Stalking Cat is open to the idea of a relationship, especially with a cat girl by far, which may exist but they haven't met them. It requires a very deep bond, and it's difficult to deny that bond to a given animal, so I imagine it might be difficult to sustain a non cat-cat relationship.
There's also the issue of not having enough time to sustain a relationship, as much time is spent pursuing body modifications.
Going back a few generations, apparently what Stalking Cat is doing was a "fairly common thing" in the Huron (may've misspelled that) tribe, according to a professor of Native American Studies.
There is some surprise from the general public about how intelligent and articulate members of the animal-style body mod community (and furry fandom) are, concerning their weirdness and animalistic tendencies. Stalking Cat has a degree in electronics engineering.
In addition, Stalking Cat's work is specialised enough that they have a solid position in their employment field, and isn't worried in that regard. Adding onto that, Stalking Cat is quite introverted, and in their day-to-day life, and Cat really doesn't give a shit, despite their empathy. It was something they had to do, and Cat knows you may feel some way about that, but it's irrelevant. (Without being so brash in words.)
If the resources are available, Stalking Cat plans (planned?) to extend their body modification not just to the face, but tails, claws, feet (paws) everything, but it's an expensive and time-consuming process.
As Shannon Larratt is interviewing Stalking Cat, he brings up a point that's quite interesting to me, and entirely relevant to the idea of privacy and unwanted celebrity we discussed earlier in this course.
SL: "... uh you do- you do go to a fair number of tattoo conventions, and you must experience at least a minor celebrity status while you're there."
SC: "Well, you know, in fact, I've only been to a couple conventions-"
SL: "I guess- I guess it's just every one you go to, they will always photo you."
SC: "Right, and my pictures have been plastered all over the place, and uh, it, in a way kind of irritates me, because these people're making money off of something I've spent a great deal of time doing, and I haven't gotten a dime out of it."
SL: "Mmhmm."
SC: "But uh, and uh, and they're basically using my picture to get themselves famous."
SL: "Mmhmm."
SC: "Or to get publicised."
SL: "Yeah."
SC: "But again, I did this for me, not for other people."
SL: "Mmhmm."
There's also been a positive side to this, as it encouraged self-expression amongst the public, and while not exactly normalising it, it allowed people who needed to do stuff like this to accept it and go for it. (But not those who are doing it as a trend.)
Interesting story behind feline dentures, how the dentist refused to do them when they were healthy, but when Stalking Cat destroyed their teeth from years of drinkin' and druggin' (their words, not mine), the dentist agreed to sculpt feline teeth-style dentures.
I'm surprised it doesn't affect Cat's speech (much).
Stalking Cat spent a lot of time self-medicating with drugs and alcohol trying to deny their empathy and their connection to different animals, especially cats. Trying to subdue and deny these feelings didn't work very well, but living as a cat counteracted these negative feelings.
Being 1/2 Indian (Native American) & 1/2 White was a very big culture shock to Stalking Cat, as they fought with both the Indians & the Whites for being partially the other race. Stalking Cat accepted the cat/tigress as their spirit animal, which was originally pointed out by the medicine man of Cat's tribe.
Has many tattoos, started with aquatic animals and moved onto cat-type tattoos.
As Potts points out, medical experts consider modifications that contravene social norms to be a form of self-mutilation, but they are much less likely to make such judgments about cosmetic surgeries intended to align appearance more closely with norms.27 Thus a medical ethicist who has never spoken with Stalking Cat was willing to state for publication the fear that he is "seriously risking his health" and thus being "harmed by medicine,"28 although Cat tells me that he has experienced no such health effects. Likewise, Lizard Man says that tongue-splitting is perfectly safe, with no negative consequences. Although Cat's alterations meet more often with patronizing dismissal than overt hostility, Orlan makes people quite angry, even when they are favorably disposed to her gender critique.2
Interesting point. This sort of body modification may not be harmful in the physical sense, and I mean, maybe the social aspects can be overlooked? Kind of hard to put myself in their shoes, and what can I reasonably say about their experiences?
A critical examination is shaky ground here.