The Plastic Surgery world lost a true celebrity on Nov. 5th with the passing of Dennis Avner, better known as the Catman. He preferred to go by his Indian name ‘Stalking Cat’. The 54 years old was found in his Nevada home. The cause of death is believed to be a suicide.
Dennis Avner became world famous by transforming his appearance to look like a tiger. He had over 14 cosmetic surgeries which included cheek implants, forehead implants, lip and ear modifications. He had surgically implanted whiskers and a mechanical tail. He tattooed most of his face and body with tiger markings. Avner was a gentle man and we hope he rests in piece.
Meet Dennis Avner aka The Catman. No one is more extreme when it comes to plastic surgery than the Catman. The first thing he did was get his eyes tattooed. Since then he has spent more than $ 150,000 and 2,000 hours on his appearance. He has spent almost 25 years in various stages of his transformation and dream of becoming a tiger.
Dennis has had numerous surgeries. His upper lip has been reformed and he had implants inserted. He capped his teeth and had them filed like fangs. He wears green contact lenses with slit irises. His ears are cut at the top to form points like a cat. He had a dozen six-inch long fiberglass whiskers permanently implanted in his face, and his whole body is tattooed stripes. Dennis has also legally changed his name to “Catman”. Sadly on Nov. 5th, 2012 Dennis took his own life.
Dennis Avner ‘The Catman’: Most Extreme Plastic Surgery Ever?
When you say that someone, in this day and age, has spent over $100,000 on plastic surgery you’re unlikely to even turn an eyebrow.
Dennis Avner 'The Catman' (image hosted by dailymail.co.uk)When you say that someone’s been getting regular plastic surgery since the year 1980 you’ll get a shrug. When you say that someone has done both of these in an effort to turn himself into a tiger though, people start to sit up and take notice.
Dennis Avner, known to most people as Stalking Cat or Catman, has undergone countless hours of plastic surgery at a great expense to attempt to achieve a oneness with his spiritual totem animal, the tiger.
The Catman after plastic surgery. While the native American totemic journey has taken many forms, with people attempting to follow the positive qualities of the totem animal they identify with, Catman (see also Cat Woman cosmetic surgery) has taken it to an extreme by getting implants to re-shape his face, in addition to a fanged denture plate, steel whisker holders in his cheeks, and more tattoos than can readily be counted.
Doctors quoted in the Seattle Times have suggest that Stalking Cat suffers from a form of body dysmorphic disorder; an obsession with the appearance of one’s own body and how it must be changed.
People who suffer from this mental disorder are rational, and they can explain themselves and their desires in ways that make sense.
However, according to these doctors, plastic surgery is based on the idea of informed consent, and it is the opinion of some in the medical community that Stalking Cat has been medically maimed in ways that cannot be reversed, and that this was an irresponsible action on the part of the surgeons that performed some of the more extreme body alterations on Avner.