let’s start easy, what is your name?
Wassup y’all, it’s Dominus Wildcat Shadow.
How did you come about that name?
Dominus- it’s like sir or master. When I got into pet play I met a lot of people with different sir names and I wanted something specific to me. Kitty is common but felt small so Wildcat was the perfect descriptor. I toyed with other names like Alley Cat or Wildcat Power and some other names but came to Wildcat Shadow. I added Shadow because it’s a nice and clean addition.
When did you first start?
Start what? being a cat?
Yeah, being a cat…
I have always been a cat. When I was a little kid, I played video games, read fantasy books, and loved elves. From the elves, I found the cat thing. Cats resonate with elves, vampires, and fictional creatures, they all have the same energy and I like them all for the same reasons. Cats are a nice way to visually and conceptually show people who I am. It’s very digestible. People know a cat’s energy and I’ve been playing with that feeling for a long time.
I first entered the fetish world with no persona or identity. It started with sex work. At first, I thought the pet stuff was weird, like the people who’d approach me with puppies and their leashes. The first time I saw that, I ran away! But then I started learning about it and came into that lifestyle. People associate me a l lot with pup play because I am a puppy handler.
What is a pup handler?
You know the people who go to the park with a puppy on a leash. It’s like that. It can be as casual as someone who plays with their pet or it can full full-time with deeper relationships. Some people train, and some people just walk, it just depends on the person.
And you’re a handler?
Correct.
What do you call people that you handle?
Pets. I am an owner of a puppy. Some people dog sit or take them out, but a trainer is more hands-on. It’s more about the relationship dynamic between the persons.
Did you start off having an owner?
No. Through the sex work world, I met a dominatrix who opened my ideas to what this world was. She then became my daddy. She was teaching and guiding me.
Did she teach you how to be a handler, or is that something that came naturally?
I was formally trained on dominatrix- I had homework and classes. I followed my daddy around to her gigs and her BDSM performances. I was like her intern. She wasn’t into pet stuff, it wasn’t as popular back then. She was more into scene play. Scene players go into a session, it’s a game they play for a bit and once it’s over, it’s over. I live more on the lifestyle style. For me it’s 24/7 because the cat thing isn't a scene, it’s a lifestyle. It’s the outfits that I wear and my personality. But I learned a lot from her about power play, power dynamics, and control. But to answer your questions it's a mix of intuitively and creativity.
Is there pressure being a handler?
There is a version of that but you’re playing with people who are adults and who are in charge of themselves, literally. I don’t have to do everything for them. But there is a pressure to look out for someone's safety as a lifestyle player.
With the people I am most intimate with we have ongoing power dynamics, which are a form of play. When I am doing this a lot, it’s my job to make sure power is in the right hands. If I am telling someone what to do, I need to make sure I am telling them to do something they want to do. But it’s a lot of fun. The power play is always a game, not pressure, but it tends to be a lot to keep track of situations.
It takes a level of delusional to see yourself as something other than human.
Yes, it does take a bit. People play video games, or other things to indulge in fantasy. I like using my energy to indulge in my fantasy. Cat play is important for me to understand my personality. Cats don’t let everyone touch them. Dogs are usually more liberal with petting and who is allowed to touch them, Cats are on the other side of that spectrum. I noticed that people don’t like cats because they don’t have unlimited access to them. That is what I like about the persona of it all, I get to define how people interact with me.
How important is dancing to you?
Dance is a huge thing for me. I am not a trained dancer, but a dance floor person. It’s about being able to showcase my personality and my fantasies. Some people when they dance want to show performative artsy, sexual, or fetish, but for me, it’s all those things.
People feel like they can’t be themselves until they see someone else be it.
Modeling is essentially how we move across this world. People learn how to move their bodies by observing people. People pay me to be authentic. It’s encouraging because I use myself to give people permission to be themselves. That is what I like about my role at the Santucm Music Festival, it’s about the dance floor.
Favorite city to dance, is Chicago your favorite city to dance in?
Absolutely not! Chicago produces my favorite music by far but my favorite city to dance in is in Brazil, specifically, San Paul. People party there in a way that resonates with me. Chicago is a little bit too timid for my taste. But the music is great in Chicago, it’s why I go out. This music is always there, but the audience sometimes lets me down. Culturally we are taught there is a separation between the artist and performer, but for me, that is not how I was raised.
Western culture at large teaches us that art is something to consume. As a party-goer, that is frustrating to me. A party is fun because the people are fun and are contributing to that energy. Music and shows give me part of my identity and anywhere I go is because of the music. But an audience can let me down. When people are critical of themselves that shows up in spaces where people are meant to be dancing.
My favorite places are places where I don’t feel alone for partying. it’s not to put on a show. I like to party with people who also like to party and all the attention is not on me. That is why I don’t wanna pay for parties, I feel like I bring the party.
Only have time for two more questions. What is your relationship with the color purple?
Purple is something I am intentional about. I don’t have a lot of pieces, and keeping it in the same color palate keeps it simple. I relate to anime characters. Characters tend to dress the same way. As a broke person who gets attached to things, it's great. In the latex world, black is a dominating color, I wanted something that would make me stand out.