Esta série de fotos de mulheres e seus gatos é puro amor e conexão

A fotógrafa BriAnne Wills, de Nova York, queria mudar a imagem das “mulheres dos gatos“, geralmente associadas a pessoas amarguradas e sozinhas na vida. Foi assim que, há cerca de dois anos, ela iniciou uma série fotográfica retratando mulheres e seus gatinhos de uma maneira positiva – e muito fofa!

Aos poucos, as fotografias foram sendo publicadas no Instagram Girls and Their Cats, que hoje já soma mais de 15 mil seguidores. Em um blog dedicado à série, a fotógrafa também conta a história por trás de cada fotografia, mostrando a incrível conexão e o amor das mulheres por seus companheiros felinos.

Hey NYC friends, Dinah has made the very difficult and painful decision to find a new home for her beloved baby, Wolfie. If you're interested in meeting him, please email her at djidjeme@gmail.com Tag someone below looking for a new friend! "It has been a difficult decision to make, but due to unforeseen difficulties related to my pregnancy (health and resource related) I am having to re-home him so he can get the care, love and attention that he needs. I am happy to spend time explaining the particular issues with anyone that is seriously interested in adopting him. About Wolfie 5 years old. Has all his shots. Clean bill of health. Allergic to hair and dust (i.e he will sneeze when there are hair balls and or I haven't vacuumed in a while). Has some issues with trusting strangers but a sweet and loving cat when he gets to know you. Once he forms an attachment he comes for plenty cuddles and will follow you wherever you go. He is a jumper so if you don't like the cat on your counter occassionally, he is not for you. Especially loves playing with his laser toy and needs plenty of cat naps. I will provide his dry food supply for 3+ months, his breeze litter box and refills and his toys and favorite sleep pillow." @dee.diary #adoptsontshop #blackcat #catlovers

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Aug 1, 2017 at 6:33am PDT

Mais de 180 mulheres já foram fotografadas ao lado de seus animais. Moradoras de Nova York também podem solicitar fazer parte deste grupo e se tornar um objeto das lentes de BriAnne – que, por sinal, também tem seus próprios gatinhos.

2/2: "Roo is a large tabby. People always think she's a man and I always get a little offended for her. She looks very dependable — she has the face of someone you'd ask to watch your laptop for you if you needed to use the bathroom at a cafe. Her body type often reminds me of the bowling bags Prada used to do; I can almost imagine attaching a shoulder strap to her and tucking her snugly under my arm. She's six years old, and we adopted her when she was one. Nina, our daughter, was also one at the time, so they've been growing up together. In fact, she got her name because "roo" was Nina's approximation of a cat's meow when she tried to communicate with her initially. (Her original name at the shelter we got her from was Circus (!)) Probably the best part about having Roo as a cat is that she likes to sleep between me and my husband's heads, and I often drift off with one palm underneath her, one over: a hand sandwich bursting with fuzzy goodness." @frynaomifry #catmom #tabbycat #adoptdontshop #girlsandtheircats

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Jul 12, 2017 at 2:53pm PDT

"I love weird shit. Mark Ryden and Marion Peck art, skulls, rad taxidermy, ugly beauty. I honestly don't think anyone knew of hairless cats until Austin Powers came out. I certainly didn't. When I saw the movie in the theater, and Mr. Bigglesworth made his debut, everyone was audibly horrified by the creature. I, on the other hand, thought I'd seen the face of an angel. I think pet hair is Satan's glitter, and that was enough to keep me from getting a cat, but behold: an incredibly ugly, beautiful and bizarre creature with no hair. You fucking kidding me?! In that moment, it was written.  I had her name picked out years before I actually had her because I wanted her to be like my little back alley sidekick or a bookie who was a little shady but a lot loyal. *in a NY 1920s voice* "heya, Smallie, I gotta take to ya about the money you owe Pauly." As it turned out, she was literally very very small. I never knew I could love anything as much as I loved this little weirdo gremlin–it was immediate and I never saw it coming. She's about to be 8-years-old in September and she's topped out at 7 pounds, sealing her name Smalls into place. I never let her out of my sight. Leaving for work every morning physically hurts my heart. I leave work or a party or a dinner or a date to go home and be with her. She's a certified emotional support animal and she travels in my lap everywhere we go. And on every airplane, she makes a fan club. They tell me "she's the most well behaved dog I've ever seen." I never correct them. if they only knew.
I have never loved anything even close to as much as I love her and I'd rather die single than entertain a gentleman who doesn't love me as much as she loves me. She knows I'm her mom and she is my heart in the cheesiest, most #basic possible way." @kathrynruppe Kate Ruppert is fancy secretary at 72andSunny in Brooklyn. She grew up in Atlanta, made her way to New York by way of LA and now lives in wedded bliss with Smalls above a European pork store in Queens. #sphynx #girlsandtheircats #catlovers #catlady #hairlesscat

