CULTURE of DEATH:Human 'cat' moving fur away to find work

GUATAY-Looking freakishly like a tiger has gotten Dennis "Cat" Avner lots of attention.But it hasn't paid many bills.That's one reason why Avner is leaving the tiny East County community where he has lived for six years and moving to Washington state. There's not much demand in San Diego County for a computer and electronics technician with tattooed stripes on his face and fangs in his mouth.Avner, 46, began his transformation 25 years ago, undergoing up to a dozen surgeries. He offers a simple explanation for enduring all that pain."It's something I need to do," he said."I have to do it. It's part of who I am."He has gotten plenty of publicity-and some money-from his obsession.Avner has been on more than 50 television shows and traveled around the world displaying his cattiness.He has appeared on the Discovery Channel, MTV, VH1, "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" and the Larry King and Rikki Lake shows. He has gone to Japan, England, Czechoslovakia, Australia and New Zealand.He charges $1,000 a day for his appearances, but the offers are sporadic. Avner said his agent is pitching a show for him on the Fox television network, but the details are still murky."If I could make a living at it, it would be nice," he said.He said his need to transform himself into a form of human cat stems from his Indian background as a member of the Huron and Lakota tribes. He grew up in Michigan and was given the Indian name of Stalking Cat.Following an ancient Huron tradition, Avner said he is changing himself into his totem of a tiger.That explains the catlike tattoos that cover his face and body, the surgery that split his lip and the implants he had placed in his forehead to shape his face more like that of an animal.It's why he has metal studs embedded in his upper lip, where he can put in his whiskers when he wants.He had surgery on his ears so that they come to pointed tips, and his inch-long nails are painted tiger orange with black stripes. He wears contact lenses so that his pupils appear to be oval, catlike slits.He opens his mouth wide to reveal his teeth, with a set of fangs on each side. He had his own teeth removed and replaced with the feline dentures.The transformation is mostly complete, but Avner said he'd still like to have studs placed on each side of his head so he could put on tiger ears to complete his look....
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As in the days of Noah...