My veterinarian is known in town as the Vet from Hell but I still take my cat there because, you see, while he very well may be the Vet from Hell, I have the Cat from Hell. Whenever I take my cat to the vet, I wonder if it's really fair to expose him to the beast. She's almost as bad as a virus.

But when I arrived with my sick cat at the Vet from Hell's office, it was closed. So I called my friend Kazu, who has four cats, and he took me and the beast to his vet in the countryside. I have to admit that I was very surprised when I walked into the vet's office. I didn't realize Rip van Winkle was a vet.

The vet's hands shook as he filled out the form. "What's your name?" he asked, pen poised.