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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#187: Cat People

I love cats. Independent, sassy, badass, unbothered, adorable, playful, and cuddlier than popular culture makes them out to be, they’re one of life’s everyday miracles.

They live with us, but they are mysteries to us, and it can be incredibly fun to imagine their secret lives — and all the parts of their realities we aren’t privy to. This week, let’s think about ordinary and unusual cats alike, and take a moment to appreciate the magic they bring to our lives.

🥇 Winner

“Mitzee’s Moment” by Michelle Oliver

🏆 Winner of Contest #187

Mitzee was in prison for a crime he did not commit.Well, OK, he probably had committed it once or twice. Who knew? Who kept count? But he was very sure that he had been incarcerated now because of something he didn’t do. He glared through the prison bars, plotting. He was Houdini, Al Capone, and Einstein rolled into one. There was nothing he couldn’t do… except break out of this prison, apparently.If looks could kill, there would be no one left alive in this joint. If he could get out, he’d make each and every one of them sorry they wer...

226 comments 226

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“The Many Lives of Oberon” by Zack Powell

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

CW: Themes/mentions of death***He waits in his car for nine minutes before approaching my parlor. He stops at the window, leans forward to stare at the shop sign, waits for the person behind him to continue down the sidewalk. Only then does he glance over his shoulder, throw open my door, and scamper inside, holding an ash-gray cat as close to his chest as a love letter.He shuts the door then turns to take in the shop's interior: the jars and vials on the shelf labelled "Potions," the votive candles tucked inside random nooks and crannies, t...

104 comments 104

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“Old MacDonald Arrested” by Graham Kinross

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

Old MacDonald had a farm, and on that farm he was training animals to infiltrate the halls of power. Old MacDonald (72) was arrested dressed as a clown. He planned to snare the nation with delicious fast food laced with cocaine. It was Furball Fluffington who infiltrated the despot’s network. That cat sure wears the hell out of those boots, this reporter must say. The hat isn’t a bad look either. “I’ve been undercover on the farm for months now,” said Furball. “And on that farm he had a cow. The bovine was training for something involvin...

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“Involuntary Recipient” by V. S. Rose

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

Drip. Drip. Drip.I don’t know how long it’s been. My hankering for water and parched lips suggest more than a few hours. The screams from my ravenous stomach say longer than a couple of days. Weeks maybe? Would I have survived weeks?Drip. Drip.What’s that dripping sound?My head feels like it was squeezed in a table clamp. I can’t tell if my thinking’s foggy from my throbbing head or the lack of food and water. This pitch darkness sure doesn’t help. God, I’m thirsty.Brands of water bottles materialize in the darkness: Aquafina, Dasani, Evian,...

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“Delphine of the Tombs” by Christopher Kelley

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

The last twilight tour ended, and the cemetery hushed to its nightly mystique, scored by the distant echo of tavern trumpets and jazz drummers.The gate closed and locked. And the moon-dipped monuments were, once more, ruled by the dead.Then…a crunch of footsteps.A warm body strolled the walled-in city of graves. A tour guide named Rocco. He whistled past the oven vaults and above-ground tombs, pausing only to huff and snuff the raised candles along the shell-paved pathways. He also broke his tune to chat with Delphine—another warm body. But ...

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“Pests” by Kat Moreno

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

I have a black cat. I picked her up from the parking lot of my local Dairy Queen as a kitten, and I had to quickly get used to the sound and commotion she made in the night. I laugh at myself when I think back to when I first got my cat and I used to get up several times a night because I thought I someone had broken into the apartment. I would sneak down my hallway my hand would cover my heart as icy dread spread over my skin, seeing two round eyes reflected green in the dark. "You scared me," I used to tell my cat in a breathy laugh, rea...

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“Shelter from the Storm” by Sarah Paris

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

This place smells of cat pee and desperation, yet for the first time in so long, I am hopeful. I feel like I might save a life today. I sigh and scan the room. I spot her right away. She’s hunched and trembling. Alone, in the corner by the cage of buoyant, adorable kittens. Stooped and scarred, gray all over, her body shakes. I can smell her fear – tangled, yet screaming from every pore. I wonder what storms brought her here? Who abused her and discarded her? She notices me too. She’s older than the rest. The flicker of hope in t...

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“A mess at the edge of the universe” by Michael Jurasek

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

The morality of a truly all-powerful and omnipotent God has been an object of significant debate between religious scholars and academic philosophers. Those on the side of the almighty, particularly those of the Judeo-Christian variety, contend that an all-powerful-all-seeing god is, by definition, a moral being because his actions work to further an ethereal, eternal plan that only God knows. Their logic further argues that God, maker of all things heaven, earth, in-between, and beyond, is the standard-bearer for morality purely because he ...

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“Starting From Scratch” by Emily Brown

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

In the old days, Whiskey greeted her at the front door every morning. Fourteen-hour overnight shifts were no match for the cat’s crippling separation anxiety. Now, she was lucky to get more than one glimpse of her speckled brown coat per day. “Whiskey! Breakfast!” she calls and cracks open a pink can of Fancy Feast, a feeble attempt at enticing the cat out of her hiding spot. James had never let her buy wet food for Whiskey, usually picking up one of those unappetizing orange-and-pink kibble mixes himself. It was one of the first par...

