Katzen, the German word for “cat” is the self chosen name of Katzen the Tiger Lady, a modern day tattooed woman who has made a career out of her lifestyle choice to live as a feline. Katzen, who is a tattoo artist, started her career in the performing arts as a contortionist in Key West, Florida. She was also a fire eater and a juggler before deciding to get her full body tattoos that ultimately led to her name, Katzen.
Katzen the Tiger Lady has stylized tiger stripes all over her body. They begin on her forehead and extend all over her face and down her shoulders, arms, torso and legs. Katzen also has extremely rare and painful eyelid tattoos to enhance her catlike appearance, as well as facial piercings that allow her to screw on whiskers onto her face when she wishes. Katzen is the first woman to have a full body theme tattoo, although of course La Belle Irene, a European sideshow act, was the first woman to be tattooed all over. She had heart tattoos, scroll| tattoos and cupid tattoos, but other than having feminine tattoos, her tattoos had no theme. Katzen actually planned her tattoo design in its entirety before it was implemented, and over 150 tattoo artists have worked on her strips.
Before Katzen began her own body themed tattoo, she was instrumental in inking her former husband, The Enigma. This famous tattooed man grew up eating slugs and playing piano, and ultimately combined these two talents to create a very profitable sideshow act that was originally called simply The Slug. However, after the Enigma met Katzen and they fell in love, the two of them began designing his overall body themed tattoo, which is a jigsaw pattern. Katzen, who had a few hand-drawn tattoos but was otherwise inked very little, actually got her start as a tattoo artist through Enigma, who sent her money and tattoo equipment so that she could plan and ultimately ink his jigsaw puzzle design. While she was working on the Enigma's tattoos, she got the idea for her own body theme tattoo of tiger stripes.
In interviews, Katzen describes seeing herself with markings from the time that she was very young about five years old. She describes feeling strong, independent and happy in those dreams, and wanting to recreate that feeling in real life. In her teenage years, she tried to recreate the feeling through rebellion and ended up in some trouble with the law, but ultimately as she was tattooing The Enigma, she realized that giving herself the feline markings that she now sports would be the right route for her to these positive feelings.
Katzen owns her own tattoo shop and does custom tattoos. She also is known for her willingness to do controversial types of tattoos that other tattoo artists might shy away from, such as facial tattoos and overall neck and head tattoos. She has worked on personalities such as the Leopard Man on the Isle of Skye. Before she will tattoo anyones neck, face or head, Katzen consults with them to determine if this step is something that they fully understand. Any tattoo is a major undertaking, but a highly visible tattoo such as one on the neck or face can be particularly dramatic and have a major impact on a person's life in every aspect from social interactions to professional advancement. However, Katzen believes that some people truly will be happier and more successful if their inner markings become their outer skin as well, and if she is confident that tattooing is the right step for that person, she will help them by designing a tattoo regimen that will lead to the look that they desire.