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Jul 5, 2017 at 8:08am PDT

Maggie and Bandit. @maggotxskin #girlsandtheircats #adoptdontshop #blindcat

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Jun 28, 2017 at 8:43am PDT

(2/2) "I eventually found myself giving the shelter excuses as to why it was too soon to send them back to the shelter to be taken to adoption events. “I don’t think Alipha has had enough time to fully get past her shyness,” I’d tell the foster coordinators. Meanwhile, Alipha turned out to be a cat that would not soon grow out of her habits. But I simply couldn’t part with Reed — who we had begun calling Mushu. I don’t remember the exact moment it was decided, but I woke up one day knowing I wasn’t sending Mushu to any adoption events. It was July 31, 2016 when the adoption was finalized. Mushu is still the greatest companion and friend I have ever known. As I type this, he’s sleeping on his little scratch pad directly in front of me, because even though he’s not the biggest cuddler he always wants to be within eyesight. He’s extremely verbal and even talks back when you ask him questions! He’s water-obsessed and will sit perched on the kitchen sink waiting for water to come out of the faucet. He welcomes people at the door, and has such a distinct personality that friends have often said he’s “not like other cats” they’ve met. He’s unbelievably inquisitive, and doesn’t shy away from getting in your face for a sniff. Though it’s been only a year with Mushu, it feels like I’ve known him a lifetime.” @chelliebeann Chelsea Trout is a New Yorker born and raised, and has been living in Brooklyn for the last four years. She founded a women’s discussion group called Nasty Women’s Retreat that motivates and inspires her endlessly. #fosteringsaveslives #adoptdontshop #girlsandtheircats #catlady

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Jun 22, 2017 at 1:48pm PDT

"My ex-boyfriend actually found Maloos last summer on Craigslist. He picked her up from a Russian family on Staten Island when I was on vacation with my family in Cape Cod—I remember I was sipping lukewarm Pinot Grigio by a lake with my mom when I got the text that he had found a Scottish Fold kitten I needed to see, that we needed to have her. In the video that convinced me (granted, I didn’t need much convincing) she was about the size of a hand, using her claws to drag herself around that family’s living room rug like some sort of crazed feline Spiderman. We named her Maloos after my dad’s first cat, a Persian kitten also worthy of the Farsi word for “lovable” or “charming.” Loo for short. We hadn’t even fully discussed or decided on getting a cat, but in that hopeful breed of hazy summer love we took the leap. We recently broke up, and honestly at times I found it hard to snuggle Loo without thinking about him too much. I felt guilty about this conflicted, uneasy feeling for a while. I needed to bury my head in her belly, but whenever she’d look at me with her giant owl eyes I’d remember how we used to discuss if the shade of brown she had as a kitten would ever go Halloween-orange-bright like her dad’s. They did. I wanted to hold her between my knees and massage her pillow-soft cheeks, but whenever I did I could picture him doing the same, and it sent pangs through my still-raw chest. My tears would drop down on her head, and the water-lover that she is, she’d look up at me half-hoping it’d turn into a full-fledged bath. These days, that sadness hasn’t yet faded, but I’m able to let it become absorbed in our history—knowing where she came from and the phases we’ve been through together makes me love her all the more. She is hopeful love, she is inevitable change, she is me learning to cope. She is a leap of faith, a reliable confidant, and a reminder of both the brilliant innocence of potent love and its ultimate impermanence. She’s a reminder that we come out on the other side okay. She is my tiny constant love, and she is always there to meow me out of bed in the morning.” @ilanayasmine @cheekymaloos . . #girlsandtheircats #scottishfold #catlovers

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Jun 14, 2017 at 8:43am PDT

Happy Hug Your Cat Day? Ok, why not. ? #hugyourcatday #ihugmycatseveryday #girlsandtheircats

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Jun 4, 2017 at 12:07pm PDT

“I grew up with cats but took a break after my sweet childhood cat passed away a few years ago. It took a *very* influential visit to a cat cafe in Tokyo to get me thinking about cats again. My boyfriend surprised me with baby Tabitha Potato after a month of back and forth kitten pics. Tabitha Potato is a sweet and curious little cat. (She believes) she has full reign of my apartment and is still figuring out her place with her Old English Sheepdog sister, Aiko. Despite having not one but two water dishes, T Potato only likes Aiko's. She enjoys sleeping on faces, pouncing on dust bunnies and following me around my apartment. Her favorite human food to steal is parmesan cheese, but any aged cheese will do. She is Potato, Sweet Potato, Tabby Tato and Tater. She is the best cat friend a girl could have.” @awnah @tabithapotato Ana Coccioletti is an artist and plant enthusiast living in Bushwick. #catlovers #girlsandtheircats #catlady #caturday

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on May 20, 2017 at 7:55am PDT

