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

“The Cat Who Wouldn’t Be Denied” by Judy Doudoukjian

Submitted to Contest #187

Let me state clearly from the outset: I am not a cat person! In fact, I am not even a pet person. That said, I have “inherited” or been hostess to a number of pets during my eighty years on this planet, all of whom were brought home by my children. Each ismemorable in its own way, but there is one who quickly jumps to the top of the list. Yes, you heard me right! JUMPS!  In the fall of 1989, I was still a newcomer to South Carolina, having made a difficult move from my old home in West Tennessee more or l...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Now That We Have A Mutual Understanding...” by Denese Wright

Submitted to Contest #187

“Now that we have this mutual understanding, let’s talk about your weight. You are getting very fat kitty cat. What happened?” She used to answer me with an emphatic meow. Now I wonder if she is even listening with her eyes closed. Her ears look attentive, maybe I’m being ignored. “Hey! Hey you, yes I’m talking to you. Yes, now that I have your attention, we need to address this problem. You are getting too fat, and I want you to live a long and happy life, so we’re gonna fix this. You are going on a diet little lady, with exercise. We’ll do...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Purr” by Frances Gaudiano

Submitted to Contest #187

Purr I had smelled death on her for a while. As the time came near, I spent more and more time laying on her bed next to her. I aligned my body next to her chest - The bad spot was there, in her breast, where she would have suckled her kittens. I purred as loud as I could, trying to comfort her with my vibration. I hope I helped; I could feel that her pain was eating her alive. At the very end the man took me away and shut the door between me and my person. He never understood us. I know she would have wanted me there but she was too weak...

5 comments 5
Read story

“President Lincoln and the Three Kittens” by Kristin Neubauer

Submitted to Contest #187

The kittens opened their eyes when they heard a new voice in the tent. Over the first weeks of their lives, after their ears had unfurled, they had grown dimly accustomed to the rise and fall of male voices, the quick step of boots in and out of the tent, and the click of the telegraph machine. This new voice, however, was thin and reedy, shrill enough to break through the kittens’ restless sleep. The trio blinked and stirred on their scratchy blanket in the tent’s warmest corner. They looked for their mother, as they had everyday for the ...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Next Life” by Victor Cardenas

Submitted to Contest #187

Today marks exactly one year since I received the life-shocking news. Disturbing and intrusive thoughts constantly flow through my subconscious. I wonder if my everyday efforts to complete one more day in this life will be worth anything towards the end game. I’ve convinced myself that the situation would’ve had a different outcome had I taken the time to realize how much I took you for granted. Through all the madness, somehow I manage to get up from my bed every morning to get ready to go to work and pretend that I have enough energy to de...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The War of Art” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #187

“No?” The cat doesn’t stick around to answer, which is answer enough to the question. The man takes another look and shakes his head. He could have sworn that this was real. That it was genuine. That it had something about it that made it count. He lingers a while longer and fights a shocking urge to cry. There is sadness there, but also a rage. He wants to rage over the injustice of it all, but how can he when it’s as much his fault as anyone else’s. He walks into the next room, the room that moments earlier, the cat casually walked i...

6 comments 6
Read story

“The Cat Claws” by Ashley Brandt

Submitted to Contest #187

That cat came with the house, according to my Aunt Lenora’s Will. She’d stated it plainly on the first page, under a header called The Cat Clause. Her lawyer removed his reading glasses and shot me a smug gaze; he and my aunt had been lifelong friends, and when she’d received her diagnoses, she’d contracted her best friend and lawyer Georgie Pine Rudriger the second to draw up her last Will and testament. I sat across from him in his little office on the east side of Perdiville, across from the antique store and next door to a barber shop. ...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Phoebe's World” by Rick Pascal

Submitted to Contest #187

Note: This story contains mild scenes of a sexual nature. It could be rated PG-13Rick Pascal © 2022                                                     About 2800 words38-35 Brookside AvenueFair Lawn, NJ 07410201-791-9526201-208-7191 (cell)rickpas@optonline.netPhoebe’s WorldPhoebe ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Reap What You Sow” by Max Russell

