The last image of the Cat showed a front and back view. This image shows the cat waxes from the side.

The pink rods are the 'gates'. Casters put them on their waxes to create a plumbing system by which the wax can melt out of the investment form (be patient, I'm about to explain that) and the molten metal can enter the form.

An integral aspect of this part of the process is the black cuplike bump in the black disk below the gated wax. The disk is made of rubber. Notice the hemisphere on which the gated cat stands. It will become the bottom of our flask in preparation for investing.

It will also form a funnel in the investment to guide the molten metal into form of the Cat.