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This week's 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

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

Character – 125 stories

Stories

“Mitzee’s Moment” by Michelle Oliver

🏆 Winner of Contest #187

Mitzee was in prison for a crime he did not commit.Well, OK, he probably had committed it once or twice. Who knew? Who kept count? But he was very sure that he had been incarcerated now because of something he didn’t do. He glared through the prison bars, plotting. He was Houdini, Al Capone, and Einstein rolled into one. There was nothing he couldn’t do… except break out of this prison, apparently.If looks could kill, there would be no one left alive in this joint. If he could get out, he’d make each and every one of them sorry they wer...

226 comments 226

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“Dammit Tibbles” by Wendy Kaminski

Submitted to Contest #187

I am the legendary Dammit Tibbles, the mightiest huntress who ever lived. Fear me, all ye lesser creatures. In truth, “Tibbles” is just what I've let David call me. I don’t care a dropped whisker for his calls, so it doesn’t matter if he calls me Tibbles, or Chunky Dumpling, or Babaganoush. It isn’t like I’m going to answer to any of it… though, when he eventually expanded it to “Dammit Tibbles,” it amused and flattered me on a deep level which I cannot quite explain. I know it is the ultimate compliment, because I'm kind of a big deal in hi...

123 comments 123

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“The Many Lives of Oberon” by Zack Powell

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

CW: Themes/mentions of death***He waits in his car for nine minutes before approaching my parlor. He stops at the window, leans forward to stare at the shop sign, waits for the person behind him to continue down the sidewalk. Only then does he glance over his shoulder, throw open my door, and scamper inside, holding an ash-gray cat as close to his chest as a love letter.He shuts the door then turns to take in the shop's interior: the jars and vials on the shelf labelled "Potions," the votive candles tucked inside random nooks and crannies, t...

104 comments 104

Read story

“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...

Read story

“Old MacDonald Arrested” by Graham Kinross

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

Old MacDonald had a farm, and on that farm he was training animals to infiltrate the halls of power. Old MacDonald (72) was arrested dressed as a clown. He planned to snare the nation with delicious fast food laced with cocaine. It was Furball Fluffington who infiltrated the despot’s network. That cat sure wears the hell out of those boots, this reporter must say. The hat isn’t a bad look either. “I’ve been undercover on the farm for months now,” said Furball. “And on that farm he had a cow. The bovine was training for something involvin...

Read story

“Cats!” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #187

“I know you think I’m crazy, but I’ve found myself.”He’d gone over and was in real trouble; I mean Jack Nicholson Shining trouble. And when he said crazy I heard a whisper in my ear—you are NOT a trained psychologist. Yes, beyond my capability to help, way beyond.Yet, I grew up with my kid brother; I took care of him all the way through high school. Our dad worked at the mill double time, and Mom passed when we were both kids. So it was up to me, Dad said, when he wasn’t around, which was always. It was the little things I remembered more th...

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“King Leo” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #187

Meow, I’m Leo, a Maine Coon. From Cochin. Don’t be confused. Just know that I’m a white-brown king living with a brown bloke in a red brick house.There are two other furballs around. I presume they were brought home before me as an experiment. They are little round Persian cats. Again, from Cochin.Still confused? I assume you are one of those losers who just giggle and go aww… at our viral videos but don’t bother to look up our history. If so, just get off my story! I don’t want to do anything with someone with zero curiosity.I’ll give you a...

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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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“The Cats Under The Cherry Blossoms ” by Angela Monroe

Submitted to Contest #187

We left the city of Changsha behind hours ago, having only been in China for a day so far. Changsha had been pretty for what little I got to examine it before my mother put me in a rented car and hauled me to the countryside if that’s what you wanted to call it. She swore to me that she had found us the best place to stay at. Changsha hadn’t even seemed real; I couldn’t imagine a place better than that. “Aren’t you enjoying your time in China?” my mother, Lauren, asked. ...

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“Lotus Decrees” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #187

I see you all here begging at the foot of our Great Lotus. Lotus, Goddess of Fresh Fish from the Sea. Lotus, Goddess of Comfort on a Cold Night. Lotus, Goddess of the Hunt When the Hunt Involves Rather Small Animals Such as Mice or Things That Look Like Mice. I see you all here, but only on the Feast Day of Lotus. Only on this, the day of her birth, the day when all come to worship. But where are you the rest of the days? Where are you when Lotus fills up her defecation box and it must be changed? Where are you when her hair is matte...

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“The Green Mile” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #187

The Green Mile“Yet ah! Why should they know their Fate? Since Sorrow never comes too late, And Happiness too swiftly flies. Thought would destroy their Paradise. No more; where Ignorance is Bliss, ‘Tis Folly to be Wise."-Thomas Grey“We have a pretty good record for adoptions. Most will find homes.”“And for those who aren’t adopted, how long before you…”“Oh, excuse me, sir, we don’t like to talk about those things in front of our clients.”“I understand.”“But this one is a real cutie. I’m ...

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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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“Involuntary Recipient” by V. S. Rose

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

Drip. Drip. Drip.I don’t know how long it’s been. My hankering for water and parched lips suggest more than a few hours. The screams from my ravenous stomach say longer than a couple of days. Weeks maybe? Would I have survived weeks?Drip. Drip.What’s that dripping sound?My head feels like it was squeezed in a table clamp. I can’t tell if my thinking’s foggy from my throbbing head or the lack of food and water. This pitch darkness sure doesn’t help. God, I’m thirsty.Brands of water bottles materialize in the darkness: Aquafina, Dasani, Evian,...

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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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$250

Prize money

323

Contest entries

117

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 03, 2023 EST

Won by Michelle Oliver 🏆

Title: Mitzee’s Moment

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

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