Submitted to Contest #187

The tracks I followed were certainly feline, yet my patrons had neglected to inform me that my quarry walked upright on two legs. While the large cat I pursued was nimble, its claws left easy-to-follow imprints in the soil. The ever-shifting Wilds was quick to wash away disturbances, but the path of this hunting cat left a distinctly harmful trail. It was as if the plush soil had suffered a drought within the sharp talon imprints.I didn’t have any spell craft to harness, but I recognized magic’s effect on the environment. This big cat radiat...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Mildred and Mildred” by Caitlin P

Submitted to Contest #187

Empty, black eyes stare off into a clear, beautiful sky. Bright, blue feathers shine in the sunlight, stuck to wings that would never again get the chance to kiss the clouds. In the distance, the remaining birds were chirping a soft dirge, breaking the morning silence.  Meow.  The sudden closeness of sound is jarring, instantly pulling me out of my trance. My eyes snap down to the black figure rubbing itself across my stiff legs. As soon as we lock eyes, another sound pierces through the cotton balls permanently stuck in my ear...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Bravely On” by Story Keatley

Submitted to Contest #187

As quickly as possible after their son left for college, Derek and Cathy sold their home in the big city and took up permanent residence in the plain but proud double wide that for the past 20 years had been dubbed their “country home.” The place soon looked lived in with flowering plants and rocking chairs on the porch and a red-barn storage building at the end of the brick walk leading from the front steps. Derek, a tall and stoic man, loved life there on the 40 partially wooded acres just outside a small town near Mark Twain Lake. &n...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Breaks” by Lucas Malan

Submitted to Contest #187

Warning: This story contains strong language and concepts of death. Breaks Reaching down, I struggled to grab the remote. I was lying on a chesterfield sofa, the remote just out of reach. The fucking Druid had knocked it down. I was a rather irritable young man, and The Druid was my cat. I grabbed it, balanced, toppled, slid down. There was a soft thump. I rolled my eyes. I sat up and stared into empty space, my fingers moving in the usual fashion on the remote, a woman starting to speak in a matter-of-factly sort of way from above. ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Cat for a day” by Brooke Coleman

Submitted to Contest #187

It was a bright beautiful sunny day in the middle of March. Dannie wasn't too fond of early mornings or long school days. It was a few weeks away from spring break and she couldn't wait just to have long days sleeping in and swinging on lazy days gazing at the sky from the porch swing. Dannie was a quiet, observate girl not to worried about hanging out with the popular kids or getting invited out. She'd rather be snuggled up to a good book or watching movies with her cat pixie. Leah, Dannie's little sister was the complete opposite. She had ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“ Cat's dream” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #187

You don't choose a cat. A cat chooses you, according to my grandpa.  A persistent cat from the neighborhood decided to adopt me. On a hot summer evening, two huge longing eyes appeared at the kitchen door, accompanied by serenading meows. He did not flinch when I approached him. I started speaking baby talk. I don't know why, but there seems to be a neurological explanation for that. The cat, which I would later call simply Cat, seemed pleased. I gently stroked behind his grey ears. He lay on his back and let me feel the softness of his...

1 comment 1
Read story

“A Feline's Story” by Carolyn Carter

Submitted to Contest #187

IMPURRFECT In my eighth life my name was Nikki. I was a solid black, Siamese mix, domestic shorthair female cat with eyes that changed from brown to a shade of green that looked like two jade gemstones. I always knew that I was mixed with Siamese because I talked a lot. One of my masters played this game where she held her palm up and said ‘hi.’ I would meow back which made her think I said ‘hi’ back to her, and she would laugh so hard. Oh well, it made her happy and I learned early on that if I made my masters happy, I got a lot of love, d...

4 comments 4
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 ⭢