The Houghton Library at Harvard University houses what is considered the very first photo of a cat. Entitled "Cat Drinking From a Bowl," the daguerreotype is thought to have been taken in the 1840s and is faded and difficult to see.

Evolving and changing with the times, pet photography, around since the beginning of the art of taking pictures, has moved from a position of relative unimportance to a major market "reflecting the changing attitudes of society.

From early daguerreotypes to contemporary digital images, pet photography has captured the hearts of millions of pet lovers around the world."

"Cats are works of art. In a cat, you have a wonderful work of art that will actually live with you, sit in your lap, and purr." Jane Bryant Quinn

"The cat is, above all things, a dramatist." Margaret Benson

Born in Grass Valley, California, photographer Helmi Flick grew up in California and Shreveport, Louisiana. She majored in commercial art with a marketing minor for two years at Louisiana Tech. "I had no interest in photography until I was given an SLR film camera in the 1980s, and enjoyed nature photography," related Helmi. Surprisingly, Helmi admitted, "I had no formal training in photography." "In 1997, while living in Dallas, Texas, my husband Ken and I acquired two British Shorthairs from Earindell Cattery." She photographed the Brits (a blue and a black) with a little point-and-shoot film camera.

"Unfortunately, I had to wait until got the prints back to discover my dismal success rate. Once I got a digital camera in 1999, everything changed.