Strange Life of a Cat

Mr.Guo’s customers were basically people related to Chuhua University in one capacity or another, and doing business with the university folks was not easy. For one thing, food safety and quality problems had absolutely nowhere to hide.

People who spent all their time in the lab, with nothing but science equipments and experimental data to look at, needed to have fun somehow.

They would sometimes take a bus to a back alley to buy a bowl of noodles to take back to the lab and test it for Naphthalene. They would test sesame sauce from the little convenience store nearby for aflatoxin or check it to see if the E. coli contained was above approved levels.

So, to do business with college teachers and students and maintain a good reputation, good quality products were the key.

Mr. Guo’s store withstood the test of time and labs; it grew popular and funds started to pour in. He had rented the few neighboring stores and merged with his brother’s pet clinic to set up a pet center.

From what Zheng Tan knew, the guy was decent fellow. He had a mind for money-making ideas but his heart was in the right place. At least he treated the animals well.

After Mr.Guo left, there was no mention of the cat food ad in the Jiao family. After dinner, Jiao Yuan and Gu Youzi retreated to their room to write homework. Mama Jiao went to the gym to learn dancing with a few friends.

Zheng Tan went into the master bedroom. He nudged the door closed before and pawed the latch, locking the door. In the bedroom, Papa Jiao was already waiting behind his desk.

Papa Jiao didn’t even bat an eye at Zheng Tan’s actions after he entered the room, for he had seen it too many times. Zheng Tan jumped on the table and Papa Jiao closed the folder he was reading.

“Today, Mr.Guo came to talk about the cat food ads. I haven’t given him my word yet; I wanted to get your thoughts first,” Papa Jiao said while placing a document in front of Zheng Tan.

The document contained the details of the cat food campaign and a list of pros and cons, drafted up by Papa Jiao.

Mr. Guo’s shop made a store brand cat food that was quite popular with cat owners on campus since the price was cheap and the quality was good. Mr. Guo had long been ready to promote this cat food, but the outbreak of “SARS” had put a stop to his original plans.

Now he was ready to start over again. Also, he was short on cash due to the costs of setting up his pet center. He needed the possible sales from the cat food more than ever.

Although there were few pet food ads on Chinese television, Zheng Tan found out after coming here that there was an expanding market for it. The economy was booming, and the pace of life in the city was faster than ever. People had no time to take care of themselves, even if they wanted a pet, they needed to figure out how to feed it first.

Zheng Tan never had a knack for making money and he still didn’t. However, even he could tell they would make a small fortune if this thing went well.

Zheng Tan did not eat cat food; he ate whatever the Jiao family ate. Since becoming a cat, he was most grateful that his digestive system was strong enough to handle human food. But he wouldn’t need to eat cat food for the ad.

Zheng Tan thought in all seriousness that doing this ad was really not a big deal. After all, it was just for pet food. According to the file, the initial distribution would be solely internet based. If the public responded well, there would be more to follow.

Mr. Guo was simply testing the waters with this first ad. His financial constraints were probably the reason he had his eye on Zheng Tan. Foreigners were willing to spend a few tons of food to shoot a scene for a pet food ad. If Mr. Guo used a different cat, a few tons of food might be excessive, but he definitely couldn’t shy away from throwing in some food.

Zheng sighed while looking at the document and was thinking hard about the pros and cons when Papa Jiao patted him and said: “You don’t have to make a decision immediately. I told Xiao Guo I’d give him an answer in three days.”

Zheng Tan was not in a hurry anymore, now knowing that he had three days to think it over. He had to be careful being in his current state.

Zheng Tan heard a knock at the front door.

Papa Jiao left to open the door, Zheng Tan did not follow him, though his ears perked up.

The visitor was the otaku who lived with his parents across the hall. Both his parents worked at the university.

The guy usually stayed at home all day. He had a predilection for StarCraft, Spider-Man, Star Wars and Spongebob-themed T-shirt, but did his laundry once a week at most. Even in the summer.

Zheng Tan wondered if mushrooms grew in his neglected heap of laundry in summer.

He sounded embarrassed when he spoke.

