日本語 Japanese Ask Questions Thread 3

If you have a question about the language, ask it and fellow 4channers might see it and answer it for you.


Japanese Ask Questions Thread2
http://dis.4chan.org/read/lang/1206158123/1-40

What is the difference between 'motte' and 'katte' in these example sentences?

1. karera wa shinbun o motte imasu.
2. kare wa neko o katte imasu.

Do they both mean 'to own', and one is for inanimate objects and the other is for living things?

Also, what is the unconjugated form of 'katte'? I know 'motte' is 'motsu', but if 'katte' is the conjucated form of 'kau', to buy, then the example pictures in Rosetta Stone don't make any sense.

Example 1 shows a picture of two people sitting on a bench holding a newspaper and Example 2 shows a boy holding a cat, but I don't know the exact relationship between the two.

Thanks in advance.