This morning’s post comes with heavy news, and I’m in the terrible position of reporting the death of body modification icon Dennis Avner, often better known as Stalking Cat or just Tiger. A US Navy vet more recently working as a programmer and technician, Dennis identified strongly with his feline totem animals and in what he told me was a Huron traditional of actually adopting the physical form of ones totem, he transformed himself not just into a tiger, but a female tiger at that, blurring and exploring the gender line as much as the species line. Much of his work had been done by body modification pioneer Steve Haworth, who rebuilt Dennis’s ears, lip, nose, and face to resemble a tiger, including a multitude of transdermals that held artificial whiskers. In addition to being almost completely covered in tattoos, he’d also sculpted his face and body with extensive silicone work, had custom teeth built to emulate his inner nature, and regularly wore contact lenses and an artificial robotic tail.
Dennis’s boundary-breaking life was never an easy one, and as he was fond of saying, he “found fame, but never fortune”. A wonderful and complex person, he was at times as troubled as he was remarkable, and he recently took his own life at the age of 54 (August 27, 1958 – November 5, 2012). You can download an interview that Dennis and I did for BMEradio about ten years ago at this link: BMEradio/Cat.mp3. The photos below were taken at ModCon III by Philip Barbosa when Cat visited us here in Toronto. In the bottom photo he appears with fellow concept transformation artist, Erik “The Lizardman” Sprague.
Comments
288 responses to “RIP Stalking Cat”
Rip
Rip
Rip
Rip
What was the cause of death?
What was the cause of death?
What was the cause of death?
What was the cause of death?
Always enjoyed his interviews, he seemed like a very lovely fellow. Sad that we won’t be able to see what else he was capable of.
Always enjoyed his interviews, he seemed like a very lovely fellow. Sad that we won’t be able to see what else he was capable of.
Always enjoyed his interviews, he seemed like a very lovely fellow. Sad that we won’t be able to see what else he was capable of.
Always enjoyed his interviews, he seemed like a very lovely fellow. Sad that we won’t be able to see what else he was capable of.
🙁
🙁
🙁
🙁
Oh no 🙁
Oh no 🙁
Oh no 🙁
Oh no 🙁
R.I.P :’(
R.I.P :’(
R.I.P :’(
R.I.P :’(
aw rip, guess your nine lives ran out but you always seemed cool 🙁
aw rip, guess your nine lives ran out but you always seemed cool 🙁
aw rip, guess your nine lives ran out but you always seemed cool 🙁
aw rip, guess your nine lives ran out but you always seemed cool 🙁
he committed suicide 🙁 rest in peace x
he committed suicide 🙁 rest in peace x
he committed suicide 🙁 rest in peace x
he committed suicide 🙁 rest in peace x
Such sad news. i never had the honour of meeting him, but I know he inspired a lot of people to follow their heart when it comes to body mods. rest in peace dennis. thinking of his friends and family.
Such sad news. i never had the honour of meeting him, but I know he inspired a lot of people to follow their heart when it comes to body mods. rest in peace dennis. thinking of his friends and family.
Such sad news. i never had the honour of meeting him, but I know he inspired a lot of people to follow their heart when it comes to body mods. rest in peace dennis. thinking of his friends and family.
Such sad news. i never had the honour of meeting him, but I know he inspired a lot of people to follow their heart when it comes to body mods. rest in peace dennis. thinking of his friends and family.
Suicide.
Suicide.
Suicide.
Suicide.
such a sad lose to the world of body-modification, Dennis Avner/ Stalking Cat, was the first i have seen and is one od the many famous BMOD artists i beleive that should be recognized becuase of his collected transverse amount of work that which helped him realize his true self. it is sad that he took his own life.RIP Dennis Avner/Stalking CAT
such a sad lose to the world of body-modification, Dennis Avner/ Stalking Cat, was the first i have seen and is one od the many famous BMOD artists i beleive that should be recognized becuase of his collected transverse amount of work that which helped him realize his true self. it is sad that he took his own life.RIP Dennis Avner/Stalking CAT
such a sad lose to the world of body-modification, Dennis Avner/ Stalking Cat, was the first i have seen and is one od the many famous BMOD artists i beleive that should be recognized becuase of his collected transverse amount of work that which helped him realize his true self. it is sad that he took his own life.RIP Dennis Avner/Stalking CAT
such a sad lose to the world of body-modification, Dennis Avner/ Stalking Cat, was the first i have seen and is one od the many famous BMOD artists i beleive that should be recognized becuase of his collected transverse amount of work that which helped him realize his true self. it is sad that he took his own life.RIP Dennis Avner/Stalking CAT
(Slightly) more info:
http://twitter.com/Salem_Kapsaski/status/266082228226912256
(Slightly) more info:
http://twitter.com/Salem_Kapsaski/status/266082228226912256
(Slightly) more info:
http://twitter.com/Salem_Kapsaski/status/266082228226912256
(Slightly) more info:
http://twitter.com/Salem_Kapsaski/status/266082228226912256
This is sad news indeed. Thanks, Shannon, not only for posting this but for providing a medium for many people to learn about Dennis’ transformation and for a lucky few of us, such as myself, to get to meet him and pick his brain a bit. He will always be remembered as a pioneer in the themed body transformation movement and his legacy will live on far beyond his years.
Are you sure the whiskers were trasdermals though? I had been under the impression for years that they were just lip piercing with custom jewelry and I can’t even fathom how transdermals would work there. I have been known to be wrong before though, so perhaps they were.
This is sad news indeed. Thanks, Shannon, not only for posting this but for providing a medium for many people to learn about Dennis’ transformation and for a lucky few of us, such as myself, to get to meet him and pick his brain a bit. He will always be remembered as a pioneer in the themed body transformation movement and his legacy will live on far beyond his years.
Are you sure the whiskers were trasdermals though? I had been under the impression for years that they were just lip piercing with custom jewelry and I can’t even fathom how transdermals would work there. I have been known to be wrong before though, so perhaps they were.