Cat Man! No Relation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cat Man! What in the hell happened to the world in the last 30 years, eh? Dazed and confused, v.c. P.S. GUATAY – Looking freakishly like a tiger has gotten Dennis "Cat" Avner lots of attention. But it hasn't paid many bills.

RONI GALGANO / Union-Tribune
"I really don't care what people think, so I really don't pay much attention," Dennis "Cat" Avner of Guatay said about the occasional hostile reaction he gets from passers-by.

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.

For the past six years, Avner has lived in a small, two-room apartment he rents off Old Highway 80 in Guatay. His home is filled with felines, from photos and drawings of lions and tigers on the wall to dozens of stuffed tigers lined up above his computer and piled in a net over his bed. He shares his cramped space with two affectionate cats, Morris and Pretty Girl.

Dave Dailey, who owns the hardware store by Avner's home, describes Avner as "the smartest guy I've ever known." Dailey said he frequently refers his customers to Avner when they need computer repairs.

Dailey doesn't mention Avner's appearance until prompted by a question. It's not an issue in Guatay.

"They accept him," Dailey said. "I haven't had anybody have any qualms about it."

Avner said he occasionally gets a hostile reaction from passers-by.

"I really don't care what people think, so I really don't pay much attention," he said. "I don't go places to have people attack me with cameras. I do whatever I have to do."

He chuckled when he described a recent visit to Siegfried and Roy's white tigers on display at a Las Vegas casino. Other tourists were taking more photos of him than they were of the tigers, he said.

Avner said he feels an emotional connection with tigers, lions, leopards or any kind of cat. He showed photos of himself playing with tigers and panthers in a cage at a Florida wildlife refuge.

"It's difficult for me to work with them like other people because they recognize me as one of their own," he said.

One of Avner's favorite activities is attending conventions of what he called "the furry fandom." Participants wear fur suits, dressing like cartoon animals. He's also accomplished at spray-painting people so that they look like animals.

Avner will be attending one of those conventions this month, just before his move. He said the convention in Costa Mesa is a way to connect with others who feel a kinship with the animal world.

"It's all about animals who have humanlike traits," he said. "People relate to animals to the point that they are animals."