“This cat has more personality and sass than any animal I have ever met. We are inseparable. We are best friends. Loki came into my life shortly after I moved to Syracuse, NY with my boyfriend Brent, who was working on completing a graduate program at the time. We are both from Minnesota and moved to New York together. I had always wanted a hairless cat but never thought it was a realistic possibility since the breed is so rare and can be wildly expensive. Brent, unfortunately, is also allergic to cats so I ruled out the idea of owning a cat for some time until I found myself feeling a little depressed from the move to Syracuse and decided I wanted a pet. I started researching hypoallergenic cat breeds and poring over Craigslist for any possible leads on pets. I searched for Bengal cats, Sphynx cats, anything I could find that could potentially coexist with allergies. I looked for about 3 months before I came across Loki's ad on craigslist and the rest is basically history. Brent and I adopted Loki the day before Halloween in 2014 and have happily accepted him as an integral part of our lives. Loki is incredibly affectionate, cuddly and chatty. He loves napping on our bellies, eating chicken and scrambled eggs and receiving hearty head scratches. Brent and I are completely and wholeheartedly enamored with him. Shortly after we adopted him, I started an Instagram page solely dedicated to Loki. His Instagram page quickly picked up a following, noticeably for his seemingly grumpy demeanor and unique look. It has been really fun cultivating posts to share and interacting with the community on Instagram, both on my personal page and Loki's alike. Loki has helped me return to creative and optimistic parts of myself that were misplaced while I was feeling unmotivated and sad. Animals are incredible healers and I am eternally grateful for Loki's companionship and generous loyalty. He is truly one of a kind.” @kjelsvig @loki_the_sphynx Sara Anderson is a Minnesota native who lives in Brooklyn, NY with her lovely boyfriend Brent and their hairless cat Loki. Sara is an avid black coffee drinker, vintage clothing buyer and proud cat mom. #sphynx #girlsandtheircats

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on May 7, 2017 at 8:10am PDT

"I was never a cat person. I grew up with two big black labs when I was young, and after that, a little shih​-t​zu named Kingston. But my fears of becoming a cat lady changed this year. Last spring, my roommate’s girlfriend, Carli, found a litter of kittens behind bushes up against a barn in Miami. They were malnourished and their eyes were wide shut. She took them in and cared for them until they were healthy enough for her to give away to friends. I was nervous about it, but I’ve wanted a cat for a few years already. I was going to adopt a few times, but it just never happened. I fell in love with Lamb over Skype. It was her spotted tummy and little meow that made me tear up. Carli called her Runt, for obvious reasons. My roommate fell in love with Creamy- he looks like a creamsicle, so that’s where his name came from. Ever since they touched down in New York, Lamb has become my best friend. Her purr calms me down when I’m stressed and anxious, and she always lies across my keyboard when I’m working. She’s currently lying in my lap and I’ve got to keep moving her paw from my mouse. Lamb likes coffee, just like her momma. If you leave a glass of Almond Milk on the counter, she’ll stick her entire face in and slurp it up until it’s gone. She only wants to be snuggled when she’s in the mood, also just like her momma. If my door is shut, her high pitched and sweet meow calls out until I open, allowing her to hop into my bed and curl up in my arm. I sleep with my face buried into her neck or tummy. When I’m practicing piano she makes her way into my lap. She also bitch slaps Creamy. It’s funny to watch because he’s such a big sweet dork. Lamb’s personality just reminds me of me. A little bit of feistiness but ultimately just wants to give a lot of love … and drink a bunch of coffee." @biancamonica Bianca Monica is a singer-songwriter based in NY. By day, and sometimes night and weekends, she runs a social media and digital marketing agency called @limonecreative. They help brands see their visions more clearly and make a mark in the social and digital space. #adoptdontshop #catlovers #catlady #girlsandtheircats

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on May 4, 2017 at 1:22pm PDT

"After falling in love with my last roommate's cat in my previous apt I was scared to get attached to another kitty cat again, but in reality, it wasn’t much of a life without a furbaby around. Oliver keeps me laughing all day every day. He is the biggest ham you will ever meet. I call him a little space cat. He has these enormous intense eyes that never seem to blink and he’s either sitting around on the couch like a human on his butt with his legs out or against a wall on his back with all fours up in the air. He also LOVES wearing clothes. Hats not so much. Everyone that meets him becomes a fan. Oliver and his older yet tinier sister love to chase each other like hyenas in the jungle and kiss and bathe each other like little heavenly angels. Watching them be mushy together is the most heartwarming, peaceful and precious thing to witness. They also couldn’t be any more different from each other. Both in size and personality. They are total opposites, which make quite the comical team. Isabella is the cuddliest sweetest little peanut but too afraid to be held which would drive me crazy, but Oliver makes up for that part. I love picking up his big chubby body and carrying him around like a baby. They make me so happy. A home without a mushball is no sweet home at all.” @ashleyjaynem #catinthehat #girlsandtheircats #catlady #catlovers #adoptdontshop

