Cat Sitting
Janie walked home from school with her best friend, Allison, on a crisp autumn Friday in North Carolina. The leaves had started changing color and the wind blew a few along the sidewalk. They twirled and twirled like a prima ballerina. The girls were enjoying the start of their senior year at Rowan High School and looking forward to the first party of the school year that weekend. Janie and Allison had been side-by-side since kindergarten. They liked the same books, movies, clothing, and boys. They even looked alike with their long straight auburn hair, brown eyes, and petite figures. They could be sisters.
The girls always went to Janie’s house after school, because she was an only child and didn’t have annoying younger siblings at home like at Allison’s house where she had two younger brothers that were in middle school, and a younger sister in elementary school. Allison always thought the chaos at home was like a prison yard fight and liked to escape to her best friend’s house. Over the years, she had spent so much time there, that Janie’s parents put a second twin bed in Janie’s room.
When they walked into the large foyer, they dropped their backpacks, kicked off their shoes, and headed straight to the kitchen for a snack. Immediately, Janie noticed a note on the refrigerator door, addressed to her from her mother.
“Janie,
I told Mrs. Matthews next door that you would cat sit for her this weekend. The key is under her mat, and she left instructions for you on her kitchen counter.
Mom
“Crap!” Janie said after reading the note. “I have to stay at old lady Matthews’ house this weekend and watch her stupid cat.”
“It can’t be that bad,” Allison offered. “Think of it as having your own place for a few days. No adults. This could actually be fun.”
Allison always knew what to say to cheer up Janie. She could always find the good in a situation Janie felt was negative. After a quick snack of apple slices and peanut butter, Janie packed a few overnight things, grabbed her backpack and phone charger, and the girls walked next door.
Mrs. Matthews was an old widow, who lived in a large house with overgrown grass, shutters drawn, and green paint peeling from the outside paneling. It was like that one house that every town had – the one that the children were afraid of.
The girls walked up to the front door and lifted the heavy mat to get the key. Janie unlocked the door and led the way into the dark house, finding and turning on light switches as she walked deeper into the house. Allison followed right behind her, looking around at the old photographs that covered the walls. It looked like a museum. There was no sign of the cat yet.
Once they found their way to the kitchen, Janie saw the note Mrs. Matthews left.
Janie,
My cat’s named Kat. She is very special. She must be fed only twice a day. Precisely at 8:00 a.m. and again at 4:00 p.m. Her food is on the counter, and she gets one scoop at each feeding. Please give her fresh water every morning. She likes to play with her toys in the afternoon, and she naps in her own cat bed in the parlor. Do not let Kat out of the house, and do not feed her anything extra. No treats, no extra food, no matter how much she begs. This is very important!
You may sleep in the spare room, which is upstairs on the right. I will be home Sunday morning and will pay you $100 for your services.
Thank you,
Mrs. Matthews
“What is it with old people and cursive writing?” Janie asked Allison. “You practically have to know how to solve the DaVinci Code in order to read some of it.”
They both laughed.
“Well, it’s almost 4:00, so I guess you better feed the cat. Where is it, anyway? Allison asked while looking around the kitchen.”
Janie and Allison walked around downstairs calling out for Kat to no avail. Janie shrugged and went back to the kitchen. She put a scoop of food in the pink bowl, and rejoined Allison in the parlor.
“No TV?!” Janie announced in shock after looking around.
“It’s okay. I have my laptop. We can stream on it if I use my phone as a hot spot,” Allison said. She always had a solution to every possible problem.
The girls plopped down on an ugly olive green sofa, set up the laptop on the coffee table, and relaxed. They were both big horror movie fans, especially the classic 80s slasher films, so they binge watched a few unknown B-movies the rest of the evening. Eventually, after many hours of blood and gore, Allison headed home and Janie went upstairs to go to sleep.
* * * *
At exactly 8:00 a.m., Janie’s alarm went off on her cell phone. She reached over to her phone and shut off the annoying beeping sound. She hated having to get up so early on a Saturday. After a quick zombie-like trip to the bathroom, Janie headed downstairs.
In the kitchen, she noticed that the food from last night was missing from Kat’s bowl. Well, she must be here somewhere because she ate her food last night, Janie thought as she freshened the cat’s water, and poured a scoop of food into the bowl. I wonder if I’ll ever get to see this mysterious Kat, she thought while walking back up the stairs. Janie was determined to get some more sleep. She knew she and Allison would be up late that night because of the party in the woods. She would hate to be too tired to have a good time tonight. Janie was back asleep minutes after her head hit the pillow again.
