Stress Cat was the last kitten of the litter to find a home. It wasn’t her fault that she had a perpetually sour expression. Or that she was so tiny, though she thought that ought to endear her to potential families.
Why did her parents’ owners have to call her Stress Cat anyway? She was sweet and loved to play. She cuddled at every opportunity. If anything, she was the most mellow cat anyone could wish to invite into their lives.
And still she waited for someone to come and love her. She had overheard Jodi, the human with the long hair and high voice, say yesterday that they might be forced to keep her. Forced! As if that were a hardship. She began to feel stressed, though she tried hard not to live up to her awful name.
Still, an air of anticipation hung in the air today. Stress Cat peeked around the corner when the doorbell rang, and Jodi rushed to answer it.
A family Stress Cat had never seen before entered. As Jodi ushered them into the living room, Stress Cat stealthily followed, wanting to get a better look.
Two of them were tall—adults. The third was a girl with short limbs, just like Stress Cat’s. Jodi was just saying she would find Stress Cat when the smaller human spotted her.
“Mom, you’re right. She is like me. She even has the underbite that cats with achondroplasia have. She’s perfect! Can we get her?”
Stress Cat couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was like the human girl? She was so curious that she sauntered up to the girl and sniffed, then nuzzled her leg. The girl picked her up and cuddled her, kissing her face.
“I’m going to call you Beauty,” the girl said. “I’m Marnie, and we’re going to be best friends.”
Beauty, formerly Stress Cat, relaxed against Marnie’s chest. She knew why she had had to wait. Her special friend had been looking for her, and now they had found each other. A rumble began in her own chest, rising in volume until she fell asleep in the arms of her new best friend.
I was creating images on v4 (version four) of Midjourney and used a prompt to generate stressed out cats. The image that inspired this story reminded me of Grumpy Cat (who became a meme on social media).
Grumpy Cat’s real name was Tardar Sauce. She had feline achondroplasia. Humans can also have this genetic disorder which results in short limbs because of a protein defect that slows the rate of bone growth in the limbs. Cats also have an underbite, which results in the scowling face.
Tardar Sauce, like Stress Cat, apparently had a very sweet disposition. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all looked beyond appearances to see the beauty inside of others?
Loved this story. Our dog Loki was the runt of his litter and the very last one to be adopted. They even let us have him for half price they were so desperate to find him a home. He’s the perfect dog for our family of weirdos
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this story! I love cats and always felt bad for Grumpy Cat. I didn't know she (he?) had that underbite. How unfair with creatures (all of us) are judged by their outward appearance. Dascha, I re-reading a series of books about "The Dalai Lama's Cat" - by David Michie. I can tell you love cats and you will love the little Snow Lion, as the Dalai Lama calls her, and how he rescued her in Delhi. She has many adventures - AND you get to learn a lot about Buddhism from the author!