it licks its paw. The cat's whiskers are prominent against its dark fur.

Scott shot the project over the course of eight months around New England. In total, there are 22 cats featured in the book, plus a litter of kittens that “the reader gets to see grow up.” She says that she “learned a great deal about all of the cats’ histories and many had truly heartbreaking stories”.

“The one thing that they all have in common is of course the rescue factor,” Scott says.

“One or more people cared enough to fight for them, to intervene, to foster, to adopt, and ultimately save a life. I don’t know that I could pick just one favorite but some of the ones that really stuck with me were Forrest, Juliette, and Linus.”