Lorenzo the cat

[Ban Hammer 12,901]

LOS ANGELES --Not many cats have thousands of fans and a couple of museum exhibits under their belts.

Of course, not many cats could wear belts.

Lorenzo is a 2-year-old Maine ####### who happily models the latest fashions for his owner, photographer Joann Biondi.

His photos have won him thousands of friends or fans on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube. He's been in contact with Paula Poundstone, Yoko Ono follows him, Alanis Morissette tweets him and he has a "relationship" with Matilda the cat, the most famous guest at New York's Algonquin Hotel.

The 14-pound cat currently can be seen hanging in the Little Critters exhibit at the Nave Gallery in Somerville. In October, a group of Lorenzo portraits will go on display at Cornell Museum of Art and American Culture in Delray Beach, Fla.

"Lorenzo is an amazingly beautiful cat and without clothes would still be hard to resist, but it was the clothes that really made him fit the theme of my show. His stoic poses and the way his little legs emerge from cloth just make me smile," said V Van Sant, curator of the Nave exhibit.

Although he "personifies south Florida's tropical fashion sense," attitude was more important than style to Gloria Rejune Adams, director at the Cornell museum.

"I think Lorenzo is a very special cat, with or without clothes, and he definitely would have made the grade as exhibit material either way. He is a gorgeous animal," she said.

The kitten was 4 weeks old and living in a foster home when Biondi adopted him and brought him home to her Coconut Grove, Fla., apartment.

Lorenzo used to steal Biondi's underwear from the laundry and run through the apartment. One day, while she wrestled some clothes away from him, she flipped a tank top over his head. He poked his nose through an arm hole, held his head high and paraded around, staging his first fashion show, Biondi said.

A freelance journalist, Biondi started taking pictures of Lorenzo in different shirts and settings. She put them on MySpace and "he made friends with donkeys, birds and people."

She started getting e-mails from all over the world. Some wanted to know if she had Lorenzo on tranquilizers or was bribing him with steaks. One man insisted Lorenzo was stuffed. And she got a note from a woman who said Lorenzo was causing big problems at their house because her 5-year-old daughter didn't understand why their cat, Shadow, wouldn't wear clothes.

A flamenco singer wrote and said she was writing a song about Lorenzo. Biondi started selling the photos online.

The whole idea is to make people smile, she said, but she still tries to take pictures that "maintain his integrity. I don't want him to look silly. He always wears real clothes instead of costumes."

Lorenzo does have a couple of rules -- no pants, no hats and the top button on a shirt has to stay open.

And he still has typical cat tendencies. A photo Biondi calls "Still Life With Cat" had fruit, vegetables and herbs in it. "Lorenzo played soccer with the grapes, ate the basil and knocked the oranges on the floor."

link

[Jenn! 918]

I HATE animals in clothing.

[Ban Hammer 12,901]

I HATE animals in clothing.

bigot!

[HAL 9000 96]

An almost identical cat hangs out on my back porch. The sweetest thing, too... I wish we could keep him, but there's an FIV outbreak in our neighborhood and we'd like to keep our two cats FIV-free.

[TBoneTX 43,514]

An almost identical cat hangs out on my back porch. The sweetest thing, too... I wish we could keep him, but there's an FIV outbreak in our neighborhood and we'd like to keep our two cats FIV-free.

Can you catch the furry guy and have him tested, si man?

[HAL 9000 96]

Can you catch the furry guy and have him tested, si man?

He's a doll... loves getting picked up and he always comes to the car to say hello when I come in to the parking lot. Looks like a small ####### variety.

There's a community Trap/Release group that might do the trick... I may take him to the vet that works with these kind folks to see if he has a chip too.

[TBoneTX 43,514]

He's a doll... loves getting picked up and he always comes to the car to say hello when I come in to the parking lot. Looks like a small ####### variety.

There's a community Trap/Release group that might do the trick... I may take him to the vet that works with these kind folks to see if he has a chip too.

Do it, si man.

A cat of similar personality would periodically appear outside my house. He was thought to belong to someone, but he was always rather dirty. He couldn't get enough affection or loving, and he tried to follow me into the house all the time. I couldn't let him in because of the uncurrently-vaccinated state of the 100%-indoors Miss Daffy.

The 10-year-old psycho neighbor kid (who WILL grow up to be a serial killer or similar) was seen dragging the cat behind his bicycle. The neighbors across the street found the wounded cat, bandaged its bloodied leg, and kept it inside with their other cats during convalescence. The first time they let the cat out, it disappeared. The neighbor said that it appeared to have another health problem, too. Perhaps it went away to die. She's still heartsick about it, and actually, so am I. Eyes wet just thinking about it. Such a loving creature, one that didn't deserve to be outdoors.

A couple of years ago, a local columnist wrote about his concept of heaven. An early line was, "When you enter Heaven, every pet that you ever had in your life comes running to meet you." I wish that I could see this little cat again, si man.

[mawilson 2,133]

I HATE animals in clothing.

I hate women in clothing.

[HAL 9000 96]

"When you enter Heaven, every pet that you ever had in your life comes running to meet you."

You really want me to cry digital tears?

[TBoneTX 43,514]

You really want me to cry digital tears?

S1, m0n.

[Ban Hammer 12,901]

You really want me to cry digital tears?

i'm right there with you on that.

[Staashi 371]

Do it, si man.

A cat of similar personality would periodically appear outside my house. He was thought to belong to someone, but he was always rather dirty. He couldn't get enough affection or loving, and he tried to follow me into the house all the time. I couldn't let him in because of the uncurrently-vaccinated state of the 100%-indoors Miss Daffy.

The 10-year-old psycho neighbor kid (who WILL grow up to be a serial killer or similar) was seen dragging the cat behind his bicycle. The neighbors across the street found the wounded cat, bandaged its bloodied leg, and kept it inside with their other cats during convalescence. The first time they let the cat out, it disappeared. The neighbor said that it appeared to have another health problem, too. Perhaps it went away to die. She's still heartsick about it, and actually, so am I. Eyes wet just thinking about it. Such a loving creature, one that didn't deserve to be outdoors.

A couple of years ago, a local columnist wrote about his concept of heaven. An early line was, "When you enter Heaven, every pet that you ever had in your life comes running to meet you." I wish that I could see this little cat again, si man.

I believe that to be true. When my dad was dying he would say to us that he couldn't wait to see Freckles, Blondie, Jingles, and Buddy - all pets that had gone before from childhood to present. It was very touching. :

[TBoneTX 43,514]

It was very touching.

Si, man. I found the e-ddress for the columnist; let me see if he can direct us to the entire column. I don't know when he might respond, no man.

[HAL 9000 96]

[thongd4me 69]

Here's another Lorenzo, also a cool cat - seen him in concert in the subway at Grand Central Station, NYC.