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on May 1, 2017 at 9:12am PDT

Window games. Blue and @meghan_farrell . . . #girlsandtheircats #catlady #adoptdontshop #catlovers

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Apr 19, 2017 at 9:20am PDT

?Boop.? Kacy, Mim & Fiona in their Washington Heights apartment. @space.kace . . . #adoptdontshop #catlady #girlsandtheircats #sphynxcat #scottishfold

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Apr 14, 2017 at 7:39am PDT

"Mush came into my life when I met my partner. He had had the cat for about 6 months before I met him. They were living in their bachelor pad in Philly where mush had free reign of kitten terror. When we first met, I have to admit I didn't care for him and he felt the same way. He would fuck with me while I slept and refused to interact with me during the day. The love crept in slowly over time and eventually he won me over, which was his plan from the jump, I’m sure. The thing about Mush is he doesn't really care about us at all, we are just here to serve his demands. Food, pets, and A LOT of alone time. He is very lucky that he is cute as shit. He's the only cat I know that hates toys and treats and he really isn't that curious. In fact, he's kind of dumb but in that really charming and cute way that has you saying "aw bless his heart" a lot. Eventually after being in his life for about six months, he started waking me up in the morning by sitting next to my head, looking me dead ass in my eyes and purring at his loudest volume. He has one of those machine gun purrs that is impossible to ignore or to fall asleep to. He's also blind in one eye which makes his stare even more intense for some reason, so when he looks at you, you listen. Eventually, once I fed him every morning, he became OBSESSED with me. I realized cats were really badass at that point because any time I was sad he would sit next to me until I felt better. He is picky about when he shares his love, but he always knows when to do it at just the right time. I am blessed he's in my life and I secretly (not so secretly) think he's starting to love me more than his dad. whoops! I'm pretty sure you can tell where he gets the name by these photos. Like a little ball of mush.” @tealeigh Tea Leigh is a hand poke tattooer and musician living in Brooklyn. Hailing from Denton, TX, she has lived in Brooklyn for 5 years where she started her tattooing career. She lives in Crown Heights with her partner, cat, and dog. . #adoptdontshop #girlsandtheircats #catlady #gingercat #catlovers

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Apr 2, 2017 at 8:17am PDT

"These cats are so sneaky and lovely and silly and funny and dumb, but I’m also fully convinced they understand English- I mean, if you lived with people speaking a foreign language for 9 years, wouldn’t you pick it up? I love them so much. If you don’t have a cat and you’re thinking about getting a cat…. get a cat. Cats are the best. I love cats. #Cats." @nadiaquinn . . . #catlovers #catlady #girlsandtheircats #tuxedocat #adoptdontshop

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Mar 21, 2017 at 2:12pm PDT

“We first welcomed Bubba, our 12-year old, flat-faced, grandpa of a cat, into our lives after his first human passed away and then was bullied by other cats at his second home. He was too big to fit into a cat carrier, so when his second human’s car arrived to drop him off, Bubba was just curled up on the floor of the front seat. We ended up smuggling him into our apartment via a pillowcase. He spent the first two weeks hiding in the depths of our closet. When Bubba would make a rare appearance, my boyfriend and I would automatically freeze up at the sound of his paws and just followed his every move with our eyes (and our phones), trying not to scare him away while soaking in his little face. Now Bubba is the biggest sweetheart who follows MY every move (especially into the bathroom) and is the expert cuddler. Jeff Goldblum, on the other hand, is just over a year old and is the playful baby of the family. Jeff was an orphan found in East Harlem who landed himself into a vet’s office, up for adoption. After a few months, all of his fellow orphans found new homes while people kept passing on Jeff. Luckily for him, my boyfriend and I paid him a visit with a few drinks in our system. We made the tipsy decision to adopt the little guy after many rounds of “OMG HE’S SO CUTE HE’S THE BEST YAS”. Now I can’t fall asleep unless he’s curled up inconveniently on my face for the night. As a child growing up, I never had the responsibility or companionship of pets (aside from fish, who I had to learn not to get emotionally attached to, due their short lifespan). So, providing much needed homes to these furry nuggets has been such a game changer. Not only have I learned to love more unconditionally and work on my patience – seriously though, how many plants can one cat knock down – but it’s also given me and my boyfriend a way to strengthen our relationship by caring for Bubba and Jeff Goldblum together.” @jennifhsieh Jen Hsieh is a production manager who currently resides in Astoria, Queens with her two derpy fluff balls and her equally derpy boyfriend. #caturday #girlsandtheircats #adoptdontshop

A post shared by Girls and Their Cats (@girlsandtheircats) on Feb 4, 2017 at 6:52am PST