Around noon, Janie rolled out of bed. She texted Allison to make plans for the day and to get ready for the party together. Knowing that Allison would be on her way over to Mrs. Matthews’ house soon, Janie got up and took a shower. By the time she was dressed, and her hair was mostly blown dry, Allison was ringing the doorbell. She came equipped with a few outfit options for that night’s party in the woods. Both girls were pretty popular at school and knew that the other kids would be checking out what they wore. After a lot of trying on and swapping clothes, they finally settled on their outfits.
“First party of our senior year – school spirit is definitely the way to go!” Allison said.
Allison chose jeans and a white hoodie with the school’s logo on it. Go Eagles! Janie also wore jeans but paired them with a light blue t-shirt and a blue and yellow (school colors) flannel shirt unbuttoned and tied into a knot at her waistline. Both girls opted to wear sneakers since they would be out in the woods.
At 4:00, Janie’s cell phone chimed, and she went downstairs to feed the cat. To her surprise, Kat was sitting patiently next to her bowl, waiting to be fed.
“Well, hello there, Kat,” Janie said to the small calico cat. She added a scoop of food to Kat’s bowl and petted her head gently. Kat mewed in appreciation. Her white fur contained areas with beautiful shades of tan, mahogany, and reddish orange. She even had a heart-shaped patch of brown fur on the top of her head. She was the cutest cat that Janie had ever seen.
“Hey, Allison,” Janie called out. “I found the cat!”
Allison squealed in delight and ran down the stairs. To Janie, it sounded like a stampede of elephants.
“Ooooohhhhh, so cute!” Allison said as she slowed down to approach the cat.
The girls sat on the kitchen floor for a little bit and played with Kat. They rubbed her belly, scratched behind her ears and under her neck, and giggled the whole time. It was like they were two 5-year-old girls again, playing with a kitty. Kat loved the attention and purred loudly.
Eventually, the girls realized they needed to finish getting ready for the party and headed back upstairs. They spent hours on their hair and makeup. Allison had brought everything imaginable to make them look incredible before heading out – gel, hairspray, mousse, brushes, blow dryer, straightener, and so on. The amount of hairspray and perfume was a bit excessive, so Janie opened the bedroom window a few inches.
“It’s almost 10. Let’s get going,” Janie suggested to Allison. On their way to the front door, they heard Kat meowing loudly from the kitchen. The girls went to find out why she was being so loud and found her sitting next to her bowl.
“I already fed you,” Janie said to the cat. Kat mewed back at Janie as if she was demanding more food.
“Just give her a little more,” Allison said. “She sounds like she is hungry. What can it hurt?”
Disregarding Mrs. Matthews instructions, Janie added a half of a scoop of food to Kat’s bowl and patted her on the head. Yeah, what could it hurt? Janie thought.
The girls headed back to the front door, shutting off lights as they went, locked up, and went to the party. The spot in the woods where the kids always hung out, locally referred to as “The Pit,” was within walking distance.
“Shoot!” Janie suddenly yelled out.
“What?” Allison asked, startled.
“I think I left the bedroom window open. What if the cat gets out?”
“Well, we could go back and check if you want,” Allison suggested.
“No, we’re already this far. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Janie finally decided after contemplating what to do.
The girls walked onto the dirt trail that led up to the party. The Pit was a large clearing in the woods, surrounded by tall pine trees huddled together leaving very little room, if any, for someone to walk through. The only way in or out was on the path they were on. Janie and Allison could hear music coming from deeper into the woods, and laughter from party goers. When they arrived, they were welcomed by cheers and hugs from their classmates. There was a small bonfire in the middle of the clearing, and kids were scattered around sitting on whatever they could find – logs, rocks, and even some sacrificed jackets. These were good kids. They didn’t drink or do any drugs. They simply liked to hang out together and have fun.
* * * *
Around midnight, Janie was sitting on a large log near the edge of The Pit when she heard a strange noise coming from the woods behind her. It was as if someone or something was trying to make their way through the dense trees. It was a continuous rustling of branches, and it seemed to be getting closer to the party.
“Allison!” Janie called over to her friend. She stood up and waved her arm in a manner telling Allison to come over to her.
“What’s up?” Allison asked brightly as she skipped over to Janie.
