Photographer’s Viral Timelapse Video Shows a Kitten Aging Into a Cat
A photographer’s timelapse of a kitten growing into a cat has gone viral on TikTok racking up over 21 million views.
Nils Jacobi who goes by the “The Catographer”, took a series of photos of a tuxedo Maine coon kitten from when it was very young to when it was almost 100 days old.
Jacobi explains that “for months” he took new pictures “every few days” before aligning all of them in Photoshop, keeping the cat’s head in the same place throughout the short video.
@furryfritz Kitten growing up 🐱📈 this is one of my favorite photography projects. Unfortunately the tuxedo kitten moved out and lives hundreds of kilometers away from me. Luckily the other three kittens moved to homes in my area and I can continue photographing them. Stay tuned for updates! #furryfritz #catographer #kitten #growingup #cutekitty #cat #mainecoon ♬ Love You Still (abcdefu romantic version) (v1) – Tyler Shaw
@furryfritz Update on my kitten growth project 🐱📈 #furryfritz #catographer #cat #kitten #catgrowingup #cutekitten #catphotography ♬ original sound – furryfritz
TikTok viewers were left enthralled by Jacobi’s video. “So interesting how the eyes changed color,” writes one person.
Cat Photographer
Jacobi has previously been featured on PetaPixel where he explained how he became interested in the cat photo niche.
“I had a studio for a few years and mainly photographed people,” he says. “When I realized that my cat photos, which I posted in between, got way more likes than my other photos, I put my focus on it.”
The photographer, who is based in Germany, adds: “Since I preferred to work with animals rather than human models anyway, it became a passion.
“At the time, I was fascinated by photos of running dogs, so I thought: Challenge accepted! I will now take photos like this with cats.”
Jacobi admits there are challenges when it comes to shooting cats — especially when the felines are not willing to be photographed.
“There is no trick to get the perfect shot. Just a lot of patience and dedication. It can be hard to get animals, especially cats, to pose for a photo,” he explains.
“Even as a professional with hundreds of cat photoshoots experience, you always try to push the limits of your creativity to get the cat to do something you want.
“But you just can’t force cats to do anything and of course, you shouldn’t try to do that in general! Fortunately, in most cases, it is enough to take advantage of the cat’s play instinct or appetite.”
More of Jacobi’s work can be seen on his Instagram, TikTok, and his website.
Image credits: All photos by Nils Jacobi/@furryfritz