“Brother Jiao, It’s like the mice over at my place have superpowers or something. The mouse trap I bought didn’t manage to catch anything. They are driving me crazy. If …um… it’s ever convenient, you know, maybe I could…uh…borrow your cat?”

Zheng Tan jumped off desk and stuck his head out the door to have a look. The guy had a lunch box in one hand and was frantically scratching his head with the other.

Zheng Tan rolled his eyes. He clearly remembered this guy boasting to Jiao Yuan about not ever having mice in his place. The next day he was complaining about mice chewing apart his internet line.

He tried everything short of poison. However, none of the mouse stickers and mouse traps did a thing. Zheng Tan was beginning to think that being in a university had raised the IQ of the mice somehow.

Now that he thought about it, he never once tried to catch a mouse after becoming a cat. For some unknown reason, the Jiao family never had got any mice. Maybe it was because of him. Anyhow, he would really be clueless if he was tasked with catching mice now.

Not that he was afraid of them. Zheng Tan used to catch mice in middle school to scare the girls in his class. But it was different being a human being.

Zheng Tan looked down woefully at his furry paws. He was officially annoyed.

Papa Jiao finished his conversation and went back into the room. He waved Zheng Tan over. “Do you know how to catch a mouse?”

He sat still and stared back blankly.

Papa Jiao broke the silence. “Well, let’s give it a try.”

Try? Where? How?

Zheng Tan was confused.

Papa Jiao grabbed his keys and a bag, then motioned for Zheng Tan to follow him.

Zheng Tan sat in the back of Papa Jiao’s scooter and watched him take a familiar route out of the residential quarters. He was starting to get an idea of where they were going.

He still had no idea how Papa Jiao was going to let him ‘try’ to catch a mouse, and he was getting anxious. He was stronger than the average cat. He felt he could still get stronger, maybe even reach the level of an average adult in a year or two.

However, having strength did not mean he could catch a mouse. He never used to like cats, so he never took the time to find out how a normal cat did it.

While he was thinking, the scooter pulled in front of their destination – the College of Life Sciences building.

As an assistant professor, this was where Papa Jiao spent most of his waking moments.

After properly parking the small scooter, Papa Jiao shook open the bag he carried and motioned to Zheng Tan. His lips twitched, if such a thing was possible for cats, and he grudgingly jumped into the bag. The bio building was not a place where cats would wander. It was best to not be seen.

Papa Jiao then walked toward the main entrance of building, calmly greeting people going in and out.

They were alone by the time he reached the stairs. Most people chose the elevator.

Zheng Tan stuck his head out from the bag and looked around. Even at 7pm, there were still a lot of people around. Laboratory lights were all still on and he could see the UV lamp of the sterile rooms from the other side from the staircase windows.

He was quite nervous the first time Jiao Yuan brought him here, but now he was getting used to it. Though, Zheng Tan still felt fortunate that this family who had adopted him were not science freaks.

Papa Jiao’s office was on the second floor. He was the one of the few assistant professors who had an independent office. Sometimes when Mama Jiao was too busy, Jiao Yuan would come here to do homework or take a nap. Once in while, Zheng Tan would follow him, always wrapped in a bag or hidden under clothes.

Papa Jiao found some keys in his office, then carried Zheng Tan up to the fourth floor. The rooms up here were seldom used. This was Zheng Tan’s first time up here.

Papa Jiao’s footsteps were abnormally loud in the quiet corridor. The sound-controlled lights lit up allowing Zheng Tan a glimpse at the door tags. No wonder no one was here. This was where they stored unused equipment and chemicals. But…Wait a minute…

Zheng Tan twitched his nose. He caught a whiff of a certain creature.

Papa Jiao stopped in front of a room on the far end of the hall and took out his keys.

The door squeaked as it opened.

Even in the dim lighting, Zheng Tan could see clearly the layout of the room.

Cages of little white mice were stacked in a room inside. A table and some shelves were put near the door.

Papa Jiao switched on the light and set the bag with Zheng Tan down on the experiment table. “Wait here and don’t run around. There are lots of chemicals here, so you could get hurt.”

Papa Jiao threw on a lab coat and took out some gloves from a drawer. He went into the inner room and soon came out with a cage in his hand. In it, were five white mice.