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Olimar had been newly divorced. He was constantly on work trips, and his wife had issues with spending too much money on luxury clothes. One day, he’d find out from a college friend that his wife had been cheating. It was all over at that point. He reluctantly gave her the divorce papers, and the whole process began. Unfortunately for Olimar, his wife got full custody of the kids and their pet dog, Bulbie, due to his absence. He wished for joint custody, but he knew that with Hocotate Freight, they’d never give him enough time to parent. He’d eventually get his own apartment. A small one since he was rarely ever home. It was lonely. He had been used to the sounds of reality TV, the sounds of his son playing video games and attacking enemies, the sounds of his daughter playing with dolls, and the sounds of Bulbie barking at those who passed by the house. Now the only thing he heard was the ac in his place. Olimar thought about how nice it’d be to have a pet of his own. A new puppy! No… He’ll just miss Bulbie even more, and he wouldn’t be able to give it the playtime and walks it needs. Maybe a cat… They’re not as high maintenance, right? They don’t need to go on walks like dogs do, and they’re not as social… Olimar fantasized for a bit before realizing that he wouldn’t be able to get a cat either. Ever since crash landing on PNF-404 and finding that bottle cap, his president would send him there for month long expeditions to bring more money. If he got a cat sitter, it’d basically be their cat anyways. Olimar would continue his bleak and depressing life, picking up treasure and getting attacked by the wildlife of PNF-404.
Around a month later, he heard his phone ring.
”Hello?”
”Hello! Is this Olimar?”
It was the president. Olimar was dreading whatever new job he’d have to do.
”Yes. This is Olimar…”
”I have great news! We have a new worker! I’m decreasing your workload! I figured you’d need a break after your wife left you! And you’ll have the same salary! I’ve also decided to give you a week off! I hope you enjoy!”
The comment about his now ex wife stung… But he was free! He no longer had to go to that damned planet back to back with no break! He discussed his new assignments with the president until the president had another call to attend to. Now he only had to do delivery for Hocotate rather than interstellar delivery. That’s when he remembered his fantasy of getting a pet cat. He could actually do it now! He decided that he’d start off vacation with getting a cat! Maybe it’d be best to adopt one! Something lost and without a companion like him…
It was a decent looking shelter, and the worker who greeted him was very kind. The lady would bring him into the room with all the cats, and Olimar couldn’t help but smile. He was more of a dog person, but seeing all of the fuzzy cats play with each other made his heart melt.
”Here are some of the cats we got over here. This is ChiChi. He’s a very sweet cat.”
ChiChi immediately approached Olimar and nuzzled his hand. He was adorable! The worker showed him all the other cats, some friendly and social, some more reclusive. Suddenly he noticed the woman looking a bit weirded out.
”Oh yeah.. We also have this weird cat. I think he’s a Koppaite breed? He’s in another room because we have to keep him away from the other cats’ food.”
The two approached a door and the worker opened it. Olimar couldn’t believe his eyes.
”What the…”
Inside was a human-cat hybrid, with blond hair, whiskers, fuzzy legs and arms, and a tail with faint orange stripes. And when it meowed, it had the voice of a man?!
”L-LOUIE! GET BACK HERE!”
The woman quickly grabbed him although it wasn’t the easiest considering he was human sized, and also fat.
”Sorry, he tries to escape whenever he gets the opportunity.”
“I don’t think… that’s from Koppai…” Olimar thought to himself.
He found himself drawn to this strange creature. He knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to get some strange animal human thing in his house, but could you imagine all of the observations he could make? Olimar loved writing down the things he learned about the wildlife on PNF-404. He wished he could be a biologist or zoologist instead, but that’d take lots of schooling.
“We’ll give him to you for free. He’s kind of too much for us to handle…”
She looked exhausted.
”Any special requirements?”
”He does have opposable thumbs like a human’s, so you should get child locks. And he eats as much as a human. Other than that he’s like your normal cat.”
Olimar thought about it for a bit, then decided he was going to adopt this “cat”.
”I’ll take him.”
”Are you sure? He is a lot…”
”I’m sure I can handle it! I’ve encountered lots of weird animals!”
He’d be given some papers to sign to make sure he agreed to everything, and then the adoption process was done.
The worker would bring out a cage meant for a dog and entice “Louie” to go in there with treats. Olimar couldn’t get the fact that this looked like a grown man out of his head, and it was such a strange experience.
