Meet the Catman!
Some might call it a feline fetish. Others probably assume that he believes tigers are tops. Or maybe...well, maybe they just don't know what to think. Meet the Catman.
"My given name is Stalking Cat, but I've been going by Cat most of my life. It's part of my given name, so it's essentially my identity." He can say that again.
For over 20 years, Cat has made himself over with surgery and body art in an attempt to look like his favorite feline. "I associate mostly with tigers, so I'm in the process of changing to appear more like a tiger."
That process has so far cost him over $200,000 in various physical modifications. "There have been implants in my nose and eyebrows, silicone put in my cheeks," explains Cat. "My ears have been pointed. There's been piercings put in to attach whiskers." As for his menacing chompers, "they're dentures, done by a dentist to resemble, as closely as he could come, to tiger teeth."
Those razor-sharp claws? Totally homegrown, folks. "They have fiberglass over the top of them to make them a little thicker and a little stronger, but they are completely real."
You might think he's from Katmandu, but he's actually just a guy from San Diego, following a Native American tradition. "I'm Huron and Lakota," says Cat about his Indian heritage. "It's part of a very old Huron tradition with my people, going back to the beginning of time, altering themselves to look like their totems. In my case, cats are my totem."
And looking like a cat has been his meal ticket as well. Represented by renowned Hollywood agent, CHUCK HARRIS, he gets paid top dollar for making public appearances.
"The minimum is $2,500 for a half day's work, up to $8,500," says Chuck. "But that's here in America. Overseas, he makes much more."
When Cat isn't signing autographs or posing for pictures around the world, though, he spends most of his time with either his girlfriend, TESS, who is "behind what I'm doing," or his two furry friends at home.
"My cats are my kids because we have a very close connection. We communicate well with each other. I can read their emotions."
For some reason, that doesn't sound too surprising.
Yahoo
