A fifty-year-old woman from Omaha was getting her morning exercise on a day like no other. She had just lost their dog, and her last child had just left for college, so she had been having a difficult week. 

She thought the animal looked cute and cuddly. The animal’s fur was wet from the rain. 

When she approached the animal, Jazmine was unaware of its true size. She would soon regret this decision.

When Jazmine picked up the animal and ran back to her car with it, the animal kept growling at her. She didn’t have to drive far to reach home since her house was near the park. 

She wanted to feed and clean the animal before officially welcoming it into the family, so she heated up milk and gave it a bath.

Jazmine tried feeding the animal after it had had a shower. But the animal refused to drink. She tried giving it some dry cat food from Moople. Unfortunately, this didn’t work.

The vet was quick to welcome Jazmine into his office. She had been bringing her pets there for a long time, and the vet and the animals had become good friends.

But his smile faded when he saw what she was carrying in Moople’s cage. “That’s new,” he said, looking a bit annoyed. “What breed is he?”

He gestured for Jazmine to put the animal on the table so they could get started. Usually, they would chat while he examined it.

But his eyes widened when Jazmine put the cage on the table. “He’s a feisty little fella,” she said, laughing a little. “Yeah,” the vet answered, leaning in to get a better look at the creature. And then something happened.

Jazmine opened the cage, and the animal jumped out, hissing at the vet as if to challenge him. “He’s been like this since morning,” Jazmine said, worried.

But the vet didn’t even look at her. “You said he was a cat, right?” he asked. “Yes,” Jazmine answered. “Mrs McKinley, that is not a cat.”

“I need you to back away slowly,” the vet whispered. “Don’t flick, especially if you love your eyeballs and want to keep them safe.”    

“What?” Jazmine asked. She felt terrified as she finally opened her eyes. What she was looking at was not a cat. It turned to face her, its tail straight and head hanging low. Its threatening snarl would be the last thing she heard.  

To protect the people’s privacy in the story, some names, places, and details have been changed. The writer makes these up. Any resemblances to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.