The Kind One is very nice to us. She feeds us, gives us water, we are always warm and dry wherever we are. The apartment we live in is not very large, but there are lots of things to chase around that make noises, and tall things to climb so we can look down and keep an eye on our shared space. If I’m ever feeling lonely, I can call out to her and she’ll come and pet me, or I can curl up close with her. If she’s not around there is always Pizza Box to hangout with; he doesn’t like to cuddle as much as I do, just sleeps on his perch most of the time, but once in a while I can get him to play and we’ll chase each other around the apartment.

The only bad thing about our apartment is that we shed our fur often, and The Kind One doesn’t clean it up. Pizza Box’s hair is short and orange, so it’s not usually a big issue, but mine is long, thick, and white. There is no where for it to go, so it just drifts around in tufts and balls, collecting under places and in corners. Once in a while when she starts noticing it in her food she’ll do a light sweep, but that doesn’t get rid of the big clumps that have started gathering and moving in the corner under the couch.

Then one day it walked out from under the couch.

It slinked out, a giant fluff that unfurled itself into a full other cat. I watched as it stretched, scraping claws across the floor. “Mmm, feels good to be able to stretch like that. And who might you be?”

“The Kind One calls me Winifred.” I had a million questions but was too shocked to ask any of them.

“Winnie – cute name.” We heard the keys in the door. “Is that The Kind One now? Let’s see if she likes me.”

The Kind One walked in and dropped her keys at the sight of a third cat; short haired, white with grey dustings along its back. “Oh hello, and who might you be?” She bent down and pet the newcomer, scratching her behind the ears and feeling around for a collar. “No tags, and how did you get in here anyway?” The lack of answer didn’t seem to bother her. She got another dish and filled it with food and set it on the ground for her. The Cat, playing up the act, nestled into The Kind One as she wove between her legs. “Well I guess you can stay here until I figure out who you belong to. Someone must be missing a pet as affectionate as you are.”

She named her Furball – and though she made posters, and posted pictures online, no one ever came to claim her; so, she stayed. I didn’t like it, there was something off about her aside from the fact that she emerged from under the couch from a collection of stray tufts of fur. It was the way she never seemed to leave The Kind One’s side whenever she was home. Didn’t eat, didn’t seem to sleep, just followed her around the apartment purring and rubbing up against her and getting pets.

I talked to Pizza Box about her and what we should do.

“What’s the big deal, why do we have to do anything? I didn’t take you for the jealous type.”

“It has nothing to do with that. I’m worried about The Kind One and what Furball might do to her.”

“We still get fed every day, have toys to play with, and the security of a comfortable couch to sleep on,” he stretched and dangled his head off the edge of the post. “I think we should just leave it alone. There’s nothing you can do anyway.”

“We’ll see about that.”

The Kind One was curled up on the couch watching TV, and Furball was nestled right in with her. I wanted to show Furball that she didn’t have as much control over The Kind One as she thought. I walked up and meowed at her until she was looking at me, then I rolled over onto my back, pushing my stomach out at her for pets.

“Oh, does someone want attention?” she cooed as she reached down and began scratching my stomach. I purred loudly to show affection. “Yeah who’s a good girl? You are. You’re a good girl.” She gave me some more rubs and then went back to her show. From the couch Furball was looking down at me, eyes glaring.

She decided to play her own game. She stretched, then walked over and began nuzzling her head against The Kind One’s chin and cheek, purring loudly. “Someone else want some attention too?” The Kind One scratched and nuzzled Furball’s head, getting that spot just behind the ears that felt so good. She took it further and rolled over to get her own stomach pets. “You all are being so lovey tonight, I love it.” The Kind One scratched and pet Furball’s stomach while still watching her show. I tried to jump up onto the couch to get in on it again and show Furball she wasn’t the only one who could grab The Kind One’s attention. She meowed and kicked at me, pulling The Kind One’s attention away.

“Winifred, that’s not very nice. Furball was here first don’t be rude.” She picked me up and put me back down on the floor. I watched as Furball smiled and rubbed The Kind One’s chin again with her head.

“What was that? Did any of you hear that?” There was a scraping noise from under the couch, like something gnawing on wood. Furball rubbed up against her chin again and began to purr louder. “Right, I forgot, I have a job to do here,” and she began scratching Furball’s chin again.

“How did it go?” Pizza Box asked me from inside an empty box when I came back into the kitchen.

“About as you’d expect. She must have some sort of spell over The Kind One, hypnosis or something. That’s the only explanation as to why she’s getting better treatment than us.”

“I told you already, she’s just the new cat. It was the same when you arrived. Actually it was nice for me, I got to sleep wherever I wanted without being bothered. Learn to embrace it.”

“No, this is different, and I’m going to show you.”

I didn’t have a plan to get rid of Furball myself, but if I could show Pizza Box that it wasn’t me being jealous, but that she actually got better treatment, maybe we could figure out a way together. There were a handful of rules, places that we couldn’t go, but if Furball was caught there and didn’t get in trouble, that would be proof enough. The kitchen counter was one of the red zones we weren’t allowed, so I decided to try and get Furball there just when The Kind One would be coming home.

