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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/mclarke77 on 2024-06-16 23:41:16+00:00.
The cat before me looked more like a Pokémon than a real animal. “Is she-“ I began in a whisper. The tall woman in charge of the animal shelter corrected me, “He. He’s a he.”
I looked back at the cat. His ears were long and large, like the ears of a lynx. Long, fluffy tufts of fur were sticking up from the tips of his ears. His eyes were large yellow orbs. Full of secrets and mischief. His fur coat was similar to a tabby, except his head and ears were covered in dark grey fur. His whiskers were long and fine. I held my hand out near the cage bars. The cat was sitting grooming himself near the back. He looked over at me as I beckoned. I could swear there was a sentient light of recognition flickering in his eyes – a connection between him and me.
He let out a small meow and ran over.
He licked at my fingers through the bars and my heart melted. He was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. I stroked at his head through the bars and he was so soft and warm. “Oh my wow! He’s so friendly. Exactly what I need. What breed did you say he was?” The animal shelter employee looked noticeably surprised, “Oh my he’s normally shy with new owners. And we’re not entirely sure what breed he is. Got him about a month ago. He was found in a dumpster. He was tiny back then but he’s much bigger now and still growing.” She said, her voice soft. “Oh really? How many owners has he had? I wonder if he’s got a bit of maine coon in him? Or perhaps even bobcat?” I said half-jokingly with a quiet laugh. The animal shelter employee broke eye contact with me. She said hesitantly, “Well, I’m not really supposed to say, but, we’ve tried giving this cat to a few family homes. And you know, these aren’t just random people. These are families who take cats from us regularly. He - he. Well. He bit the children. And was generally very - unfriendly.” She tried to make a joke and half-laughed. It faltered. My eyes were wide now. “So, he’s dangerous? But he seems so sweet.” I looked over at the adorable cat now gently nibbling the tips of my fingers. “No no, not dangerous per se. Just needs the right environment. Sometimes the animals we get just aren’t well suited for children. Maybe as he gets older he’ll mellow out.”
As he licked me with his sandpaper tongue I laughed “That tickles! Oh, I’m so taking him with me.” The employee smiled. This time genuinely. “Alrighty, I’ll get the paperwork together.” After a few minutes of signing forms and receiving copies of vaccination certificates I walked out the door with my new best friend tucked under my arm in her new cat-box. My smile was beaming as I walked toward my small green Toyota. As I got to my car I searched, one handed, for my keys. My smile fell slightly as I remembered why I had come to the animal shelter in the first place.
I had just been through a really bad breakup. After years of our relationship slowly dissolving, my girlfriend of ten years had moved out and moved on. I was left alone in our old house. It was a large house out in the suburbs and it felt quite empty to be there all alone. To top it all off, since I’d come out as gay my super religious family had not really kept in touch with me. My mom sometimes answered my calls but my dad, sister and grandmother wanted nothing to do with me. It really hurt. We had always been close before, but because I liked girls and not boys they refused to acknowledge my existence. Despite feeling horribly betrayed I tried my best to inform them about my life but I doubt they cared. So I was feeling very alone at the moment
To add insult to injury, my sleep had been badly affected. Over the last week I experienced severe bouts of sleep paralysis. I now often wake up early in the morning. Completely frozen with panic and fear. I feel a horrible weight on my chest. Like my heart and lungs are filled with liquid lead. I hear strange noises and see horrendous shadow-shapes move about my room until I can finally sit upright and turn on the lights. I always hold my breath.
Expecting something to appear in the light.
Looming over my bed.
But the shadows always retreat revealing nothing.
Just my mind being an asshole.
I was talking with my friends about it and they recommended I get a pet to have another heartbeat around the house. This would help me feel not so lonely while I get used to being single again. So, one Saturday I found the nearest animal shelter and drove on over. The rest is history.
As soon as I got home with my new companion I knew the first thing he’d need would be food and water. And a place to go to the toilet. Of course, I had already purchased these all from the store on my way back from the shelter. I set everything up and looked up the major dos and don’ts of introducing cats to a new home.
