Deven is given a costume cat collar as a gift my his roommate Eric. After he puts it on though, people start to treat him strangely.
Pet Cosplay
By CalexTheNeko
Deven stared at the item in the open carved wooden box before him. A since of uneasiness and eagerness filled him at the same time. He slowly glanced up from the box to his flatmate, uncertainty in his eyes, unsure of what to say.
“I think a thank you might be in order.” Eric grinned as he watched Deven’s confused emotions. The black haired youth was a bit shorter than Deven, and being in his early twenties a few years younger as well. He seemed to take a small bit of delight whenever he got the older brown haired Deven on edge.
“Thanks?” Deven responded. He lifted the item that had caught his attention from the box. It was a solid green cat collar with a silver bell on the end of it. Except, unlike a normal cat collar, it was sized for a human. “But I… Why?” Deven looked down at his feet embarrassed. Right now he was dressed very simply in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. It was the agreed upon minimum attire when both of them were home. Deven personally didn’t care for clothes at all, but his flatmate wasn’t good with him being naked outside his room while they were both home.
“You don’t have to be so shy.” Eric shrugged and sighed. “I mean, I’ve known you were into this kind of thing for awhile now… And honestly, the whole furry thing seems a lot more minor than the nudist thing.”
“But you bought me a collar?” Deven was still unsure how to react.
“Found it in an old pawn shop that just opened up.” Eric explained. “Came in a really neat wooden box. It was only five pounds, so I figured why not. It’s just a costume piece. Not like it’s anything that weird.”
“R-right.” Deven knew what he was saying was correct. But… Well, him and Eric were friends. They wouldn’t live together if they weren’t. But Deven had a lot of interests that Eric didn’t really see the appeal of, and so it felt very awkward getting a gift like this from him.
“I mean it’s your choice if you ever wear it or not.” Eric turned away dismissively. “I’ve gotta go get a few more groceries out of the car though. So, just keep it as a collectible, or try it on sometime.” With that Eric left the living room and went out the flat door.
“Huh…” Deven sat the box down and stared at the collar in his hand. He slowly walked to the bathroom so he could see himself in the mirror. He couldn’t understand why he was so nervous. The idea of wearing it really did sound fun. Maybe it was because he was nervous about doing it in front of his friend?
But of course… Eric was the one who bought it for him. So it’s not like he could hide anything at this point. With that thought in mind, Deven snapped the collar around his neck and admired himself in the mirror. It actually looked quite nice on him. With his wild shoulder length hair it sort of gave him a fierce look he enjoyed. He really liked this look.
Maybe he’d even wear it outside the flat.
Deven heard the front door open as Eric returned with the groceries. He figured he should go offer to help put things away, so headed towards the kitchen to meet him, but…
“DEVEN!” Eric shouted as soon as he saw Deven in the kitchen. “What do you think you’re doing! Bad boy!”
“Wait, what?” Deven froze like a deer in headlights.
“How did you even get into that? Raid the laundry basket or something?” Eric put his hands on his hips.
“You mean the collar?” Deven stared at him confused. “You gave it to me.”
“Come on rascal, let’s get those off you.” Eric approached Deven, and it was strange. Deven felt like they were having two different conversations. Either way, it was clearly not the collar Eric was upset, as Deven reached up towards Deven’s neck… And grabbed the top of his shirt and pulled it right off him.
“Wait what?” Deven blinked and just stared in surprise.
“Rest of it off too.” Eric spoke in a playful voice, as if addressing a young child or animal. He grabbed the hem of Deven’s boxers and pulled them down, quickly lifting Deven’s feet up one by one to remove them. This left Deven completely naked except for the collar as Eric disappeared into his room to throw the stolen clothes into the laundry hamper.
‘’I don’t get it.” Deven liked being naked, but being stripped like this was so sudden. Especially when Eric had been so much against it before. “Is this some way of saying you’re going in on nudism thing now?”
“Sure are talkative since I got home.” As Eric returned to the kitchen he didn’t even answer Deven’s question. “Bet you’re hungry huh? Well… Give me a second I think I picked up something you might like.”
“You’re really just cool with it now.” The beating of Deven’s heart slowed down. This was certainly a strange way to get the point across, but if it meant he could be more comfortable in his own home. He could get behind this. He just wished Eric had been more forward about it. “Though now that you mention it I wouldn’t mind a snack.” Deven sat down at the kitchen table waiting for whatever Eric had prepared. At the same time, something strange happened. The table and chair felt wrong. As if they were just a little bit too big. And for a brief moment he felt like someone was tugging on his ears, stretching them out. The sensation passed after a moment and he ignored it.
Eric turned around holding what appeared to be a raw fish, or at least a slice of it.