”Alright, Louie. Let’s go to the pet store and get you your things.”
He would struggle to lift the cage.
”My god you are heavy…”
He finally got a grip on it, having to use both his arms and all of his strength to carry it. He overheard another worker celebrating the adoption of Louie.
”YOU GOT SOMEONE TO ADOPT THAT THING?!?! OH THANK GOD! I HATE LOUIE!”
”I’m surprised he took him…”
Olimar brought Louie to the car, putting the passenger seats down and putting the cage on top of that.
”What could you have done to make them hate you so much?” Olimar chuckled.
”Meow!”
Louie pawed at the bars, looking into his owner’s eyes. Olimar felt weird about it, but he decided to put a finger in the cage. Louie licked it with his spiky tongue before nuzzling it.
”Haha! That tickles! You’re such an interesting creature…”
As Olimar drove to the pet store, he heard clinking, and then the sound of something opening. He couldn’t look now however and would have to wait until he arrived. A few minutes passed by and he parked near the store and went to go get Louie.
”L-Louie! How’d you open that?”
”Meow”
Louie just walked over and rubbed against Olimar’s torso while purring. He opened the door to his cage.
”I see why she told me to get child locks… I guess I should get you a leash…”
The two would walk to the store, Louie walking on all fours like a normal cat. Olimar could feel the gaze of strangers.
“What kind of… cat? Is that?”
Olimar didn’t know how to answer.
”I uh… I don’t know… They told me it was Koppaite but I don’t think so…”
”Haha! It looks like one of us!”
Olimar went to look for leashes when he noticed Louie continuously pawing at a blue one.
”Meow! Meow…”
”You want this one?”
”Meeaaaaaw! Meow meowww!”
”Okay okay I’ll get it!”
Then he went looking for collars. Again, Louie began to paw and meow profusely at a blue one.
”You like blue, huh? Let’s get you one that fits.”
He chose the biggest one which had a cute little bell on it. It was perfect! Olimar then got a huge litter box, some toys which Louie played with, then a bed meant for dogs but was a good size. Then he scooted the cart by the food section, and that’s when Louie went crazy. He would not stop meowing.
”MEOW MEOW MEOWWWWW MEAAOWWWWW MEOW MEOW!”
”Yes yes I’m getting you food! Just wait!”
He’d pick out some normal kibble and then some treats.
”Nonono! No don’t open that!”
Olimar snatched the treat bag from Louie’s paws as he was actively trying to open it. If this were a normal cat, he would leave it alone. But Louie had thumbs and had already opened his own cage. Who knows what else he could open.
”Meow!”
The two were now at Olimar’s house. Olimar would set up the food and water bowls, the cat bed, and the litter box. He then got out a cat wand that had a little stuffed mouse on the end, and dangled it over Louie’s head. His pupils dilated and he went into attack mode, swatting and biting the toy. He was just like any other cat when it came to behavior. Olimar couldn’t help but to wonder where he came from. Was he really from another planet? Was he made in a lab? Suddenly he’d feel the stinging pain of a sharp claw in his hand.
”O-OW! Louie why’d you do that!?”
Louie only stared at him with those giant black voids. A second of silence went by, and then Olimar noticed Louie getting ready to pounce.
“AIII! OW OW! STOP!”
The man flailed under the creature. Louie was turning out to be a mischievous little “cat”. Or big cat. He tried his best to be gentle as he was only playing, but he couldn’t do anything about his claws. Olimar would push him away slightly.
”Okay okay… Too much! Your claws are too sharp!”
”Meow”
Louie began to sniff his owner’s hand. Then he nuzzled into it while purring. Olimar felt embarrassed for finding this adorable, but how could he not? Besides his weird appearance, Louie was like a normal cat. He began to grow on Olimar. He was always stressing about work and kids, but now he had something to remind him to relax. He began to pet Louie, starting with the head. It wasn’t anything special as he just had a tuft of hair like most Hocotatians, so it felt like he was petting his wife or kids. He then pet his back, his hand approaching the base of Louie’s tail as he crawled around. As Olimar scritched, he noticed Louie looked happy, and his tail rose. It seemed like that was a good spot to pet. Louie would continue this cycle of going in circles around Olimar, letting all sides of him be pet. And then he plopped down.
”L-Louie… I have things to do!”
He wouldn’t budge. He just sat there purring, and Olimar couldn’t do anything about it.
