Pounce by California-based photographer Seth Casteel has taken photos of kittens who are mid-jump and it is adorable.

He made a name for himself by taking photographs of dogs underwater. His new book, named ‘Pounce’, is a  follow-up of the popular Underwater Dogs and Underwater Puppies book which was a best-seller. The book will feature more than eighty pictures of little cats pouncing and leaping.

Casteel was working in Los Angeles when he first started to become friends with cat lovers, these cat people would care for the community of cats living behind his studio. Not only did they provide food and water for the cats but they also made sure that they were spayed and neutered.

The lives of the cats were made significantly better by the loving hearts of the cat people and it seemed like the cats gossiped, as more and more cats moved in. Before long, baby cats started to appear and the people who were looking after the cats became a bit overwhelmed. So, one day when the office was empty, Casteel snuck the kittens into a senior executive’s office and let them rummage around and play on the pieces of furniture. Casteel took candid photos of the cats and he states they looked great.

The pictures were then emailed to colleagues, as well as information about them, even thought they weren’t supposed to be emailing that kind of thing of the email network, they assumed that they would not get in trouble for helping kitties who really needed it. The response was a lot better than expected however, they managed to keep their jobs (phew) and, amazingly, all the kittens were adopted within hours.

Casteel states that it was at that moment that he “realised the power of the photograph” and became a little bit obsessed and that is how his photography career began. He still feels like those kittens were responsible for his aim to make the world a better place with the power of his camera.

His website, also explains ways in which you can help cats too, the steps are:

1. Adopt a cat from your local animal shelter or rescue group. And don’t stop at just one. Adopt two! Cats are social animals 
2. Spay and neuter your cats to help reduce overpopulation in shelters.
3. Never declaw your cats. Your cats need claws in order to be both healthy and happy. 
4. Play with your cats every single day. You are helping them get exercise, relieve boredom, build confidence and become even better friends with you.

   

You can also check out his Instagram, where he posts photos of loads of awesome looking photos of cats and dogs.