the Chordeva are strange and exotic monsters found in Indian mythology.
Chordeva favored the form of a cat when hunting humans and would purse the old, sick or dying - tormenting them by stealing their food and poisoning what little food they may leave behind, thus hastening the victims' demise : the creature is also able to outright kill anyone it desires simply by licking them, for this reason cats are deeply distrusted around those seen as potential victims and kept at bay.
Despite the fear of cats in general the Chordeva is said to have a distinct mewing sound that betrays it from an ordinary feline - it is also repelled by water of all kinds and can even shift into a were-cat mode if necessary, when in the were-cat mode the creature is said to be completely invulnerable to harm.
When in human guise the Chordeva can be killed like any other traditional vampire - a wooden stake to the heart or prolonged exposure to sunlight : while in cat form it can be killed by almost any means but return to human guise, any injuries that caused the Chordeva's "death" in its cat form will be spotted on the human guise, making it easy to spot the vampire once this is done (and presumably make it easier to hunt down and kill it once again in its human guise).