(,) will be used as trigger warnings. When you see one the triggering this is over after the second one. If this doesn't give enough of a warning or something let me know. I don't always know what about it might be triggering but just in case I put the (). If y'all need me to explain the warning before let me know. Okay now back to the story. Heh. 😅

i am used to cages by now. what you never truly get used to are the screams that comes from the west room and the whining from the east. the truth is its all one big basement with a few doors and chicken wire hung with sheets pretending to be walls. the west room is where they send you to be punished, weather it be by shock collar or by beatings or worse, we all try not to think about worse. the east room is where we are sent during heat witch to make more little kittens for them to abuse and sell. I'm lucky enough to be a year too young to have my first heat, so ive been told, by my old cage mate. she used to be crammed into this tiny little cage with me until she turned sixteen and dared enough to ask master for water. all he did was grin and carried her to the east wing, she came back a week later crying and hissing at everything. she told me exactly what happens when you turn sixteen and what's in that room. its amazing how you toon out the things you don't understand, now it seems that that room is the only thing making noise. she hasn't been to the cage since then, witch means its been eight lonely months for me and eight terrible months for her. the horrible truth was there are real pet shops you can go to and claim nekos but of course there's a black market for everything. i have never seen one of these shops but master likes to rub it in our faces that no one cares enough to save us and at least put us in a decent shop.
I've never been out of the basement, i was born in the east room and has spent most of my time in the main room, rarely in the west for things i don't want to talk about. i have had three masters other than the one that has raised me.

the first master i ever had was named Case, he wanted me for his wife. he was actually nice to me when he took me out of my cage and held me in the taxi he took to the house. i was being held by a master to be given to his wife as an anniversary present where she would love me and hopefully let me have my own little bed.

while we where in the taxi he kept pettting me behind the ears.

"Connie is going to love you, your just so small and cute."

it true I'm small, I'm actually a runt but that hasn't stopped anyone from treating me like i was as big as everyone else.

the house that was my new home was huge. it was one of those old fashion plantation houses but in what looked like marble. is it bad that i wanted to scratch it?

he carried me all through the house while he kept calling for Connie. he found her, in the most awkward of ways she was by the pool obviously flirting with the pool boy. he just waited for them to stop talking, that's when i realized this was one of those relationships that she ran, while he tried to earn her love back.

"Connie look what i got you"

he held me up Simba style and presented me to her. i must have looked so pitiful, just a small little fluff ball swinging there wanting more head scratchies.

"what is it?"

"she's a neko. i though she would make good company for you"

" whats wrong with its ears"

"ah.... which ones"

he brought me closer to him almost cradling me which made sense i was only five at the time

" i don't want an animal that you cant even tell witch ears I'm talking about. i don't want an animal at all!! why would you bring me this thing"

" i - i thought she would make you happy"

"the only thing that will make me happy is if you through that thing in the pool"

no no no I'm warm please don't throw me i cant swim anyway he turned me around and looked at me and back at Connie and mouthed sorry and threw me in the pool. well tried to he was ether that weak or to scared i just hit the stairs right before you get into the pool. i wasn't in the water but i couldn't breath. i couldn't see. i wanted to sleep. so i did i slept for 3 days. once i did wake up i was in my cage with bandages all around me. being five i didn't understand why it kept hurting if a doctor made it all feel better.

"hay you awake cat?"

*sniffles*

"they brought you back with 3 broken ribs and a broken collar bone. i tried to help you best i could. " he kicked my cage making me whimper but he was nice to me i don't know why but he was and I'm okay with that.

that was my first new master my second was just a lonely old man that needed someone to hate i honestly think that's the only reason he got me. he would beat me when i went in my newspaper that was also the only thing in my cage and yell awful things at me. the one time his son came to visit he endured the same things. Mines the cage and the newspaper of course. I was 7 and still really small, once again I think that's the only thing that saved me. The son and I shared a room when he visited but the third time he showed up he finally talked to me.

"Your a freak of nature you know."

