Jezebel Stephens, 20, barista

Jezebel Stephens jumped out of bed and tripped over her own feet. Quickly half-rising she ran out of her room and into the toilet, where the porcelain portal awaited. After ejecting her stomach contents she felt weak and achy.

Flu-like symptoms, she thought, I hope it isn't the flu; it's not like they pay me for missed shifts.

Anya sat in the bathroom doorway and stared in that quiet and disturbing way tabbies do. Jezebel felt a little self-conscious at the cat staring at her undies and sleeping tee.

"What are you looking at?"

"Mraow."

"About what I figured. I'll get your breakfast as soon as I finish getting rid of last night's snacks."

Once she was sure she wasn't going to heave any more, or at least had nothing left to heave, Jezebel stood up. She gargled a glass of water, brushed her teeth, then used the mouthwash. Her taste buds felt like a mint factory had exploded nearby, but at least it wasn't eight-hour old coke and pizza on a return engagement.

Thus refreshed, she went out to the kitchen and opened a can of cat food. Anya watched with the interest of the hungry, but patiently waited for her to put the bit of real ground beef into the bowl beside the canned glop before digging in.

Jezebel went back to her room and shucked off her sleeping wear. Her apartment wasn't in the best neighbourhood, but if somebody wanted to break in and attack her they'd have to climb up two storeys and make a fair amount of noise doing it. She walked back to the bathroom and started the shower, waiting for the water to warm up before she got in. Fuck the water bill for once, it's New Year's Day.

She was in the shower less than a minute before she screamed and jumped out. On her wrists and ankles she was growing fur.

It was fine, silky, tabby-coloured fur, a band about an inch wide on her wrists and about two inches wide on her ankles. She started a turn but stopped halfway; there was also a band of tabby fur about the width of her hand running down from her hairline to just above her butt-crack. At the base of that was a stubby tail.

"Oh, shit," she said. She turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, then hit the bathroom floor face first.

Jezebel woke up to someone nudging her face. She hurt everywhere. Anya was rubbing against the side of her head and purring.

"Oww-w; call mama an ambulanze, will you?"

Her body ached and she had only a vague memory of what had disturbed her in the first place. But she could tell what was disturbing her right now. Her hand reached down to her surprisingly hairy pubes and started rubbing. I thought I shaved that. But she didn't care; right now the only thing that mattered was that her cunny was demanding attention. She didn't even care that she was lying naked on the bathroom floor. Now means now.

Anyway, somebody had put some kind of furry mat down. She humped her hand wildly, feeling the slick coolness of the lino as she pulsed her back and her nipples slid along it. One finger slid inside her, then another as she frantically humped her hand. Anya's purring got harder and louder; it was like the little cat was somehow purring Jezebel's entire body. She let out a weird-sounding "Rrr-aaa-ou-aa-rrr!" sound as she climaxed intensely, twitching and clenching every muscle in her body. Finally she slumped back to the bathroom floor.

"God zat was good. You can ztop purring now, Anya."

She looked over and the cat wasn't there. A sudden realization came over her and she looked at her hand. No, her paw. It kind of looked like a hand, except it was covered in tabby fur and had pads on the palm and fingers. Looking down her length she saw the thick mat of fur covering her entire body; she pulled herself up and looked in the mirror. The face looking back was still unmistakeably hers, but it was a cat's face with large slit-pupil eyes and, a short muzzle, whiskers and a black snub cat-nose. Her ears were catlike too, and twitching; the only really human part left was her chestnut brown hair.

Jezebel slid back down and curled into a ball on the bathroom floor. "I am zo zo zcrewed."

Her phone rang.