The description says Catalog will compile a list of non-living items in an area and that one use is detecting contraband smuggled among other items.

Will it detect the Sammies Cyber? The only objection I see is that the cyberware is somehow now "alive" because essence was paid. If this arguement holds, would the spell detect cyber on a dead Sammie? If I didn't want it to work, I'd just list the item as "one metahuman body". Being nice, "one heavily cybered metahuman body".

Am I being unfair?

No that sounds like a very fair read. Spells should not just automatically replicate something that the character has no way of knowing. But maybe i'll need to re-read catalog.

My gut response is that cyber/bio paid for with essence is alive for the purposes of this spell. It's part of the aura of the person.

I agree with that. For exemple Catalog will tell you "A Nissan Jackrabbit". Not "Four wheels, two doors, en engine block, a hood..." unless those parts are detached from the car. The cyberware is integral to the (now dead) samurai and will not be detailed.

I think his armor jacket and his Predator will register as separate items. And if the spell list "a grenade" and "a grenade pin", you're probably in trouble !

Also don't forget you need to beat the threshold for the item for it to register on the spell. A natural rock is easy or rabbit foot, an highly processed and technological item like a mcrodrone or monowhip is harder

Also remember that anything the caster would not recognize gets listed as "unknown". If the mage wouldn't recognize the object in front of him, he's not going to get any information on it other than "unknown".

You see:

A rock.... x1236
A stick.... x124

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Also, there is a skill that detects cyberware(assensing) so making a spell that would do that kinda cheapens the skill.

If you're a smuggler, you may want to be very conscious about the legality rating of cyberware you install. Assensing and cyberware scanners pick it up -trivially-. So either go legal, or go bioware. Maybe nanoware.

In a living subject yes, but if he's dead like in the OP question I think it no longer works that way.

If he's dead than the catalog spell would still just say "corpse". Once you pay with something with essence, it is part of you.

By RAW it wouldn't even matter whether cyberware is an integral part of the character. Magic can only affect anything to which the character has line of sight. So unless it is obvious 'ware, tha caster is out of luck.

A GM could however be lenient with this condition, to make the catalog spell worthwhile.

RAW, Detection spells may detect targets out of LOS, or even on another plane, SR3.192. I doubt this changed in SR4.

I don't know of such a rule in SR4.

It is cast in Touch range on a subject, but the sense granted can be area effect (as Catalog is), which is Force * Magic [*10 for extended range variants], or even psychic. They made the rules more vague, but didn't limit the spell.