Carte de visite–size tintype depicting a young child seated in a studio chair and holding a large white cat across their lap. The child wears a patterned dress with a light-colored apron or pinafore, and the cat is positioned prominently in the foreground, occupying much of the lower half of the image. The pose is frontal and steady, consistent with studio portrait conventions of the mid-19th century. The image appears to be an unmounted tintype cut to CDV dimensions.

Animal companions appear infrequently in early photographic portraiture, particularly in images of children, due to the difficulty of maintaining stillness during exposure. The inclusion of a full-grown cat, calmly held and clearly visible, suggests a deliberate studio arrangement rather than a casual or incidental presence. The scale of the animal relative to the child gives the image a distinctive visual weight.

The background consists of studio furniture and a softly rendered interior setting typical of the period. No photographer’s imprint or identifying text is visible. The tintype survives as a direct, intimate portrait that combines vernacular childhood imagery with the uncommon presence of a domestic animal.