Adorable Time-Lapse Shows How Much a Kitten Grows up in Its First Months of Life

Small black kitten playing toy on a wooden background.

Photo: serkucher/Depositphotos (Not a photo of the actual kitten.)

Aided by his camera, self-described “catographer” Nils Jacobi has made a career out of capturing the playful side of cats. We've been marveled by his work before, as it masterfully brings out the true side of these seemingly unfazed pets. Recently, he started working on a different project—one that sweetly documents the first months of life of a kitten. Jacobi produced a time-lapse video of a cat growing up, and the results are as cute as they are insightful.

The video stars a black and white cat aptly named Tuxedo. To track his growth, Jacobi decided to take pictures of the kitten every few days, starting when the cat was just 5 days old. In the first images, the tiny feline has to be held up, as it can barely sit straight on its own. By the first month, the fluffy cat is finally camera-ready and poses on its own. To make the time-lapse work, Jacobi aligned all of the kitten's pictures in Photoshop, keeping his head in the same place throughout the video.

On top of the cuteness of seeing a kitten grow up, the video is also revealing as to how the cats change in the early months of its life. In particular, Tuxedo's eyes go from black to blue to a warm shade of grey. His fuzzy Maine Coon coat starts growing out, and even his whiskers seem to change.

Jacobi got to chronicle Tuxedo's growth up until the 95th day. That was when the kitten found a forever home and moved hundreds of miles away from the photographer. Fortunately, Tuxedo's siblings were adopted by families in the same area as Jacobi, so he hopes to keep on documenting their lives and carry on with this project.

To stay up to date with Jacobi's work, and any possible new cat time-lapses, you can follow him on Instagram and TikTok.

Photographer Nils Jacobi produced a time-lapse of a cat growing up, and the results are as cute as they are insightful.

@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

To make the time-lapse video work, Jacobi aligned all of the cat's pictures in Photoshop, keeping his head in the same place throughout the video.

@furryfritz Kitty growing up unfortunately I can’t continue the photoshoots with this little guy because he moved to his new furever home which is quite far away from my location. But his three siblings live in my area. Next week I will meet two of them again and continue hope you’re also never getting tired of watching these #furryfritz #catographer #catgrowingup #mainecoon #tuxedocat ♬ Married Life (From “Up”) – Gina Luciani