Defying the Odds

(Here, we reveal why Sylvester doesn't eat birds. The cartoon used for Sylvester's nightmare in his back-story is Satan's Waitin. I am aware that Tweety appears in that cartoon, but I decided to change the character to a regular female canary.)

Chapter 3: Traumatising Past

Sometime after the tour, Sylvester and Tweety both sat at a table by themselves. "So Tweety, what do you think of everyone here?" Sylvester asked. "They're all so nice. As someone who is new here, I didn't know that they would be so welcoming." Tweety responded. Sylvester smiled as he listened to her; for someone so young, Tweety was certainly someone who fit very well here very quickly.

"Well, that's how they are when someone new comes." Sylvester explained. During their conversation, Wiley's cousin, Ralph Wolf came by. "Hello, Sylvester." Ralph called. Sylvester looked to notice him and smiled.

"Hey, Ralph." Sylvester responded. "Sylvester, have you seen Wiley? I'm looking for him." Ralph said. Sylvester nodded and pointed forward. "He's in his room." he said. Nodding, Ralph headed off while Tweety watched on in surprise.

"Who was that?" she asked. "That's Wiley's cousin, Ralph." Sylvester responded. Tweety looked back in confusion and then looked over at Sylvester. "His cousin is a wolf, and Wiley is a coyote?" she asked. Sylvester then started to scratch his head.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how that works either." he commented. Nodding, Tweety then remembered something she wanted to ask Sylvester. "Hey puddy, could I ask you something?" she asked. Sylvester looked over at her and smiled.

"Sure. What is it?" Sylvester asked. Tweety had some thought before she continued. "How come you don't do the things that other puddytats do?" she asked. Sylvester's expression then saddened; he didn't want to say this, but he knew he didn't have a choice.

"I actually used to... all the time. But then one night, I realised what the consequences could be." Sylvester said sadly, and the memory started to return to him, the night that changed everything he knew...

A few years ago...

Sylvester was getting to sleep one night; he was tired from chasing a particular target all day. "Bird hunting is exhausting. But, it's what we do so I don't see any problem." Sylvester sighed. Making himself comfortable in his bed, he lay down and closed his eyes. But he was unaware that this night was going to be unlike the rest; this would be a night that would change him forever...

Later on that night, Sylvester tossed rapidly in his sleep; he was having a horrible nightmare. He could see himself losing each of his nine lives one by one while he was pursuing his target; when he decided to play it careful, it backfired and he was down for the count.

Terrified, Sylvester suddenly woke up in a huge amount of terror. He was alarmed when he found that his heart was racing at a fast pace, but what worried him was what he had just experienced. "What am I doing with my life? I can't keep up this relentless chase; that could be my downfall in the end." Sylvester said to himself. Then, he recalled what he had seen in his nightmare; that fiery pit of bulldogs, and how he lost each of his lives. That started to make him think a little bit.

"Maybe... maybe this is a sign. That I need to change my ways, and stop myself from causing my own destruction." Sylvester said to himself. As crazy as it sounded, he was starting to think that he was right. He had to stop his pursuit of birds, and become a better cat before it was too late.

"The rest of the world might not want this, but I am not going to let myself go down just because of what I'm meant to do. I can be a better cat, and be someone I want to be." Sylvester said, knowing that no one else was in the room. With this, he opened the nearby window and stuck his head out.

"You hearing this, everyone? From this day on, this cat is restricting himself from birds for good!" Sylvester vowed. Suddenly, he could hear someone knocking from a lower floor. "Keep it down! There are some cats who are trying to sleep. But, I do like what you're saying." A cat down below called.

Present

Tweety looked at Sylvester in surprise; what she wanted to know had been answered in a way she didn't expect. "I still remember what I had seen, and it still makes me think about what could have happened to me had I not made a difference when I did." Sylvester explained. After this, he started to break down burying his face in his hands. Tweety didn't want to see him upset, so she headed off to get something.

While he was sobbing, Sylvester then looked up to see that Tweety was holding up a tissue for him. "Here you go, puddy. Dry those little eyes of yours." Tweety said. Smiling, Sylvester took the tissue from Tweety and started to wipe his tears away. "I find that amazing to hear from you." Tweety explained, as Sylvester looked down at her.

"Yeah, but I worry about what others will say when they hear that I'm different now. I'm scared that they won't accept me and will think I'm that much less of a cat." Sylvester said, sadly. Tweety was surprised, but she decided to tell him what she thought.

"I don't think you're anything less, puddy. In fact, I think it's great you made a difference to yourself, and decided to be someone you wanted to be." Tweety explained. Sylvester was amazed, and then he smiled. He felt so happy that Tweety accepted him for who he was, and didn't think anything less of him just because he was different. He had a friend who liked him for who he was, and that was what mattered most to him.