Disappearing Cats

The Midnight Article "The Newest Disappearing Act: The Disappearing Cat" was written by u/Metalsa and posted to r/MidnightPaper.

The text of the Article was as follows:

THE NEWEST DISAPPEARING ACT: THE DISAPPEARING CAT

Most of the people reading this article right now have had a pet at one point or another, we’re sure. Perhaps a dearly departed, loyal family dog, or a hamster that chewed through every single cord you had and thus ending it’s own life by electrocuting itself (we think that it’s in a better place now, away from you, you irresponsible owner), maybe a pet bird that woke you up every morning at around five AM making you wish you could just snap its little neck (you should do it). Or perhaps you had a cat as a pet, a little kitten that purred ever so softly while you were scratching its head, a little kitten that grew along with you and that is still with you to this day.

Well, dear readers, how would you feel if that cat just suddenly disappeared. No, not because someone stole your beloved cat, but because your cat was just no longer there one day. Everything left in its place, the litter box, the little toys you bought for it, the feeding and water bowls were still there but the cat itself was nowhere to be seen. It was like you never even rescued her from that terrible shelter.

That is exactly what happened to a little city in France called Toulon. One very strange day a sizeable number of citizens living in Toulon went to their respective police stations to report that their cats had gone missing. The next day even more similar reports came in. It seemed as if the entire population of cats in this little city had gone missing and upon further investigation it seems as though that is exactly what happened.

The authorities were, of course, baffled. They had never encountered such a phenomenon. And after looking even more into it they found that every single cat, including the strays, disappeared.

But the cat owning residents had a theory of their own:

“It’s obvious who did this. It was obviously the dog owners. They hate us, because we’re better and our pets are better and they know it. They’ll see what happens when you mess with us. They’ll see we can also play their dirty little game.” one resident said.

About a week later after these statements were made several dogs started going missing as well. But unlike the cats, the dog eventually started showing up on their owners’ doorstep, dead, covered in blood. And while said dog owners were grieving many of their cat loving neighbors started shouting profanities at them and asking them:

“How does it feel now? Is this what you wanted?”

The police urged everyone to stop as there was no evidence to suggest that the cats had been killed. But when the former cat owners heard of this and of their dog loving counterparts’ denial of their involvement, they simply could not take it anymore.

Filled with rage the cat lovers started on murderous rampage, killing their neighbors, their coworkers, even their siblings and everyone who stood in the way of revenge.

After two weeks of this the city’s population has gone down by 10% and it’s continuing to drop. Authorities are still trying to get everyone to stop, but we here at the Midnight Paper think that the outrage and bloodshed should continue, as it is very entertaining.

As of writing this, the mystery of the missing cats remains unsolved and the cats are nowhere to be seen. Until next time, dear readers, we leave you with this question: How many people would you be willing to murder for your beloved pet? And follow up question: How many people would you be willing to murder in general?

Description:

The "Disappearing Cats" phenomenon is an Event-Type Oddity specific to the French city of Toulon. It involves the unexplained disappearance of seemingly every cat in the city over the course of two days. The owners of the missing pet cats began blaming dog owners for the disappearances, and many of them took it upon themselves to kill pet dogs as 'retribution.'

When this did not prompt the dog owners to confess to making the cats disappear, the cat owners took a more drastic approach: they began savagely murdering anyone who was unlucky enough to be in their vicinity. This violence became so widespread that roughly 10% of Toulon's entire population was killed by these outbursts of senseless violence.

Theories:

There is practically no information in the Article that points to a specific reason for the Disappearing Cats. It is likely, however, that an unknown Oddity (or Oddities) is responsible for the Disappearance.

The sacrifice of cats is often believed to be part of Satanic rituals, especially around Halloween. Mass catnapping has been reported around several Pagan holidays. It is possible, then, that the disappearance of all the cats in Toulon is a much more extreme version of this catnapping for rituals. There could be a hidden agenda into which these cats fit in. Something that would require not just any kind of animal, but cats specifically.

Cats have always been associated with magic, luck, and the underworld. They were witch's 'familiars,' omens of bad luck, and worshiped as protectors of the home in ancient Egypt and as guardians of the underworld.

Then again, the answer may simply be that there is something out there, perhaps a massive Biological-Type or Entity-Type Oddity, that prefers cats as sustenance.

Midnight Article Writer:

The writing style of this particular Midnight Article is interesting. The writer appears to be fond of violence, stating that readers should snap the necks of pet birds that annoy them and asking how many people the reader would be willing to murder in general. The writing style of each Midnight Article is different, and often represent the Midnight Paper as having different opinions on matters. In this Article, for example, the writer asserts that "we here at the Midnight Paper think that the outrage and the bloodshed should continue, as it is very entertaining."

The writer of each Midnight Article is unknown, as there are many differences in writing style that confirm that each Article most likely has a different writer. It also appears that there are several Articles that allude to the Midnight Paper publication holding differing values. Some Midnight Articles actually point to the fact that the publication as a whole is being swayed or controlled by a specific product (like the Innerspace products).