Cat Food

**Cat Food** is the second episode of *Creeped Out*'s first season and the second episode of the series overall. It first aired on 7 November 2017 on CBBC.

## Synopsis

A cunning boy named Stu is soon in danger of losing his body to a mythical creature – known as the Koekoeken – disguised as an old lady.

## Plot

### Prologue

The Curious walks down a suburban street and picks up a flower from the ground. The Narrator asks whether you've ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors.

### Episode

Stu and his older twin sister Kelly are in his bedroom. Stu offers to help Kelly cheat at the video game she's playing, but she says she'd rather practice and learn to win on her own merits. He tells her it isn't cheating, but 'winning without the pain'.

Stu plans to take the day off school by faking illness. He rubs onion on his eyes and sniffs pepper to make it look like he has a cold. He's almost caught out when his mum spots the pepper on his desk, but Kelly covers for him, saying she was using it on her hair.

With his mum and sister out of the way, Stu sneaks into his dad's study and picks the lock on his desk to steal copies of exam papers. He takes them into his room to copy down the answers. Having set up a camera on the stairs so he'll know if his mum is approaching, he makes himself a milkshake and watches a horror film.

Later, Stu watches out of the window as his elderly neighbour, Mrs. McMurtle, takes delivery of several packages of cat food. She seems to have no trouble carrying the large, heavy packages into her garage. He watches her remove a false wall in her garage and fill a bath with the cat food and get in, after which her shadow appears to transform into some kind of monster. He searches for 'cat food bath creature' online and finds out about the Koekoeken, a legendary parasitic creature which needs the taurine found in cat food to survive.

Stu begs his mum to call the police. She says she'll speak to Mrs. McMurtle herself. She goes to the house, speaks to Mrs. McMurtle and looks at the garage, but finds nothing strange. After coming back, Stu's mum gets a phone call and tells him she has to go into work, but has arranged a babysitter.

Stu sees a shadow at the door and realises the 'babysitter' is Mrs. McMurtle. Stu tells her he knows what she is, and she tells him she planned to get his attention all along. She has been spying on him too and knows he breaks into his dad's study every term to copy exam papers. She shows him a series of old photographs, all bodies she (the Koekoeken) has inhabited. She needs a new body and has her sights set on Stu's.

Mrs. McMurtle tells Stu that the Koekoeken cannot take his body – she has to win it. Stu suggests a game of heads or tails, but Mrs. McMurtle knows he has a two-headed coin and tells him to choose another. She suggests a game of cards. Using his camera positioned beneath the table, Stu cheats and wins.

The next day, Stu wakes up and looks out at Mrs. McMurtle's house, which seems empty. He sits down for breakfast with Kelly, who is playing with the cards. She speaks to him like Mrs. McMurtle's, calling him "duck" revealing the Koekoeken has taken over Kelly's body instead. She reveals that she won a game of cards with Kelly by using Stu's camera trick, and repeats his claim that 'it isn't cheating, simply winning without the pain'. Stu is horrified and tears can be visible at the end.

### Epilogue

The Curious inspects the cat graves in Mrs. McMurtle's garden. He takes a cross from one of them and puts it in his bag. The Narrator warns the audience to think twice about cheating, as you never know who might be watching.

## Cast

* Stu (Rhys Gannon)
* Kelly (Katie Rose Proctor)
* Mrs. McMurtle (Margaret Jackman)
* Stu's mum (Maeve Larkin)
* The Curious (William Romain)
* The Narrator (Aurora Aksnes)

## Trivia

* Stu is one of two *Creeped Out* protagonists to have a sibling on screen, the other being Pearl from **The Call**.

## More Information/Interesting Links

* http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/CreepedOutS1E2CatFood