Start your story with a character being led somewhere by a stray cat.

Posted in Adventure on Feb 24, 2023

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✍️ 109 stories

“Beautiful Day for a Walk” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #187

The air is filled with the scent of breezy laundry, freshly slaughtered grass, and propane-licked steak. My stomach rumbles, and I hear the happy shrieks of kids and the low roll of suburban traffic. I’d love to eat but I’m on a mission. I take another sniff – and there it is. The sweaty over-ripe fragrance of needless aggression. The breeze keeps snatching at the faint scent, but it’s enough for me to follow. I run past the Mitchells, head out the cul-de-sac, and down Triton Avenue. I lose the trail where Triton hits Berry Road, thanks to c...

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“Ace Roman in a Different Breed of Trouble” by Shana Fox

Submitted to Contest #187

It was just my luck; the Watertown gang was pushing out their territory again. I usually keep my nose out of politics, after all, I don’t much care who owns what as long as I can sit down and get a drink. But those Watertown boys look down on everyone who doesn’t live in a big house on the hill; especially if they go visiting canaries. I must say I’ve seen a number of sisters in my time and it weren’t a nunnery. So, I was laying low behind the 7-11 nursing a few fresh cuts. There was a tingle in my skin that made my hair stand on end. I ...

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“A Bronx Tail” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #187

My eyes took a while to adjust to the darkness. I was on the trail of the most alluring feline tail I had ever set eyes upon, beckoning me deeper into an unknown world, void of humans, yet full of intoxicating promises. Not wanting to lose sight of her, my swirling head drunkenly attempted to focus my besotted, veiled view of her – now fading into the shadows of a long alleyway. Those six quick shots I downed right before leaving Henri’s Bar are most definitely not helping my balance or eyesight; however, the hypnotising sway of her walk, ha...

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“BOOGEYMEN, COME TO ORDER” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #187

Susie found herself lagging behind her parents at the second national park they’d visited in a week. She never slept well in strange beds and her feet were dragging. The endless drone of the tour guide leading the group wasn’t helping. She felt as though all she wanted was to curl up on one of the wooden benches they passed occasionally and sleep the rest of the day.“Catch up, Susie!” Her mother beckoned her with a firm tone and gesture.As her mother turned her attention back to the painfully cheerful guide lady, Susie ca...

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“AN ORANGE CAT IN ROME” by Ken Miles

Submitted to Contest #187

AN ORANGE CAT IN ROMEA week’s just too short.Especially when that’s all you’ve got left to live. Tightness grips my throat, like someone’s choking me.Dr. Gottmann places a hand on my shoulder until I feel its warmth penetrating my skin. Doctors don’t usually do that. They’re austere. Scientists. Cold. When they do that, things must be bad. Real bad.My only symptom is this intermittent tingling behind my ears. Otherwise, I'm perfectly fine, with energy to burn. I still sport my teenage mullet, graying as it may now be. I’m not prepared to die...

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“A Dollar for God” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #187

Rance Jenkins arrived in Muleshoe, Texas around 1:00 P.M. He was hoping to kill a man before the sun hit the horizon.Sweat and tobacco juice stained his dusty clothes, his blue eyes narrowed and searching. He spotted a pump handle by the horse trough and immediately took himself there. With a little effort, Rance had clear, cold water gushing out, splattering the dry street. He doused his head under the water before slaking his thirst. The July heat had settled in and was going to stick around for the duration of the summer.A cat sat on one ...

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“Alize” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #187

It’s been a year to the day. Our last interaction was not a nice one. I screamed at her. I told her I was done. She kissed me goodbye, and she was gone. Not a day goes by that I’m not spending time reenacting our last moments together in my head. Our shouts and angry words reverberate in my head. I will never not be sorry, and the hole in my heart and the empty place in my bed and my life will never be filled. Every day since then, I see something I never noticed until the day after she was gone. Paw prints on wet concrete. A...

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“A Night Stroll” by Jaymie Jacobson

Submitted to Contest #187

So this is what it was like to go batshit crazy. Catie always assumed it would be more dramatic. Like running up to people saying you're the president, or hearing voices in your head that seeded your mind with ideas of hurting people. Or building a spaceship out of parts you find in the trash. The thoughts scrolled across her mind like a parade of text written in comic sans, mocking her. But, nope, that wasn’t the case for her. Instead, she was walking down the most dangerous alleys of her city following a cat. Granted, it wasn't every day t...

