Reader Steve sent me this first, but since then I’ve gotten this or similar links from many readers (thanks, all!). At this site you can see the products of a Japanese company that produces realistic cat masks. They take a picture of your cat that you’ve sent in, and, for a considerable fee (about $2700), will produce a realistic head mask of your cat that you can use to scare the bejeesus out of both people and felids. They use the photo to make a mold of your cat, and then apply the fur and finishing touches:
This cat doesn’t look too pleased. . . .
. . . and a video! This doesn’t show much about the cat mask, except that a dude wearing one narrates a cute video about a mother cat and her four new kittens:
********
From the BBC we have this story about another cat burglar, this time one that steals MONEY. (Click on the screenshot):
An excerpt:
A kleptomaniac cat notorious for stealing items from its neighbours has “finally brought home something of real value” – £25.70 in cash.
Pilfering puss Theo became known for thieving Christmas decorations and toys in Ipswich, which owner Rachael Drouet would then try to return.
She had joked it might be useful if he brought home cash instead of “tat”.
So he did. The eight-year-old Siamese cross stole the money a neighbour had left out for the milkman.
Ms Drouet and her family recently moved to a new house in the town and thought Theo might have left his thieving habits behind him.
Far from mending his ways, the filching feline upped his game and stole a plastic bag containing the cash.
Luckily there was a note inside with an address, and Ms Drouet’s partner Paul Edwards was able to return the money to their neighbour.
“He explained we have an Asbo cat,” Ms Drouet said.
“The young lad smiled, took the money and acted like that kind of thing happened all the time.”
Now I have no idea what “tat” is, nor what an “Asbo cat” might be, so British readers might help out. At any rate, all’s well that ends well. Here’s the dosh that Theo brought home:
***********
When I was a kid, my father used to tell me, “Jerry, try to think of a face you’ve never seen before.” This is very hard, as your imagination always calls up faces of people you’ve met. But, using computer technology, you can do this by morphing different faces. Now, the DevopStar site describes how you can produces not only the faces of humans that don’t exist, but also of cats. Here are some cat faces generated this way. Most aren’t bad, but that monstrosity at the lower left is clearly a glitch, as is the asymetrically-eyed cat right above it:
h/t Kevin, Graham
Tat, as in tatty: something thst looks cheap.
Had to look up ASBO – anti-social behavior
Actually, an ASBO is an “anti social behaviour order” issued by a court in order to restrict the behaviour of a person deemed to be behaving in an anti-social manner 🙂
I’ve always thought ASBO sounds like a name for one of those odd car brands sold on the UK market, something like “I’ve just purchased a secondhand Vauxhall ASBO to replace my old Reliant STI. It has a large dent in the bonnet and smells of sick, but the large seats are perfect for dogging.”
You may be thinking of a Vauxhall Astra.
Yes, a 1982 MKl ASBO Estate!
You are really baffling the cousins with that one!
Let me add this (look for more “cat mask” vs cats videos):
Spoiler: cats don’t appreciate trying to “blend in”.
https://youtu.be/1KIKrSG-Xzc
Those cat masks would definitely scare the bejesus out of our cats. They even spook sometimes when they see us even without masks on. A couple of nights ago, my wife came in from outside holding her phone in a way that underlit her face. I was holding a cat at that time who freaked, taking a divot out of my hand. He realized his mistake a second later. I showed him my wound and he apologized profusely. He literally rushed right up to me and rubbed against my leg to say he was sorry. So cute!
Sorry? Maybe you were projecting. It’s a CAT man.
Some of the “cats” that don’t exist are quite terrifying. Occasionally, in addition to a randomly assembled car will be pieces of a human throw together incorrectly.
I looked at the human variety before, and the asymmetry effects in those weren’t too bad as much as the color/light cut-and-paste effects. I was three images in before I saw something that looked fake.
$2700 for a cat mask? I have a feeling this company’s patrons are almost exclusively furries…
And why wouldn’t you get a set of *paws* to go with it? Just the head is creepy.
Apropos ASBO, here in Cambridge (the original one, in England), there was a very aggressive swan who lived on a section of the River Cam in the centre of the city. He attacked rowers on the river, gaining himself the nickname Mr Asbo.
Eventually, the river managers relocated him several miles up-river, but he kept returning, so he was moved sixty miles away.
I liked how the mother cat in the video retrieved her babies.
In British English, “tat” = cheap rubbish, and an “ASBO” is an anti-social behaviour order issued by the courts for low-level misbehaviour. (An ASBO might include conditions forbidding the recipient from visiting particular locations etc.)
A cat burglar?