Ignatz

"Ignatz" by Ron Goulart is a science fiction story set in the early 1960s that looks at what happens when a town embraces turning into cats as a way to deal with stress. Glenn Wheelan, a teacher who dislikes cats, comes back to his hometown and finds this strange new practice taking over. He tries to fight against it by spreading his ideas, but finds himself caught between his beliefs and his growing feelings for a woman named Karen Wylie, who thinks the cat transformations are helpful. The story builds to a funny and weird scene where Glenn ends up running away into the water, showing how much he rejects this bizarre change.