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“Superstition” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #187

“Why in the hell did I ever move to Chicago?” I mutter to myself as I cross the open-air parking lot. I’ve worked late, and it’s about five minutes before midnight. It’s Friday the thirteenth in February, and I can barely keep my eyes open because the wind is sandblasting snow into my face at about forty miles an hour! On top of that, I parked my car at the end of the lot. All the other cars are gone. Only shallow squares in the snow mark the spot where they were parked. Clutching my top coat tightly at my throa...

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“Felinious” by Dan Coglianese

Submitted to Contest #187

Ben took the same path to and from work every day. From the door to his trailer, he walked on the loose gravel parking lot to the bike path through Mechant Lake Forest Preserve. The path was a four mile loop, but Ben only used a mile long stretch along the east side. Once he got as far south on the path as he could, he trudged through some wild grass and low shrubs for about fifty feet until he emerged on the back lot of Cletus’ Auto Shop. Ben did oil changes and a few other basic services, but was not allowed to operate the hydraulic jacks....

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“What the Orange Cat Knew” by T C Milton

Submitted to Contest #187

She wasn’t supposed to be there. Not that late at night, not that part of town, and definitely not the combination of the two. How many times had she been told—lectured, really, and for good reason—by her parents, her former college roommate, and even, especially even, really, the guy that had taught her self-awareness class just two months prior. Yet there she was, skulking about like a common criminal, tiptoe-dashing from dumpster to doorway, following the little fluff of orange that had first caught her attention all the way back at Llyod...

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“Sawbones” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #187

REWARD FOR MISSING SHIP’S CATBLACK AND WHITE - ANCHOR ON COLLARRETURN HIM TO THE SUZANNA BY SUNDOWN ON ST DAVID'S DAY AND BE PAID IN GOLD!Jimmy curled his fingers round the corner of the brewery wall and his smudged face followed, wide eyes peering into the uneven alleyway behind. Hops and barley overpowered the faint scent of herring this far from the water and Jimmy breathed a little easier.There he was. Black and white, pewter anchor on his collar. The two-toned cat stood out against the red brick building as he stopped to lick his paw an...

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“The Pond” by Nick Baldino

Submitted to Contest #187

My little brother, Carter, he always had the wildest imagination. I never blamed him- in a town like Bell Buckle, you needed one- but I never got it, either. Where he saw dragons, I saw spindly oak trees. Granite overhangs became alien hideouts. He’d try to include me in these escapades, and I’d play along, wielding my stick in whatever weapon-of-the-day was necessary. Yet I knew that world was never meant for me, and I felt that’s what being an older brother was. Making the fantasy last longer by fending off the real. He believed in supe...

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“Transmeowtation” by J. D. Lair

Submitted to Contest #187

I was staring out my office window again. The sun was shining through the oak leaves of the tree out back. The various birds of the yard created a euphony of song. The little brown ground squirrels ran up, down and around the lawn like they had too much caffeine this morning. Part of me wanted to join them, leave this world behind with all its responsibilities, but I would have to settle for taking my lunch out at the picnic table. A knock at my door caused my daydream to evaporate. “Come in!” I shouted at the intruder. “Andy, looks like...

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“Why Cats Have Nine Lives” by Eric Schrag

Submitted to Contest #187

The abrupt knock on the door startled Kendall. It wasn’t an unusually aggressive knock, just unexpected. ‘Who could that be… at this time of day? I hope it’s not…,’ she thought to herself. A hint of panic rose in her as she quietly crept to the window and surreptitiously peeked through an ever-so-slight crack in the curtains.The piercing sliver of light focused into perceptible images and revealed her innocent next-door neighbor, Avis, waiting patiently at the door. Avis was a kind, elderly woman who normally kept to herself. She was one of ...

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Start your story with a character being led somewhere by a stray cat.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 109 stories

“Beautiful Day for a Walk” by Michał Przywara

“Ace Roman in a Different Breed of Trouble” by Shana Fox

“A Bronx Tail” by Chris Campbell

“BOOGEYMEN, COME TO ORDER” by Susan Catucci

“AN ORANGE CAT IN ROME” by Ken Miles

“A Dollar for God” by Delbert Griffith

“Alize” by Marisa Billions

“A Night Stroll” by Jaymie Jacobson

“Superstition” by Ralph Aldrich

“Felinious” by Dan Coglianese

“What the Orange Cat Knew” by T C Milton

“Sawbones” by Katharine Widdows

“The Pond” by Nick Baldino

“Transmeowtation” by J. D. Lair

“Why Cats Have Nine Lives” by Eric Schrag

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story from the point of view of a big cat — whether that’s a lion, cheetah, etc., or just a chunky pet.

Write about a cat living in an ancient temple, like the Acropolis.

Set your story in a cat shelter.

Write about a human and a cat that come to some kind of mutual understanding.

Contest #187

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

325

Contest entries

117

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: