Kaufman's journey began in the 1970s with her two Siamese cats, Gino and Gato, who helped her master the art of capturing what photographer Henri Cartier Bresson calls the "decisive moment." While Gino and Gato were the driving force behind her occupation as a photographer, Kaufman only began documenting outdoor walks with her feline friends in the 1990s. By that time, Gino and Gato had passed away, and Kaufman was living life with two new cats — a Siamese named Jimmy and an Abyssinian named N'Arthur. These two breeds have a notorious reputation for being alpha cats, which made relations between Jimmy and N'Arthur difficult at first. It wasn't until Kaufman began taking them on outdoor walks that they managed to find a groove.