101 Psychos

#16 - Crazy Cat Lady

Psycho #16 - Crazy Cat Lady -

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A Tale of Diogenes Syndrome:

Refers to a disorder characterized by extreme self-neglect, domestic squalor, social withdrawal, apathy, compulsive hoarding of garbage, and lack of shame. Also known as Squalor Syndrome.

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I adored my cats, I couldn't imagine a life without them. Perfect creatures, so graceful and sneaky. I owned a few hundred, and even more strays who would come spend the night. All together, there were probably close to a thousand or so running around the property. People thought I couldn't keep up with them, but I knew each and every one. They all had their own personality, and I loved all of them.

I lived out of town a ways, and had a rather large field for them to hunt in. The house was a single story family home. I had cut holes in the doors as well as a couple of the walls so that they could come and go as they pleased. There was also a barn on the property that I turned into a cat haven, a special place just for them.

The townsfolk called me the crazy cat lady, but I paid them no mind. My cats were more interesting than people, so it didn't bother me that I was not accepted by the locals. They didn't understand the connection I had with my pets.

What did bother me was the pesky teenaged boys who would drive by my house, shooting their .22 rifles at my precious darlings. I'd found many carcasses close to the road in the weeks past. My stomach turned as I noticed the bullet holes littering their fragile, soft bodies.

The police would do nothing about it, of this I was sure. They had been out here themselves more than once, trying to tell me my darlings needed to go because of "health concerns". Rubbish.

I decided to take matters into my own hands, and had littered the road they used with nails of all sizes. Just as I had planned, the teens got a flat tire not far from where I lived.

There was no cell tower or service out here, so they would be forced to go to the closest house to call for help. The closest house however, was mine.

The knock came, and I stood from my chair to go to the door. Cats ran and dodged in every direction as I walked through the living area, trying to be careful not to trip on anything. The floor was covered in cat toys, feces, and urine, the buildup making my path a difficult one, but I stumbled on the debris only once.

I opened the door and found three young men staring back at me. They scrunched their noses as each of them took a step away from the pundit odor emitting from the dwelling.

"Hello, can I help you?" I asked innocently, my voice cracking as I was thrown into a coughing fit.

"Umm.." the boy closest started, "Our truck broke down and we were wondering if we could use your phone?" he sounded unsure of himself as he spoke.

"Of course. Right this way." I replied as I ushered them inside. The boys looked at each other hesitatingly, but followed me though the door.

"It stinks in here." one of them murmured under his breath as I closed the door, locking it tight.

"You get use to it." I replied while I walked past them. "Follow me."

Instead of leading them to the phone, I took them into a room located on the far side of the house. I had placed bars on the windows earlier but removed the glass itself. I also removed anything that they might be able to use against me, leaving the room bare except for the cat waste covering the floor. They entered the room first, and I slammed the door behind them, bolting it in place.

"Let's us out!" they screamed from the other side as they pounded on the door.

"You should not have tormented my kittens young ones. Now they can torment you." I yelled back.

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Cats are marvelous creatures, with many interesting abilities. If their whiskers become damaged, they grow back. It doesn't physically harm the creatures if the whiskers are cut off, but it does cause them to become disoriented. For that reason, I decided to take only an inch from each creature.

If a person ingests the whiskers, it can be very problematic. The small fragments tend to stick into the sides of the esophagus, irritating the tissue and causing it to swell. Eventually the victims airways become too restricted to breath, and they suffocate.

This was the punishment I planned for the animal abusers.

Slowly I added the whisker pieces to some oatmeal, and went around the back of the house to give the boys their meal through the barred window. They were wary of accepting the food, but with no other options they took the meal and ate every bite.

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It had been three days since I locked the teens in the room. I was sure people were looking for them by now, but it didn't matter. I managed to move the truck into the barn and out of view, leaving it open for the cats to use as they saw fit.

I stood outside the barred window and watch the boys in the small enclosure. They were becoming sickly from the exposure to the cat feces and urine, which emitted ammonia and carbon dioxide into the air. Their bodies weren't use to the bacteria festering in the piles of waste like mine was.

Some cats would go in to investigate the new arrivals now and then. The boys were cruel to them however, and the cats would leave them with fresh claw marks and bites. I noticed the cuts were becoming inflamed and discolored, clearly infected from the continued onslaught of disease they were now confined to. They no longer bothered to stand, but sat in the pool of filth, to exhausted to even attempt staying clean anymore.

Their breaths were ragged, each inhalation caused them to be thrown into a coughing fit. Every time they swallowed the fragments of whiskers would penetrate deeper into the tissue, causing more irritation than before. I noticed them grabbing at their necks from time to time, trying to sooth the internal itch.

I decided another day or two and they would surely be dead, just like all the pets they had carelessly executed. When I was sure they were no longer living, I would grind them up and feed the remains to my precious cats. They deserved a treat after all for their sacrifice and help in serving justice to these unfortunate boys.

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