“Listen,” Janie said quickly. They both stood quietly for a moment and there it was – the rustling sound.
“It’s probably a squirrel or something,” Allison said, trying to make her best friend feel better.
“No, it sounds much larger than a squirrel. It could be a bear,” Janie said nervously.
Her eyes were wide, and she stepped closer to her best friend.
Allison stood still and stayed quiet so they could keep listening. Within the woods she heard the rustling again. She paid special attention to it. That does sound like something bigger, she thought.
“I’ve seen raccoons around here that are pretty big. Maybe that’s what it is,” Allison suggested.
“I don’t know, but it’s getting closer. Could it be a bear? Or something else dangerous? I’m getting scared,” Janie said.
Allison shrugged and grabbed Janie’s hand.
“Let’s go tell the others and get out of here,” she said. “It’s getting late anyway.”
The girls walked up to the fire and told everyone about the strange rustling noise coming from the woods.
“Let’s put out the fire and get out of here,” Jeff said. “There’s no need for any of us to stick around and find out what’s out there.” He was already working on smothering the fire by putting dirt on it with the help of a few other kids.
Jeff was a take charge kind of guy, and all his friends respected him. He played on the school’s baseball team and was very active in student government. He was nicely built and good looking like a Calvin Klein model with sandy hair and bright blue eyes. Both Allison and Janie had secret crushes on him, but neither girl would ever date someone the other liked. It was part of the girl-code. Besides, Jeff has never asked either of them out anyway.
A bunch of the kids immediately started walking down the path leading to the main road as Allison and Janie waited with Jeff to make sure the fire was completely out. Janie looked around nervously, making sure no unwelcome animals made an appearance.
“Good, it’s out. Let’s go,” Jeff said, escorting the girls to the path.
As they walked, there was a loud swooshing noise next to them in the trees. The woods were too dense for them to see anything. The three teenagers started walking faster. Janie kept looking around and stumbled over a tree root. As she was on the ground, she looked to her left where the noise was coming from and noticed a vantage point at ground level of the forest. She could see large brown and white paws of some sort. Larger than any animal she could think of.
“Guys,” she whispered, breathless. “There’s something in the woods, right next to us.”
She slowly stood up with the help of her friends. Her ankle was sore from the fall, and she couldn’t walk very fast, but she knew she must get out of there. Jeff and Allison stood on either side of Janie and the three of them walked as quickly as her injured ankle would allow back to the main road. Janie kept wincing in pain but was too scared to slow down.
“What exactly did you see?” Jeff asked her.
“I don’t know. It had paws larger than anything I have ever seen or could think of. Definitely larger than a black bear,” Janie quietly explained. “It had mostly white fur on its legs, with patches of brown.”
“That almost sounds like the coloring of Mrs. Matthews’ cat,” Allison said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood and make everyone feel better.
Once at the main road, Jeff gave the girls a ride back to Mrs. Matthews’ house, and even assisted Janie inside and off her ankle. After he left, Allison found an ice pack in the fridge and helped Janie get her shoe off, ankle propped up on some pillows, and applied the ice.
“Thank you,” Janie said as she quince slightly. “It’s not too bad. I think I’ll be fine by tomorrow. But let’s stay downstairs tonight. I don’t’ want to try to climb those stairs.”
Allison agreed and went up to the spare bedroom to grab a few things for them. When she turned on the light, she immediately noticed the curtains moving. Oh, yeah, the window, she thought as she walked towards it. She reached up to close the window and noticed that the screen was torn. There was a large rip right through the center of the screen and it looked like something pushed its way out of the window. She looked out the window and saw the porch roof right below, and then a small utility chest on the side of the house. That looks doable, she thought. And the tear looks large enough for a cat to squeeze through. Realization struck and Allison gasped.
Before heading back downstairs, Allison explored the second floor for signs of the cat. She looked under the bed in the spare room and in Mrs. Matthews’ room. She checked all the bedroom closets, the linen closet in the hallway, and walked into the bathroom. She reached out to move the curtain with all the hope in the world, but when she opened the floral shower curtain, all she found was an empty clawfoot tub. After her thorough, uneventful search, Allison climbed down the carpeted staircase, gripping the dark wooden banister as she walked, and prepared herself for the possible freak-out by her best friend.
“Umm, Janie…” she began. “I think we may have a problem.”
