Cat Person

"Cat Person" is a short story by Kristen Roupenian that was first published in December 2017 in The New Yorker before going viral online. The BBC described the short story as "being shared widely online as social media users discuss how much it relates to modern day dating". The story has been adapted to a film of the same name directed by Susanna Fogel. Synopsis The story follows the brief relationship of Margot, a twenty-year-old sophomore college student, and Robert, a thirty-four-year-old man who is a regular at the movie theater where Margot works. After an exchange at the concession stand, he asks for her number, and they carry on extensive conversations through texts. Margot finds Robert witty and funny through text, and their conversations grow frequent, including running jokes about Robert's two pet cats, but he is more awkward and inscrutable when she tries to see him in person. When Margot returns from visiting home for winter break, she and Robert go on a real date: they see a movie, go to a bar (during which Robert learns her age), and then return to Robert's home. Despite being disappointed and uncomfortable during the date, Margot consents to sex with Robert rather than navigate turning him down. After the distasteful sex encounter, which largely disgusts her, Margot learns that Robert is thirty-four years old and reflects that their conversations have been impersonal. After not seeing Robert's cats in his home, she wonders if their existence and other aspects of Robert's persona while texting were fabricated.