Kid Kat

This is probably not the first chapter of my story, but close to it. Please review! Every little comment counts!! Thank you tons for your time, and please email with any other advice or questions. Enjoy!



Ian woke up with a start.

He felt around on the soft mattress. He was shivering and a strong, cold wind bombarded him. He scrambled around the bed, feeling covers that weren't there. He shook his head, and felt something tickle him.

Looking down, a pool of fur lay at his feet. His feet! They weren't there! They were rounded and furry.

Suddenly the realization of the days before sunk in like an icy stone. Shock, disbelief, fear; the feelings were all there. He was no longer a human. He was a cat.

Ian took a deep sigh of relief, as deep of his small, frail cat lungs could bear and let it out. He sat up straighter, presently acknowledging the sunlight that had crept its way around his room. He let out an exhausted yawn and stretched, extended his newly accommodated legs. His back arched and he wriggled his paws, watching his claws slide in and out. He stood up, shaking himself out of his slumber.

One advantage of being a cat was his nimble agility. Ian sprung from his bed and landed softly on the carpet below him. He wondered where being a cat came in when he had gym. He tested out his claws underneath him, sheathing, and unsheathing them as he gripped the carpet. He trotted along, his tail held high, instinctively, which bugged him until today.

Ian glanced around the messy room. Scattered clothes poked out of the drawers of his dresser and books overran his shelf. The measly stain his mom had scorned him about only days before seemed gigantic, like a beast ready to suck up his carpet and trickle to his paws. (He took a wary step backward.) Where, where, where? He glanced at his drawer and dresser. Boring. What was the point of being a cat if you couldn't have a little fun with it? He pranced out the door and sprinted his way down the once narrow hallway.

Everything was different, every little detail that he had overlooked all the way down to the cracks underneath the doors. Every small crevice was an opportunity to sneak around, to spy and be utterly invisible. He crouched down and shifted his hind legs under him, almost wishing his older sister were here. Almost.

The fur on his neck stood up and he moved his paw forward and inch on the carpet. He held his breath and pressed his chest to the ground. He lowered, too, his bottom, keeping his tail, which seemed like nothing but a burden, low.

He felt like a lion, stalking the prey silently. He moved slowly, his body blending in to the ground, crawling, farther, and farther into the African safari. The golden sand grass flowing among him, shielding him like a great king of the-

"What are you doing?" The startling question nearly scared Ian out of his fur.

He leaped into the air and whirled around, swiping at the air. He felt himself land squarely on his paws, gripping the carpet with his unsheathed claws, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Don't do that!" He hissed to Puma, his cat.

"Whatever you say, master," said the cat. He had a look of amusement plastered on his tabby snout.

"Don't call me master," Ian muttered through clenched teeth. He let the fur on the back of his neck lie flat and he lowered his tail. "What are you doing here, anyway?" He tried to change the subject.

"I sort of live here," answered Puma. His cat...it was awkward, but he'd gotten used to talking with him over the past few eventful days. Puma swaggered up to him. He stood slightly taller than Ian. "Or, are you going to kick me out like you did that one time?" he challenged.

Ian's eyes grew round. "Hey, I had-

"I'm only kidding," mused his cat, and he cuffed him lightheartedly with his paw.

"Good. Well, I can't believe I'm asking you this but...will you teach me how to open the fridge? I'm starving."

The cat stopped, as if thinking it over. Then, wordlessly, he turned and leaped over the stairs. Casually, he bounced down the steps and landed with a heroic stance. "You coming or what, master?" he called, slyly drawing out the word, master.

"Don't call me m-" Ian stopped and peered at the steps in a way he hadn't since he was three. A way of horror. Then, he had only taken one step at a time. He swallowed hard and followed. Ian lifted one leg and stretched forward until it hurt. "I can't," he whimpered. "The steps are too big."

"Just hop down," Puma grumbled. He didn't seem in any mood to be helpful Ian observed, rolling his kitty cat eyes. He halfway wondered why he wanted a cat in the first place, certainly not for it to teach him how to get down the stairs.

With a since of dread lingering in Ian’s gut, he hopped, landing stiffly on the first step. He felt as if he did pretty well for his first try. He hopped again, quickly moving his hind paws under him, then again, and again, and again, until he was halfway there. He tried it with two's and that worked too. Then, gaining his confidence, he leaped, slipped, and fell head over heels down the rest of the stairs. He landed with a thump, on his legs, of course. They were trembling.

"How'd I do?" He asked his cat, panting with bugged eyes. Puma looked at him with a hint of disgust and stalked away. Ian followed, tail and head down, glumly. The cat always did like his sister best.