I jumped up onto the counter and lay down close to the door, as if ready to great her when she came in. Furball saw me and asked what I was doing.

“Oh, just getting ready for The Kind One to come home. It seems she’s been having a rough few days wherever she goes during the day, so I thought it’d be nice to great her on her level when she comes in. Give her something cute and cuddly to see and make her smile.”

Furball paced around the kitchen while I stood there purring, my tail whisping back and forth in anticipation. I could see her working out a plan.

We heard the keys on the other side of the door. I stood up ready to great her, ready to get yelled at if Furball didn’t do anything. At the last moment she jumped up onto the counter and pushed me off. I landed and skidded around the corner, peaking around to see what would happen.

The Kind One came in and dropped her bag on the floor. Furball was there, twirling around and meowing to get her attention. This would be it; she should be pushed off the counter and yelled at. That was one place we weren’t allowed to go.

“Aww, look who was here waiting to great me.” The Kind One reached out and began scratching Furball and stroking her back. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be. She should be yelled at, pushed off the counter, scorned for being in a place that wasn’t allowed. But it also didn’t surprise me.

“See, what did I tell you?” I turned to Pizza Box. “She does get treated differently than we do. Remember when you were caught up there two weeks ago? I thought The Kind One was going to chase you out the door.”

“I’d also just broken a glass and tried to eat the meat she’d left in the sink; but I see your point. She’s not even being told to get off. I still ask though, why does it matter?”

I woke up that night on top of the perch of our tree. I had a direct line of sight into The Kind One’s bedroom where she was sleeping. Another place we weren’t allowed was the bed, but Furball had managed to get herself access to that red zone as well. The Kind One was asleep, and Furball was there nestled in the tangle of her hair. It looked like she was kneading and chewing on something. I watched from my place as she took a mouth full of hair and left the bed. She walked through the apartment into the living room and slinked under the couch. She emerged a few seconds later and went back to the bedroom, resuming her position on the bed.

My interest piqued, something was up and I could use it as further evidence to Pizza Box that we had to do something about Furball. I climbed down from the perch and drank some water. When I was sure that Furball wasn’t watching or waiting for me I padded into the living room and crawled under the couch. This is where she had come from, so what was she hiding under here? And how did it involve hair from The Kind One?

Buried deep in the corner I heard a noise, a slow and wheezy sound like struggled breathing. I ventured further and saw in the darkness a shapeless mound moving with each breath. I scurried away back up to my perch but couldn’t sleep until daylight came.

I told Pizza Box about what I had seen and that we had to do something. I don’t know what it was, and I was too afraid to look again, but it wasn’t good. Pizza Box didn’t like the sound of it either. He didn’t care if another cat was getting preferential treatment, as long as he was getting his meals and had a place to sleep. But bringing something else, something hidden from The Kind One, into our home? That was a line crossed.

“But I don’t know how to help you, I don’t know how to get rid of Furball. You’ve already tried getting The Kind One mad at her and that’s not working. And no one has come to claim her as their own. What else is there?”

“She came from under the couch, a collection of all the loose fur that we shed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her even clean herself, and that gives me an idea.”

The Kind One was home that day, and they had just stepped into the shower. I went up to Furball who was still napping on the bed. “I don’t know what you’re up to Furball, but I know it’s something. And I’m going to get The Kind One to start paying attention.” I then ran out of the room towards the bathroom. Furball predictably followed me.

In the bathroom I jumped into the shower with The Kind One. The water was hot, wet, it began matting my fur and weighing me down. I wanted to jump out but had to wait. I startled The Kind One and began meowing to get their attention. Just behind me Furball followed and jumped in as well.

“What the hell is going on here? Winifred, Furball, what are you doing in here?”

The water hit Furball and their fur began collecting and matting just like mine, then the clumps began to slick off into the bathtub; chunks of fur falling from her body separated and began washing down the drain. Her tail began disintegrating as she tried to maintain her balance. She tried to jump up and out of the bathtub, but her paws and legs had started to shed too; past where he muscle and bone would have been, until she collapsed completely under the stream of water. Her meows slowly fading as she melted away, tufts of fur down the drain.

“Christ! What the hell happened?”

I wasn’t done yet. Renewed with Furball’s disappearance I jumped back out of the shower. I almost lost my balance, shaking off my water logged fur. The Kind One stood there, water still running and slowly filling up the tub as the remains of Furball clogged the drain. I meowed to get her attention, she had to follow me, and I ran to the living room. The Kind One followed while I went under the couch. The mound was still there, still expanding and retracting, wheezing with breath. I grabbed it with my teeth and dragged it out for all to see.

The Kind One gasped in horror at the sight at her feet; the lumpy mound of flesh, mouth agape with a few jagged teeth poking out, stings of her black hair wet and matted to it’s head. One eye staring up as it screeched a horrific sound.

“What. The. Fuck!”