“They had salmon on sale at the market, so figured I’d make some for dinner. But, I bet you’d like it I gave you a tiny sliver of it and-“ Eric paused as he looked at Deven. “Hey! What are you doing at the table! Down! Down!” Eric quickly grabbed the spray faucet on the sink and squirted at Deven with it.
“GAH!?” Deven jumped out of the chair and landed crouched on all fours. “What’s the big idea!?” Again, it was as if Eric didn’t even register his words.
“You know you’re not allowed on the kitchen table or chairs.” Eric tsked. “Now be good before I change my mind.” He then dangled the sliver of salmon directly above Deven’s head.
“Why are you giving it to me like this?” Deven tilted his head. However… The smell of the fish was heavenly. Without thinking, he lurched forward and put the fish right out of Eric’s hang. He had barely gotten three bites in before he swallowed it. It was heavenly. He had never experienced such a tasty meal. He felt satisfaction flow through his entire body, sending a warm tingle down his spine. A tingle that continued past his spine, and kept going… Into something else.
WHAT!?
Deven turned and looked behind him just in time to see a tail. An actual tail! It was covered in brown fur and grew quite long and slender. He found he could easily move it at will.
“ERIC!” Deven shouted as he ran up to his flatmate. “I! Look! Tail!” He grabbed the tail in his own hand and tried to show it to Eric.
“I take it you liked the salmon.” Eric grinned. “But no more. That’s my dinner.” Eric bent down to pat Deven on the head.
Wait… Bent down?
At some point, Deven had become shorter than Eric. In fact, he was only about chest high to him. What was going on!? He looked over his body, noticing a lot of his features had changed. His skin was fairer, muscles less developed. He looked like he did back when he was thirteen years old. He had gotten younger! And grown a tail! And…
Deven reached up a hand and tugged at his ears as he remembered the stretching sensation. They were triangle shaped, and covered in fur.
“I have cat ears.” Deven understood immediately.
“You’re just dying for affection today huh?” Eric began to scratch Deven behind the ears. Deven felt himself making a purring noise, something he didn’t even know he could do. It was such a relaxing feeling. He leaned into the scratches, and as he did started to get shorter again. Meanwhile, fur had grown in completely over his hands and feet. Deven didn’t even notice as his posture changed, and he started to stand on the tips of his toes.
“Ohhh that is just… The perfect spot.” Deven purred louder. “Don’t stop.”
“I’m really glad you’re such an affectionate little guy.” Eric chuckled. “But I do have other things I need to get done today.” He slowly stood up.
“Aw come on just a bit more!” Deven pleaded, and then froze as he realized Eric was even taller. Looking down at himself, he had to be somewhere around six years old now. He was getting younger by the second. He then noticed his hands and feet, both covered with brown fur and looking distinctly more like paws than human hands or feet. He was turning into a cat.
Or… Based on the fact he was now six years old, a kitten.
“I need to take this thing off.” Deven sat down on his bum and began to paw at his collar. However, he no longer had thumbs or proper fingers making it more difficult to manage. He nearly undid the latch but then stopped. Did he have to get the collar off?
He needed to think about this.
He was supposed to be a human. If he turned into a cat, he couldn’t go to work. He wouldn’t be able to carry out most of his responsibilities. And of course it wasn’t like he was going to be able to get his robe on if he had to answer the door to get the mail.
On the other hand… If he wasn’t a human… It meant he didn’t have to go to work. He would have no responsibilities but to play, eat and sleep. And he’d never have to wear clothes again. This made for a pretty convincing argument.
But he had to be human! That’s what he was! Except…
“Is that really a good reason?” Deven sat on his bottom as he considered it. Why was he supposed to be human? Because that’s what he was. But… If he had the option to change… Was having been born human really a good reason not to take the more appealing choice, or just an excuse. After all… Being a kitten sounded like a lot more fun.
No sooner had Deven had the thought, than the fur began to spread further along his body. From his paws, it stretched all the way up to his knees and elbows. He also shrunk slightly, this time going down to four years old.
“I really need to see myself in a mirror.” Deven ran for the bathroom. As he did, he found he could drop to all fours now to run easily. Upon arriving in the bathroom though, the counter was above his head. He growled in annoyance as he leaned back onto his hind paws… And then sprung upward landing atop the counter in one fluid motion. Now he could see the mirror.
What he saw was absolutely adorable. He saw himself of course, but as a four year old child. And he had a long slender cat tail, a pair of brown fluffy ears with pink skin on the inside, and paws for hands and feet. Deven looked down at his hand paws, realizing that he had pink pads on his palms and smaller pink beans on the top of each of his finger. He sat down so he could check his foot paws. Same deal. One big pink pad in the center of each foot, and then tiny little beans. Deven poked one of his own toe beans, feeling how squishy it was. This was amazing.
