This is another celebrity cat wannabe – correction the cat’s owner is the wannabe. They want their cat to be a celebrity. Good old Grumpy cat did this to people; encouraging people to live the celebrity life vicariously through their cats. You know you get pushy mums and dads who want their child to be a tennis star, well is the same thing.
The ‘always surprised cat’ is like that (if he really is and I doubt it) not because of an anatomical defect affecting the skeleton, as is the case for Grumpy Cat, but because of the markings on his fur and the baby-like round eyes of the British Shorthair. This cat is a bicolour British Shorthair and they are bred with rounded features and cute baby faces.
The black circular patch of fur below the cat’s mouth gives the impression that the cat’s mouth is open in astonishment. Combine that with the round large eyes and you have a surprised look. That is my theory.
We all know by now that none of these celebrity cats that have a permanently intriguing expression actually have an expression which reflects a true emotion. It is just an accident of anatomy.
The cat’s name is Banye. He is 11 years-of-age. He lives in China and his caretaker is Winnie. Nice to see China joining in with what is a Western concept: celebrity cats.
Winnie? Not Chinese I wouldn’t have thought? unless its a name taken because she works with non-Chinese and as such Winnie is easier to remember. Free roaming cats are treated horrifically in China often ending up as food so nice to see this one alive and well and looking healthy and loved albeit surprised 🙂
Yes, at a glance it seems his mouth is open in surprise – a pure illusion.
At first immediate glance i thought “SURPRISED CAT” had its mouth open in a real surprise akin to a human face.Nature and photography has given this cat a place in the “Hall of fame” of cats. Beautiful photo,the round surprised eyes and the colour patch on its lower jaw seem artificially fabricated. A statue rather than a true living cat.