My name is Marianna, I’m from Italy and I am not a professional photographer. I’ve always been a cat lover and my passion for photography came out when I adopted my lovely cat Arthur 9 years ago and I wanted to show his beauty worldwide. During these years, I found that photography could be the perfect language to express myself, especially black & white photography.

At the moment I am working on my main photographic project dedicated to the cats of Venice of which the first book was published in 2018 (recently republished) and a second is coming out soon, in which, in addition to photographs, you can find the stories of every cat I’ve met. (I started it more than 4 years ago).

In the meantime, I am also involved in a project dedicated to cats living in work environments or particular environments (C-AT Work) of which I have published a series of 3 books.

I have recently started a series dedicated to the cats of well-known personalities or leading artists in their sector photographed with their owners and a color project with tattooed girls and cats compared with paintings.

Meanwhile, a series of photos I took about post-wedding with cats shared by Bored Panda let my work be recognized worldwide.

I like to call myself a "Catographer" because it has been almost 9 years that I've been taking only photos of cats. 

So during these years, I've met a huge quantity of amazing cats, each one with different qualities and behaviors. I've always tried to catch cats' expressions of satisfaction, or Catisfaction as I like to call it, a sort of happy face or feeling (previously here).

This is what I like the most, when cats show some kind of happiness. So many people say that cats don't smile like dogs do... Well, this is proof that cats can smile as well!

So I did a selection of photos from different cat projects I've realized during these years that represents what Catisfaction looks like. I don't know if they are really happy or not, but their faces in some moments of relaxing when they are really enjoying cuddles make me smile and give me a sense of peace that seems to be something like happiness.

I like cats because they don't do what you want them to do; they understand us very well, but they just won't do what you are asking for. I think that's why people think they are antisocial. But what makes me happy is exactly when I take photos like these: it is all so spontaneous, no one can tell them to 'be satisfied' and I realize that the moment is so precious and intimate. That's what Catisfaction looks like!