She wouldn't put the cat back out to fend for itself. She wasn't that cruel. But she decided that she would take it to the SPCA in the morning before going to work.

There was just something about the cat that was beginning to bother her.

She had opened her eyes in the tub to find the cat perched on the closed lid of the toilet, again staring at her. The end of it's tail still twitched and it's yellow eyes narrowed. It didn't make a sound, or move except for that tail, just watched her with a look in it's eyes that made her uncomfortable.

Like a predator watching it's prey. Content to wait, knowing that it's time will come.

Under the covers in her warm bed, it took the woman some time to fall asleep. She was too keyed up after again finding the cat staring at her from the foot of her bed.

It was a strange animal, and after resolving to get rid of it in the morning, she finally drifted off to sleep.

***

Low growling ripped the woman from the vaguely unpleasant dream she had been having.

She was confused and disoriented for a moment, not remembering why an animal would be in her room.

Memory of the stray cat following her home had just hit her when a spitting ball of teeth and fur landed on her bare stomach. Sharp teeth dug into her skin and she reflexively threw the creature off of her into the darkness.

Breathing hard, she froze, listening for any sound from the cat. Her apartment was silent, the only sounds her own harsh panting and the rush of blood in her ears. The anticipation was unbearable and she slowly swung her legs off of the bed.

She needed to reach the light switch by the door.

Her bare feet had just connected with the carpet when long claws reached from under the bed to sink into her ankle. Shrieking, she jerked away from her attacker and lunged for the light.

With the light on, the woman turned to face back into her room, trembling. A glance down revealed crimson blood flowing from the wounds to her stomach and ankle.

From under the bed, growling raised the hair on the back of her neck. The sound increased until it filled the room with it's animalistic sound.

The woman had had enough. What if the cat had rabies? She slowly backed out of the room, planning to find her phone and call the police to come capture the vicious animal. She didn't care how crazy she would sound. She needed the cat gone.

She made it all of the way to the kitchen, never taking her eyes off of the door to her room, before the cat made another appearance. It stalked into the hallway, black fur standing at attention and ears flattened to it's skull.

The woman dove into her kitchen, frantically searching for her phone.

It wasn't there.

She would have sworn that she put it next to the sink when she got home. That was where she always left it. But the phone was not in it's usual spot. She didn't have time to think about the oddity of her findings because the cat chose that moment to streak into the room.

Yowling, it attached itself to her leg just below the knee, and began ascending using teeth and claws. The woman screamed as she frantically kicked to dislodge the feline.

Freeing herself once again, she ran from the kitchen towards the door. Her only thought, to escape the apartment and the animal inside.

Whimpering, she fumbled with the lock, fingers slick with her own blood. Another inhuman yowl behind her sent her bolting in a blind panic out the door.

The early fall morning was unseasonably cold, and the old wooden stairs steep. The panicked woman slipped on the frost covered deck...

And plummeted headlong down the stairs.