Nightbitch: Does The Cat Die? Did Mother Kill It?

In ‘Nightbitch,’ director Marielle Heller takes a unique route to showcasing the complications of motherhood. The narrative revolves around the life of a stay-at-home mom from the suburbs whose days almost exclusively revolve around the care of her toddler son. As a result, the continued stress of the loss of her artistic career and her husband’s patent lack of parental skills pushes Mother toward a frustrated state. However, her life takes an outlandish turn when she begins to notice changes in her behavior and physicality—all of which seem to point toward the concerning conclusion that she is turning into a dog. As Mother’s canine transformation progresses, some tension between her and the household pet cat becomes inevitable. Consequently, as the protagonist’s submission to nature becomes more and more aggressive and animalistic, one can’t help but grow concerned for the cat’s life. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Mother’s Transformation Pushes Her to Hostility Towards the Cat

Mother’s metamorphosis into a feral dog comes in doses, setting up a few warning signs in advance. The most noticeable of these signs remains the physical enhancements her body develops, such as sharper canines—and, more concerningly, the fuzzy start of a tail. However, there are other more subtle signals as well. Early into the story, Mother notes a heightened sense of smell, which she carelessly assigns to her hormonal changes and general Hypochondria. Yet, it is actually the earliest reference to the snout that she will eventually develop.

Likewise, Mother’s dislike toward the family cat is another such indication of her looming transformation. The culturally historical rivalry between cats and dogs manifests in the woman as a consistently growing disdain toward the pett she must have adored enough to adopt at some point. Since her husband is away on business so often, it’s usually Mother, her son, and the cat in the house. Therefore, the gradual resentment that the woman-by-day-and-dog-by-night develops toward the cat remains evident.

She’s exhausted at the prospect of feeding the cat, and she’s eternally annoyed at filling up its food bowl. The same contrasted with Mother’s enthusiastic inclusion of dog-like behavior—eating from a bowl, sleeping in a dog bed, and growling at whim—into her and her son’s life offers a comedic juxtaposition. Nonetheless, as she allows her animalistic—specifically canine-like—instincts to take over, it bodes a worrying predicament for the cat who lives with her.

Mother’s Hunt Gone Wrong

Unfortunately, the cat meets its demise on one of the nights that Mother goes out on a hunt with her pack of stray dogs. Earlier, she attended dinner with her friends from grad school, where her drastically domestic life was put into stark focus. Unlike her other artist friends, Mother has spent the last couple of years of her life away from her artistic passions and devoted to the care of her son. This causes her to feel distanced from her identity as an artist, which only serves to heighten the fact that her life has become defined by her motherly association with her kid.

The dinner puts all of this into hyperfocus, compelling Mother to think she has lost an intrinsic part of herself since she believes she no longer has anything intellectual to add to conversations. As such, she seeks out respite in the new freedom that her transformation grants her and goes on a wild hunt with her pawed pals. Thus, while in her dogly transformation, she ends up targeting her family’s pet cat and kills her. If one chooses to interpret Mother’s transformations as a metaphorical means of escape, then one can conclude the cat dies from gross neglect and carelessness on the woman’s part.

Either way, the cat’s death remains on Mother’s conscience. Worse yet, her son ends u being the one who discovers the cat’s dead body after finding it on the house’s doorstep. In the aftermath, the duo have a funeral for the pet and bury it in their backyard. Eventually, the event helps Mother realize the unsustainable nature of her transformations, which are largely a coping mechanism. Ultimately, it becomes a catalyst in pushing the character towards seeking a big change in her life.

Read More: Nightbitch Ending, Explained: Does Mother Actually Turn Into a Dog?