Deven leaped down from the counter and decided to explore the flat. Everything was so much bigger now. It made it seem like a place full of adventure. He quickly ran down the hall and jumped into his own bedroom. All of his stuff was still there. He leaped up onto his own bed and sprawled out. It was so soft, and so big.
“Mrooowwwlll.” Deven made playful noises, not even realizing that his speech no longer even sounded like words even to him. He began to roll on his back against the bed’s comforter, scratching it as fur started up from his knees and elbows, reaching almost to his shoulders.
“Deven.” Eric walked past the door to Deven’s room and chuckled. “You having fun in there again? You really like the guest room huh?” Eric walked over and scooped Deven up and cradled him like a baby in his arms.
“Meooow mroooowl!” Deven tried to object that it was his room. Not a guest room. Of course, by now he knew Eric wasn’t going to understand any of his words. It was a shame. He was sure he was speaking perfect English. So why couldn’t his friend make any sense of him. If he turned all the way into the cat, having the ability to talk so he could make demands would have been quite the boon.
“You just have no chill huh?” Eric tickled Deven’s belly. “You’re either full blast or nap time. But… I kind of like that about you. Gives you more personality.” Eric held Deven against his shoulders and began to pet his back.
“Mroooooow.” Deven tried to tell Eric to continue. Even if his flatmate couldn’t understand his words, he definitely understood the loud purring coming from the small kitten boy. Eric continue to pet him, and Deven started to shrink even more. The fur growing in reached his waist and neck, and then spread right over his stomach, chest and back. Outside the pink inside his ears there wasn’t any skin left visible on Deven’s body. In addition, he had regressed all the way down to the tender age of two years old.
“Alright you satisfied?” Eric asked. “Cause with the groceries put away I need to go to work.”
“Mrooowl?” Deven didn’t understand. Why couldn’t Eric stay home and play. Sure, Deven knew about Eric’s day job. After all, he had one too. In fact, Deven was supposed to be going to his own job around this time too. Not that he had any intent of doing that now… Or ever again. Still, right now Deven felt like him continuing to receive pets and cuddles was a lot more important than Eric’s’ job. “Meooooooow! Mrooooow!”
“Hey now, I need to work to pay the rent.” Eric cooed as he pet Deven on the head. “It’s not easy paying for two rooms with one salary.” He paused for a moment, as if struggling to remember something. “Why did I rent a two-room flat?” He shook his head. “Well maybe I can find a flatmate or someone to rent the other room out too, that’d help a lot.”
“MEOOOOOOOOOOOOW!” Deven objected. That was his room. It had all his stuff in it.
“Ah yes you really like that guest bed huh?” Eric chuckled. “Well… I’ll tell you what. If It means so much, you can sleep in my bed with me at night.” Eric bent down and set Deven on the ground. “Bet that’ll be a lot warmer for you than laying in a bed by yourself… But I really have to get to work.” With that Eric headed for the door again.
“Mew.” Deven tilted his head. Eric had a point… Being cuddled up against him at night was going to be a lot warmer and a lot more comfortable than being in the bed by himself. Still! The rest of the stuff in that room was still his!
Deven stood up on two legs. Being a toddler he was a little unsteady now, but he found he could still walk without too much difficulty. He headed to his room, intent on securing all of his possessions before Eric had a chance to rent the room to someone else.
Yet… As Deven got into his room, he discovered something strange. Most of what he owned was…. Kind of boring. Sure he had a computer… But it’s not like he could play on that with paws… And who needed to look at cat pics on the internet when you were a cat! Maybe he could do a chat roulette thing sometime? Then again, no one understood him. “Meoooooow.” Deven spoke out loud. Still sounded like perfect English to him. He had no idea why everyone else just treated it as if he was meowing.
Well, the computer wasn’t that interesting. But there had to be other things in his room that belonged to him he wanted to save! He dropped down onto all fours and approached the closet. He couldn’t reach the knobs, but shoving a paw beneath the door he could pull it open. His closet, like most closets, was mostly full of clothes. It was actually pretty full. Thanks to the fact that Deven hung out naked when home alone, and juts in underwear and shorts when his roommate was home he saved a lot of time on laundry. The only time he ever got properly dressed was when he had to go out. That meant a lot of pairs of trousers in the closet right now that hadn’t been used in awhile. Not like those were worth saving.
Except…
Deven suddenly realized that there was in fact a very practical use for clothing. Steadying himself, Deven wiggled his hind side and back legs, then leaped up into the air. He managed to grab the leg of a pair of trousers with his claws. He hung off them for a few moments… And then his weight pulled the trousers from their hanger and down onto the closet floor, landing atop of Deven getting him stuck in the dark.
“MROOOOOOOOOOOWL!” Deven let out a shout. Treacherous trousers! How dare they try to capture him like this. He squirmed around, trying to free himself from this horrible trap. After a few seconds, Deven managed to climb out from beneath his trousers. He crawled a few feet away from them and looked back at them.
“MROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAWWRL!” Foul denim beast! How dare it try to pick a fight with him. Deven took a few steps back, wiggled his back legs again, and then pounced upon the fallen trousers. All four sets of claws came out, as well as his fangs. Deven bit, clawed, scratched and tore. But these trousers… They were tricky opponents! When he was working on dismantling the belt, a leg managed to flip up and around him.
“MEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!” Deven let out a war cry. He didn’t even notice he was changing again. He was no longer capable of getting up on two legs at all, and this wasn’t due to his age. His body had taken on a completely quadrupedal stance. His face had pushed out into a muzzle with a pink nose on the tip of it. As he it down on the leg of his trousers and ripped a piece off whiskers sprouted from both sides of his muzzle.
After a few minutes of this, all that remained of what once qualified as an article of clothing was several shredded patches laying on the floor. To celebrate his victory Deven rolled back and forth atop the denim pieces, rubbing his victory into their nonexistent faces. He had never been fond of clothes before, but now he really got to show those evil things who was boss. After a few moments he calmed down and laid down on his stomach.
He had started shrinking again. He was a lot lower to the ground now, and his tail was much shorter. His fur also looked a lot fluffier now. By human standards, he would have been considered an infant now. Even by cat standards, he was barely a month old if that. He looked like just a normal baby kitten now. One with a giant green collar hanging off his neck, threatening to fall off any second.
Deven didn’t care about any of that. Having just won one fight, he was ready for another. Come to think of it… He had seen Eric take the shirt and boxers he had been wearing into his own room where there was a laundry hamper. Laundry hampers met lots of clothes! So many more foes to conquer!
Deven quickly bound out of his old room. All thoughts of reclaiming his old stuff were gone. He was a fierce feline and he hungered for battle and conquest!
He ran out of the room, skidding as he rounded the corner out of his room and ran back for Eric’s. The baby kitten glanced around once inside Eric’s room. He hadn’t actually been in here very often. The two of them had an agreement about giving each other privacy in their own rooms. Part of that was why Deven had gotten to hang out naked in his own room as a human… And in exchange Eric did whatever… Eric did in private in his room. Come to think of it… Living as a cat Deven would probably find out what that was.
If it turned out Eric was hanging out pantsless too this entire time he was going have words. Words Eric wouldn’t understand, but words nonetheless.
But that could wait. For now was the time for battle!
Deven bounded around the room looking for his prey. He poked his head under the bed. No basket there. He ran over to the closet, slipping his paw under it to open. No hamper there either… But plenty of possible other opponents should the need arise. Where could the thing be?
Wait! That was right! Eric’s room connected to his own bathroom! When they had rented the flat, they had flipped a coin for who got that one. Deven quickly bounded into the bathroom, and there it was.
A basket full of clothes sitting directly beneath the sink. Deven could see the shirt and boxers he had been wearing just minutes earlier atop the pile.
“MROAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWRL!” Deven let loose the cry of war, got a running start and then leaped into the laundry basket. It was a vicious battle of snarling and biting and tearing. These evil garments tried to get the best of Deven, tangling him up as he fought, but they were no match for his cleverness.
There was no telling how long the battle lasted… Deven just remembered eventually tiring out… And then darkness as he fell asleep. There was no telling how much time passed after that… But he knew what woke him up.
“DEVEN!” Eric was towering over the laundry basket looking down at Deven in it. The brown baby kitten was tangled up in a number of shredded garments, only a couple of which had belonged to him. “What am I going to do with you? You’re such a troublemaker.” Eric grabbed Deven by the scruff and lifted him up out of the basket. “I’m going to have to make sure I shut a lot of doors when I’m not home huh.”
“Mew!” Deven tried to look as innocent as possible.
“Oh come on don’t look at me like that. That’s not fair.” Eric whined. “Maybe some of this is my fault. I should get you some toys. I don’t have a single thing in this flat to entertain you. Tell you what, will get that taken care of tomorrow. But no more shredding my things, got it?”
“Mew!” Deven made no commitments.
“Heh, you always are ridiculous. Been that way for years.” This made Eriic pause. Why had he said that? Deven was only a month-old kitten. He obviously had only recently adopted him. There was no possible way he could have known him for years. He must have just been that attached yet.
“Mew!” Deven lifted up a paw and booped Eric on the nose.
“Yes, yes you’re very cute.” Eric rolled his eyes. “For some reason I seem to have forgotten to buy cat food. So you get lucky tonight. You can have more salmon. But tomorrow, you go on a proper diet.”
“Mrow meow mrow!” Deven found it adorable Eric that that might succeed. Still… This was turning out to be fun. He was pretty sure he was going to enjoy being his best friend’s pet. And once he found out, that as long as the collar stayed on he’d never age past a single month old, he’d enjoy it even more.