How should you address a cat?

Especially when that cat is your professor? I tend to err on the side of formality, mainly because I'm an old guy, and tend to be very informal. My professors all address me and the other students by their first names, which is fine by me, and a lot of the students reciprocate. So am I being polite or a hopeless fuddy duddy when I address emails to "Dear Professor X?"

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