Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog

Menu

✕
CONNECT
Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites
BLOG
Success Stories
APPS
TOOLS
Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships
ABOUT
About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

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

Posted in Character on Feb 24, 2023

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 126 stories

“Oskar and Roy” by Janice Green

Submitted to Contest #187

Sometimes you just know. Currently being midway through my fifth of nine cat lives, I have acquired useful knowledge about human behavior as it pertains to my species. There are those who adore us felines, those who tolerate us and those who absolutely do not want any contact with us. I have learned to respond accordingly to each type. The adoring type might trigger a soft purring response and a gentle body rub. The indifferent humans mostly get ignored. Those who are scornful of me could possibly receive my most undesirable behavior ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Please Come Back, Pumpkin - All is Forgiven” by Richard E. Gower

Submitted to Contest #187

LOST CATMissing: Pumpkin, the Cat$250.00 Reward Missing from 267 Braeburn Street on early evening of September 27th, Pumpkin, large (21 pounds) five-year-old neutered male ginger cat. Orange in color, with white striping. Left foot and forepaw white, up to the knee knuckle. Four small black dots on nose. Tail has white rings and a slightly (30 degree) angled crink approximately one-inch from tip. Developing a fat-flap.Pumpkin has had all his vaccinations, rabies, distemper, etc. Last seen wearing his new red-leather collar with metal ID...

7 comments 7
Read story

“Princess Luna, Goddess of the Hunt” by Laurel Reinhardt

Submitted to Contest #187

Our first disagreement came over her name. I had always wanted a Siamese cat whom I could name after the one in the movie Bell, Book, and Candle. Not that Luna looked or acted like Pyewacket. I’m pretty sure Pye was a purebred chocolate point, while Luna was a mix of lilac point and tortoiseshell, which might have accounted for her not being cross-eyed or hugely talkative. Still, Luna was probably going to be my only shot at having a Siamese cat in my lifetime, so I really wanted to rename her. Alas, she was having none of it. “Luna is my na...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Trust” by Steve Rogers

Submitted to Contest #187

I am stepping, softly now, through the dense undergrowth. An eerie quiet has come over the forest and, like it, I am unnerved. All of my senses are on high alert. I stop and look around, probing everywhere for the slightest movement while I hold my father’s ex-army rifle ready. The only sounds are the slight rustling of the breeze through the treetops and a distant hawk-cuckoo trilling its persistent call to climax in a familiar manic crescendo.To my left, the silence is broken with an explosion of red, brown and blue feathers as a junglefow...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Brooke and Pontchartrain” by Jarrel Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #187

A man kicks down a door in slow motion. He wears all black under a black trench coat, and shades purely for the aesthetic. It is after midnight. You hear a guitar riff to set the tone. You see neon lights from the ceiling to set the mood—flashing green and purple that flirts with the room. From his hip, the man lifts his weapon: a fluffy, orange cat wearing a black spiky collar. More guitar sounds. Very grunge. Fits his loner vigilantism. He holds the cat like an assault rifle, but this cat doesn’t care about nothing—you can tell by the look...

7 comments 7
Read story

“Bed Share ” by Sharon Walker

Submitted to Contest #187

The girl did not like cats. She'd had a couple of bad experiences as a small child. Nothing major. No big deal. Just enough to make her wary and distrustful.Her brother, Hans, had brought a plump ginger cat home once. He named it Richard and kept it in his room. Very soon Richard had kittens. Six closed-eyed, mewing things. She had taken them and put them in the bath tub on the second floor. No water of course. She was cruel, but not evil. She had laughed at the little souls, trying to claw their blind ways up the sides - their pink, open mo...

14 comments 14
Read story

“Silver Linings and Golden Grief” by Patricia Orozco Uribe

Submitted to Contest #187

Trigger Warnings: Death & Homophobia Zoila wasn’t invited to the funeral. She received the call when her grandfather had only been a day cold. She could’ve stormed in as they lowered the casket--thrown the kind of fit she’d never been allowed as a kid--but Zoila didn’t feel like mourning next to the bunch of vultures known as her family.  The funeral was live-streamed by Zoila’s influencer sister--with an ad sponsorship and all--and there were poorly hidden smirks all around whenever Grandpa Emilio’s will was mentioned. That Emi...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Dear Florence” by Kevin Morley

Submitted to Contest #187

Dear Florence, My neighbor, Shannon, has asked me to watch her cat while she’s away. I’m not a cat person. Not really. I don’t know how to handle them, and the guys are laughing at me. Also, I’m not sure I can take care of Tigress. I’ve seen her prance across my yard as if she owns the place. That sort of behavior seems off-putting. Possibly triggering. You see, I have this thing about controlling my space. Last week, Tigress chased a lovely pair of goldfinches. Normal cat behavior, right? Except I was lying on the ground a scant two yards a...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Scum (by any other name)” by Frank Bosworth

Submitted to Contest #187

Scum is my cat. You must understand, the moniker given to her or him, (honestly, after thirteen years, I am still not sure and, after all this time, I really do not care. For storied sake, I'll refer to it as a she), I gave as a compliment.Scum is the first, and probably last, cat I will ever own. I saved her from sure death back in New England. I was moving my belongings into my new apartment through the back door while the old tenant, a soon to be deployed active-duty sailor, was moving his belongings out the front door. Out of the blue he...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Kit for Cat” by Al Cassidy

Submitted to Contest #187

Let me tell you about Linus. Came in here like he ran the place on day one—started playing with my kids, snuggling with my wife. Even Lucy (our six-year-old terrier mix) connected with him, all while I endured months of him berating me verbally every day while they were away. Of course, my allergies didn’t help, but it wasn’t all that. He took the spotlight from me. I’m the head of this household. Dad. Paterfamilias. And he was just a sad looking runt from the city who needed a new home. Thanks to the twisted fates of the universe, it had ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Dead Fred” by Michelle England

Submitted to Contest #187

“What’s going on,” Berry demanded. “Why are all of you people in my living room?” No one answered, which frustrated him almost to the point of spontaneous combustion. He could feel his face heating up and he knew his face would be purple. He demanded louder, “Why the hell are you people in my living room and how the hell did you get in? What gives you the right to just come into my house?” Again, no answer…  “What do you think happened?”, he heard one lady say. He thought he had seen her before – someone from the neighborhood maybe. He ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Cat Lover” by Deb Runyon

Submitted to Contest #187

   Marcella rushed into her tiny apartment, flinging her ledger and overstuffed purse upon the dilapidated couch. She kicked off her ill-fitting shoes and began calling. “Peter? Where are you? Come to me!”     She scurried into the kitchen, plunked her bony knees onto the cracked linoleum, and scooted forward to peer under the table.      “Peter?” she queried, but no furry face appeared out of the shadows.     Marcella backpedaled, climbing to her feet. Determina...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Kara and Puss” by Karel Fontaine

Submitted to Contest #187

Kara and Puss is an Australian story about a feral cat. There is mention of feral cat eradication programmes and a trap.Kara and PussThere was one act of dreadful consequence that Kara Fuji was unable to forgive herself for. Her baby boy was about eight months old. They were living out the back of Laverton in the hot, baked red, willy-willy country of Western Australia. Her man was a core sampler at a nearby nickel mine. They followed the work until her man was bored or fell out with the boss. Then they moved on.&nbs...

8 comments 8
Read story

“A New Home, A Fresh Start” by Jeannie Thomas

Submitted to Contest #187

It seemed to take forever to arrive at my new home. It had been a long, hot ride with no air conditioning in the cab of a pickup truck. Who makes cars without air conditioning, anyway? I slept as much as I could to keep my mind off the unbearable heat of the south. I did occasionally find myself daydreaming of my new home. I believe it had to be better than the place I had been, a large household of about 20 others living there. Don’t get me wrong: I had left behind some acquaintances and while I might miss...

3 comments 3
Read story

“Cat Lady” by Eigyr Morgan

Submitted to Contest #187

This story contains themes of sexual violence, violence, gore, death and animal cruelty. Cat Lady   Mary lay dreaming. Her eyes flickered, and behind them: … a vast army rising, splattered in blood and mud a man-boy’s unshod foot pressing the cheek of his slaughtered lover down into the earth as he scrambles to free his legs from spilled viscera, frantic to escape the looming, inhuman shadow… Her eyes snapped open and focussed on the picture of the bird in flight against the rising sun, hung on the far wall. Its outspread wing fea...

1 comment 1
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

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

Adventure – 109 stories

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

Funny – 48 stories

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

Fiction – 17 stories

Set your story in a cat shelter.

Fiction – 24 stories

Contest #187

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Cat People

$250

Prize money

324

Contest entries

117

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 03, 2023 EST

Won by Michelle Oliver 🏆

Title: Mitzee’s Moment

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

NEW VIDEO COURSE 🎉

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