A week went by and my adorable friend finally got a name. I had tried picking a name for him that whole week but nothing seemed to stick. Most of the names I tried I hated or he completely ignored, but sometimes when I offered up a name he really despised his large glowing yellow eyes would fix me with a disapproving stare. “Okay okay, I won’t call you Garfield. Well why don’t you give me some suggestions sometime?” I said at him as I felt his impatience leak into his stare.
It was a Friday evening and he was sitting on my lap, kneading the way cats do when they want to get comfy. I was busy watching trash of some kind. I think it was a Steve Segal movie. Anyway, once it was over the next movie on the channel began. I lazily clicked the remote to check the title. On a blue banner that ran along the bottom of the TV screen, white letters spelled out: Casper (1995). I rolled my eyes. “Nah,” I said aloud as I put my now empty bowl of instant ramen on the table next to me. I switched off the TV.
Suddenly I jumped from fright and yelped as the TV flicked back on. “What the?” I muttered. Then I noticed my cat was holding his one paw on the remote while glowering at me with his yellow eyes. They shone like beaming, double moons as if to say, “How dare you interrupt my TV time?”. “Sorry, okay,” I said at him, glaring back. I looked back at the TV to see the titular character on screen.
My cat let out a small meow and jumped down. He ran over to stare at the screen. He held out a little paw and seemed to wave it at the ghost. He pointed and then he turned to look at me.
Over the last few days I grew increasingly convinced he was preternaturally intelligent. Definitely sentient. What made me a bit uneasy was that he often got into rooms or places he could not possibly get into. It was almost like he could walk through walls. Or maybe he could pick locks? I chortled at this thought. I’m pretty sure he could clean up his own toilet if I gave him the tools and the time to learn.
So, as he sat there looking at me while gesturing to the TV I knew intuitively what he was trying to say, “Casper? You want your name to be Casper?”, I said. He meowed loudly in the affirmative. I was struck by a sudden pleasant feeling that ran down from my ears into my heart. It was like warm syrup was leaking down my ear canals and into my blood. Hot and sweet. “Well, Casper, you are really just one surprise after another.”
As time continued to fly by he grew steadily larger and larger. Most cats eventually stopped growing but he refused. Also, your average cat was a fussy eater. But not Casper. He ate with a voracious appetite that sent bits of cat food flying all over the kitchen floor. He was extremely fond of raw meat, including fish. Especially tuna. And he would often meow and beg loudly if I was handling raw chicken in the kitchen. Sometimes he would even break dishes if he didn’t get his way.
At first, he was happy to stay inside most of the time, but as he got older he started to scratch at windows more and more, begging me to let him out. Once I thought he was big enough I decided to trust him and let him roam. He had all his shots and had been neutered so I didn’t believe it was so bad to let him run around. All I hoped was that he came back of course. On that first day he went out I sat and waited by the window. My breathing fast and anxious. But by sundown he had returned and expected his dinner.
Weeks quickly turned into months and Casper and I fell into a routine. Most mornings Casper would jump silently onto my bed and cuddle with me. Then when my alarm went off at 7:30am he would gently lick my nose until I got out of bed, giggling. He would dance between my feet as I walked groggily to the kitchen to prepare our breakfast. Then as I got ready for work he would sit and wait by the door to the back yard. As I got my makeup on and hunted for my keys I would walk over and let him out for the day. Then, after work I would return home and he would always be waiting for me by the front door. His yellow eyes would glow with happiness when he saw me. His bushy tail would stick up and he’d run up to me to give me rubs and purrs as I fumbled for my keys and opened the door. I would make us both dinner and we would cuddle together on the couch while I finished work or watched trash TV.
Then just before bed he’d scratch at the door again. While I brushed my teeth I’d normally walk over to the door and let him out. Then I’d get ready for bed. Often, but not always, if I stayed up late in bed engrossed in a book I would hear Casper tap at the window, asking to be let back inside. On these nights I’d let him in and we’d cuddle in bed. His body would ...
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