It's Hard Being A Cat

The man wasn't quite sure what was happening, but he knew to be scared.

Human?

No, no.

He heard a human's voice, but he also heard cats meowing.

He was moving his legs trying to break loose when he heard another meow. He felt a chill run down his spine.

He knew the sound. It was too familiar. The sound was a nightmare to him. A nightmare he couldn't rid himself of even by killing so many cats. His fear of this cat had increased no matter how many cat-torturing videos he watched.

It's that cat.

The one he had almost killed but had got away.

Why wouldn't it leave him alone?

He regretted his actions. He really did.

Why had he bought this cat?

Was it because it had that fierce look in its eyes? He had thought that look would give him the most pleasure when he killed it.

"Meow."

Anyone could sense the hostility in the sound.

Zheng Tan pulled back his ears.

Cats have different meows. Most warnings meows started low, then rose up and ended with a low growl.

The black and white cat wasn't meowing like this. To humans, the sounds cats made might be the same, but from Zheng Tan's point of view, this cat seemed to be calling out for other cats.

Even when you didn't know a language, you could sometimes tell kindness and hostility apart from the tone of the words spoken.

Though their language couldn't compare with human languages, cats could make a wide variety of sounds. Zheng Tan had heard hundreds of different meows since he became a cat. It seemed that every cat had a 'language' of its own. They used different sounds to express the same meaning. No one quite knew. Zheng Tan could only guess the meaning of the sounds he heard. Sounds that seemed the same to humans could be conveying opposite emotions.

There was a meow in the distance.

The black and white cat called back.

More meows from different cats called out to them in the night. Zheng Tan could guess immediately what they were saying.

"Are these cats in heat?" Er Mao poked Zheng Tan.

People's first reaction to cats meowing was asking if they were in heat. However, cats howled together for many different reasons. This time these cats were obviously not in heat.

Zheng Tan realized more and more cats were responding. He wondered how the black and white did it? Did all cats naturally know how to do this? Or did this cat figure it out by itself? Its howl seemed to have awakened something in the cats around. They were gathering.

Zheng Tan felt it was like when a wolf howled at the full moon and all other wolves howled along with it.

There was rustling all around them. It was not the rustle of leaves but the sound of cats running in the grass.

Er Mao could see movement in the wild weeds around them. Cats were running toward here.

Large cats like tigers and lions had deep majestic howls. Cat howls, however, were eerie.

Er Mao lit a cigarette to settle his nerves.

The light from the end of his cigarette flickered.

Er Mao stood against his car and looked around.

More and more cats had joined in the howling.

Was this a chorus?

Zheng Tan, who was on the top of the car, was starting to get excited. He had the urge to howl as well.

He looked up at the moon and took a deep breath.

Aow!!!

The howling stopped immediately.

It was as if someone had farted in the middle of a chorus. The sound completely killed the atmosphere.

The cats in the bushes around here all stopped. Pointy ears poked out of the grass. They were trying to figure out what had made it into their group.

A few cats nearest to Zheng Tan reacted by jumping backward.

Er Mao choked on smoke when he heard Zheng Tan howl. Wei Ling had told him Zheng Tan's howl had the impact of a bomb but that was an understatement.

The black and white cat glanced at Zheng Tan, then started growling at the man on the ground again.

Zheng Tan could see the disdain in the cat's eyes when it looked at him.

He was frustrated, so he scratched the car attempting to leave claw marks in the paint.

He had been a cat for almost two years, yet he still sucked at it.

It was hard being a cat.

The other cats started gathering towards the black and white cat again.

Er Mao put out his cigarette. "Just give up. That sound you just made could scare away ghosts. Let's just watch them do their thing. You can step in if they can't handle it."

Er Mao could feel goosebumps on his arm. There were over a dozen cats around in the bushes and more cats were coming.

Cats were complex animals.

Er Mao got in the car just to be safe. He wasn't needed anymore and the cats nearby seemed too hostile.

Er Mao always felt cats were half demon and half angel. They were adorable when they were purring on your lap. The way they squinted their eyes when they earned a scratch under the cheek could warm up your entire world. However, they had a demonic side as well. The glinting eyes in the bushes were hunting for a target. Any moment the claws could come out.

Zheng Tan watched from the top of the car as the cats, led by the black and white cat, pounced on the man. His mouth was taped so he couldn't yell but Zheng Tan could tell from his muffled whimpers that he was truly afraid.

Compared to the pet cats in the city, cats living on the outskirts of the city were more vicious. They spent their days playing in the fields, fighting other animals. There were a few wild cats in the group, they were especially ferocious.

The more timid cats stayed on the outside of the group and snuck in a scratch or two when they could. The fearless ones pounced with the black and white cat. The man kicked and struggled. He managed to kick away a few cats but they just pounced again.

Er Mao rubbed the goosebumps on his arm and rolled up the car window. He was worried the cats might get too excited and attack him for being there.

Most of these cats were house cats and didn't quite know how to attack a person where it hurt most. Some treated what they were doing as a game. If the man curled up, he would be able to get away alive.

The bites and scratches that hurt the most came from the black and white cat and a wildcat.

Er Mao kept an eye on the cats. He didn't want the man to die here.

As for Zheng Tan, he was studying the sounds these cats made. He wanted to see how the black and white cat gathered its comrades and how it affected their mood. Cats did not live in packs but they weren't solitary animals either. Afterall they were part of the human society. There were plenty of cats on campus. He got excited just thinking about gathering them up one day.

It wasn't easy though. Maybe it was a skill he couldn't master even if he spent his whole life as a cat trying. He was a human trapped in a cat's body, so learning this was harder for him. However, he believed if he worked hard enough he still had a chance.

When Er Mao stepped in to stop the cats, the black and white cat had splotches of blood on its fur. It heard Er Mao and meowed reluctantly. However, it still stopped. It went to the car and started to lick its fur. The other cats stopped when it stopped. The wild cat had run away the moment Er Mao stepped out of the car. It could sense he was hard to deal with.

The man on the ground was covered in blood and scratches. He was curled up. His chest heaved slightly indicating he was still alive. He had peed his pants.

The black and white cat was quite obedient in front of Er Mao. It curled up in the back of the car. If only its claws didn't still have human blood on them, it could have passed for a sweet kitty.

Er Mao stuffed the man into the trunk. He said he would take care of the rest. He promised Zheng Tan and the black and white cat they wouldn't even see the man again. He didn't look like he was going to kill the man though.

Zheng Tan got off the car at the side gate. The black and white cat was still napping resting in the back. Er Mao shooed it away but it didn't move, so he gave up.

Zheng Tan passed by a patch of woods on his way home. He could hear Sheriff fighting in the woods, but he appeared to be winning so Zheng Tan didn't have to step in. It was time to go home.