Allison explained what she saw upstairs and her thoughts that Kat may have gotten out of the house. All the color drained out of Janie’s face as she took in what Allison was telling her. She was as pale as a ghost. Oh, my God! How can this night get any worse? Okay, deep breath, Janie, she thought to herself. For once, Janie seemed to keep a level head and not go crazy in the face of a serious problem.
“Okay,” she started. “You need to look around down here, too. I am not going to be much help trying to hop around on one leg.”
Allison nodded and headed towards the kitchen looking for Kat. She noticed that the food bowl was empty but did not see the cat around. She went into the formal dining room and looked under the large wooden table. It was covered with a beautiful white crocheted tablecloth, candlesticks, and a fancy place setting for one. Next, Allison checked the hall closet and the entryway and foyer, and then returned to check the parlor with Janie.
SCRATCH! SCRATCH!
There was a loud noise coming from the foyer that sounded like someone was attempting to chisel lines down the entire length of the tall, eight-foot doors.
SCRATCH! SCRATCH!
“What on earth is that?!” Allison questioned Janie.
“I have no clue, and am not too keen on finding out,” she responded.
Janie attempted to get up from the sofa and, with Allison’s help, the girls made their way through the foyer and up to the front door. Peeking through the window along the side of the door, Janie was confronted with the same fur pattern that she ran from in the woods. Silently, she started pointing out the window. Her hand was shaking violently by the time Allison looked over and noticed the state of shock her friend was in.
SCRATCH! SCRATCH!
Allison peered through the window and gasped.
“Is that…” she started to whisper.
“Looks exactly the same,” Janie responded before even hearing the question. “Whatever it is, it followed us home.”
Janie flicked on the porch light so they could get a better look at the beast covering the front stoop. As soon as the light illuminated, a long, thunderous sound came from the creature.
MEEYOOW!
The girls looked at each other in shock. That sounded like some form of cat meow, thought Janie.
“Was that a cat noise?” Allison asked as if reading Janie’s mind.
“That’s the same thing I was thinking,” Janie responded while she nodded.
Allison walked to the sidebar table in the foyer and brought the antique-looking wooden chair over to the doorway. As she stepped up onto the velvet floral cushion, her heart pounded so loud that she was sure Janie could hear it. On tiptoe, Allison tried to find a better vantage point higher up in the window to see what they were dealing with. Suddenly, she gasped and dropped down onto her heels with wabbly legs.
“I can’t believe it,” she said. “This cannot be possible.”
“What?” Janie asked.
“There is no logical explanation. It just cannot be.”
“WHAT?” Janie demanded urgently.
“I think that’s Kat out there,” Allison responded.
“What?!”
“I mean it, Janie. And can you say anything besides ‘what’?”
“Wha…I mean…nope, sorry. ‘What’ is all I can come up with,” Janie replied.
Allison took a deep breath and began to tell Janie about what she saw higher up through the window.
“You know that little heart-shaped patch of fur that Kat has on her head? “Well, so does that thing,” she said as she hoisted a thumb in the direction of the front door as if she was hitchhiking down the turnpike.
Janie stared at Allison in disbelief. Her jar dropped and her mouth was open, but no sound was coming out. She was in shock and did not know what to say. Her inner dialogue consisted of What? How? on a continuous loop through her brain.
Just as Allison reached to unlock the front door, Janie snapped out of it.
“Are you crazy?” she asked. “You want to open the door?”
Allison explained to her friend that if the creature outside was in fact Kat, that Janie was still obligated to do her job of taking care of her until Mrs. Matthews returned. She nodded slowly and gripped the back of Allison’s hoodie as tight as the Eagle’s talons gripped a tree branch on the front of her school mascot hoodie. Allison released the deadbolt and reached for the doorknob.
As soon as the door cracked open, the creature pushed forward and entered the foyer. Janie stood in shock, staring at the heart-shaped patch of brown fur on its head, as it lowered its nose and rubbed its face against Janie’s legs. The strength of the cat was increased due to its incredible size, and Janie nearly fell over. She slowly reached forward and touched the massive cat. Immediately, an intense purr came from deep inside the cat. The vibrations it created shook the entire house like a small earthquake and the girls’ legs trembled where they stood. Luckily, no pictures fell off the wall.
“Oh my God!” Janie said. “It is Kat. But how? What is going on?”
Kat made her way into the parlor and curled up on her bed, which was now the size of a cotton ball underneath her massive size. Her tail switched and knocked into the bookshelf, causing a few items to fall to the floor.