I know but I have a tail and you don't so screw you. Of course I couldn't say that, we're not allowed to speak unless our master says so. Or in this case my masters son tells me to.

"I don't know why my father got you. He seems to treat you nicer than he did me and my brother. Well at least we didn't have a cage"
He laid on the bed that he seemed to love, I didn't envy him for being human. I didn't want to not be a neko but I did want to know why I had to end up in such bad places. I was part human too. I just think that gives me the right to a decent bathroom, and maybe a hair cut. My hair, fur? The hair on my head was auburn and a lot of frizz. There was so much of it i could use it as a blanket and sometimes when he forgot to turn on the heater i had to. but my fur when I was in cat form was mostly black with big patches of tan and small patches of white and grey. Of course i wouldn't know that till I turned thirteenth

"When was the last time you had a bath, cat?"

i never had a bath actually the only time the master at home would bath us was right after they came out of the east room. i got wet when i was in that pool but i don't think that counts.

"cat. i said when was the last time you bathed?"

i just shook my head a cried i had never had a bath and i knew i was gross but i didn't feel like it was my fault and that made me feel worse. im not a cat im a neko and my name is melanie and it wasnt my fault i was dirty. i kept crying and sniffeling trying to calm down.

"David why do i hear crying?!"

"nothing dad your cat just started crying"

the old man walked in and glared at his son before walking over to my cage and banging the front of it.

"What's wrong with you?"
I didn't answer, what would I say? I mean I couldn't tell him the truth. I was a dirty, scared, small little ball of nothing. And nobody cares enough to tell me otherwise. I was 7 and I already understood the laws and the unsiad laws. The laws on paper and the laws society had placed for me.
The man turned to his son.
"What did you do to her?"
Her? That's as new, I'm usually an it at best.

"I asked when was the last time she had a bath! She's disgusting, dad. Hell with or without the bath."

"If your so suddenly concerned about her hygiene then you fix her a bath. And get some of your sisters old cloths from her room!"
What I've never been given cloths, the master at the home gave us bag like long dresses to cover us but that's it. We don't even get to wear them when a new master comes to pick one of us.

"Dad why do I have to! It's not my fault she's crying!"

"FINE! LEAVE THEN! If you can't even do this much then your useless to me. GET OUT!"
I cried louder at all the yelling, it was so loud on my little ears. Is this what anxiety is? It hurts.

"Fine I'll leave that thing doesn't deserve a bath."

Once he left I was expecting to just sit in my cage forever and just stay there. But no the old man sat on the bed and just sighed while rubbing his forehead. I was just starting to stop crying but then he did the weirdest thing.

"I really don't know why I got you. Your a freak and needy and in the way. But I was lonely and you looked so much like my daughter. She died because of that man that was so mean to you. (He hurt her when she was 7 and he was 16. She....she's not with us anymore because of him. I was scared to leave you alone with him because I thought he'd do the same to you.) You might be worthless and nothing, but you matter. Yeah you matter."
He opened the cage and wiped away my little tears off my little face he carried me like you would a kitten and pet my ears as he took me to get my first bath. The bubbles where so much fun I would pop then and chase the ones that where floating with my hands. The old man actually chuckled and dried my off and handed me a pink night gown.

" Your so much like her. I'm sorry but I have to give you back you won't be better but it could be worse. Bye little nothing."
I woke up back in my cage and for once I was actually kinda okay with being here. He was right it wasn't better but it wasn't the worst. I actually cared about that old man enough to not hate him for calling me a little nothing. He taught me one thing though: I MATTER.

My last master was just a young man that could prove to his friends that he could beat a little neko and get away with it. Turns out it was home masters son, he got one hell of a beating for beating one of his most well behaved Neko's. It made me feel good to see him screaming the same way I was just a minute ago. I felt terrible the second I thought that but I also felt good to know that there's more to me then what I'm told. I'm full of surprises but for now I sit here sitting for a new master in my little pink gown that proved I mattered.