“I don’t think there’s anything we can do,” Janie started. “Mrs. Matthews will be home in the morning, and I am positive she will have an answer to this mystery, and a way to get Kat back to her normal petite size. There is no way she doesn’t know about Kat’s abilities.”
Allison agreed and both girls sat down on the sofa. Janie placed a pillow on top of the coffee table and prompted up her ankle. Janie used the blanket that Allison brought down from the bedroom, and Allison grabbed a quilt off the back of the sofa. Soon enough, the girls dozed off leaning against each other on the uncomfortable ugly olive sofa.
* * * *
Janie slowly opened her eyes the next morning. It must have been a dream, she thought as she stretched and tried to relieve the achiness in her body from sleeping on the sofa. Her joints made her feel like she was middle-aged. She looked over at the corner of the room, and there was Kat, as big as the night before. It wasn’t a dream! As she shook Allison to wake her up, there was a sound at the front door. The sound of a key unlocking the door. Crap! Janie thought, knowing that Mrs. Matthews had returned home.
Mrs. Matthews walked into the parlor and looked around.
“Oh, my!” she exclaimed, seeing the size of her precious cat.
“I am so sorry, Mrs. Matthews. I gave her a little extra food last night and accidentally left the bedroom window open when we went out,” Janie said, close to tears. “It appears that Kat tore the screen, got out, and made her way into the woods.
Mrs. Matthews approached Kat. She slowly sat down on the floor and started petting her cat. She hummed a tune that sounded like a lullaby. She simply sat there and hummed for what seemed like forever. Janie and Allison looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Janie shrugged, and they turned to watch Mrs. Matthews and Kat.
Right before their eyes, Kat slowly began to get smaller. Soon she was her regular 8-pound size. Mrs. Matthews looked over at the girls and asked for help to get up off the floor. Allison rushed over and helped her.
“Girls, rules are meant to be followed for a reason, as you can see,” she said. “Kat is a very rare and special breed of calico. There are strict feeding rules that need to be followed, or else she morphs into what I refer to as Kat-zilla. I expected you to follow my instructions, Janie.”
“I am so sorry, Mrs. Matthews,” Janie responded.
“Now, tell me exactly what happened last night.”
Janie and Allison began recounting the evening. They told the old woman about the party, hearing noises in the woods, seeing large paws through the trees when Janie fell, and then the scratching at the front door after they returned to the house.
“Yes, I noticed the scratches when I let myself in,” Mrs. Matthews said. “At what point did you realize that the creature was actually Kat?”
Allison told Mrs. Matthews about pulling the chair over to the door and climbing onto it to get a better look out the window, and how she spotted the heart-shaped patch of fur on Kat’s head.
“Janie had noticed the little heart-shaped patch of fur earlier,” Allison said.
Mrs. Matthews nodded as the girls continued.
“Realizing that it was Kat and knowing that I still had a responsibility to take care of her, we got up the nerve to open the door. Kat came in and nudged against my legs wanting to be pet, which I did,” Janie said. “She started purring and then she walked over to her bed and laid down.”
“It is very rare for her to make such a connection with a stranger. She must really like you, Janie, “Mrs. Matthews said. “Kat is a very special creature. If she eats more than required, something happens inside of her that makes her slowly grow in the larger cat you saw, and she always tries to find a way outside. She must have gotten through that bedroom window right after you left. Humming that special tune is the only way that she settles down and shrinks back to her normal size. She never ages, and I have had her since I was a girl. She has never done any true damage to anything or anyone and is generally kind when she is Kat-zilla.”
The girls looked at Mrs. Matthews intently and then glanced over at Kat when they realized she must be over 70 years old.
“Now I expect both of you to keep my secret and not tell anyone about this,” Mrs. Matthews said as she walked over to her purse and retrieved an envelope.
“Yes, ma’am,” both girls said in unison, nodding their heads.
“Very well. Here you go,” Mrs. Matthews said as she handed an envelope to Janie. “Although you didn’t follow my exact instructions, you did keep Kat safe, and I am very grateful. You saw that she was still tame and kind, despite her monstrous size.”
Janie stood up, realized her ankle felt much better, and thanked Mrs. Matthews. The girls went upstairs to gather their things and head home. As they came down the stairs, Janie’s cell phone chimed. It was 8:00 a.m. As they left, she heard Mrs. Matthews in the kitchen feeding Kat a scoop of food and refreshing her water bowl.
THE END
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