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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.

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 – 126 stories

Stories

“Interview with a Tiny God” by Shawn Wier

Submitted to Contest #187

The humans brought high-quality offerings this morning. They laid fresh fish and rotisserie rat at the feet of their statue meant to honor me and my siblings, and the bounty was delicious. Now, lazy with fullness (and cat-ness), I must do my part to hold the temple in place. It would be catastrophic if it were to get too light and blow away in the breeze, so I'll be right here, ensuring that my body mass will contribute to the safety of all who enter this holy space. Thankfully, these humans don't seem to be the type to stumble around carel...

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“A Cat's Purpose” by Renie 🦋

Submitted to Contest #187

It’s not easy being cursed… or at least when everyone thinks you’re cursed, but what’s the difference? Even if you’re not, what does it matter if everyone thinks you are? After all, if everyone thinks you’re ugly, then you are even if you’re not, because of what the people around you think. That’s how it’s always been for me, being a one-eyed cat living in an abandoned temple. People walk in, kids, adults, teens... even the occasional old couple. They come looking to play around, but when they see me walk around the corner they scream...

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“Snowball” by Chell~Linn Araya

Submitted to Contest #187

“Really Daddy?” Cassidy shrieked, her curly pigtails swinging wildly while she bounced in her seat. “Sure thing, Princess. Mom and I talked and we’re impressed with how well you’ve been keeping your room clean, and helping with the dishes,” Tom gave her a wink in the mirror then looked back at the road, “so we decided you are old enough, responsible enough, to have a cat of your very own!” “Yippee! I’m gonna pick a black cat and name him Midnight! No, wait, an orange one and name him Sherbert. Oh, I know, a gray one named Shadow! Wait, how...

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“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...

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“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...

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“Cat Burglary” by Jyl Barlow

Submitted to Contest #187

“So in the end, Your Honor, it turned out we errantly stole someone’s actual pet and drove it four states from home.” Does that sound like a plausible defense? The beginning bits were certainly innocent. The end bits have us wondering how, exactly, to get this housecat back, um, home. The middle bits? Oh, yes, please, allow me to explain. In what was to be a week of kid-free relaxation, my husband and I set off for Skidaway Island State Park to meet my brother and his wife. As we had jumped on the “Sell your RV” bandwagon back in pan...

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“It's snowing cats and dogs” by Matti M

Submitted to Contest #187

On November 12th, the first snow fell, covering every inch of ground in a cold glistering blanket. On most days, I wore that coat of snow happily. It illuminated my red hair, my dark eyes, in contrast to the striking white surrounding. I liked to imagine that the world was reborn every time snow fell. I took joy in following the fragile journey as the snowflakes drifted down, ultimately merging with the ground. It had been two weeks since that day in November, and it hadn’t stopped snowing since, in fact, the weather had become a constant bl...

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“The Conundrum in the Keeper's Boot” by Kinsley Rivers

Submitted to Contest #187

My boot is rumbling. The Keeper’s brow lowered as he analyzed the situation. He was in his master suite and just finishing his morning routine. The last step was to put on his boots and grab his coat. The day was already ruined by the expected morning meetings. He did not need the unexpected. A meticulous review of the room assured him of his solitude. The bedroom door remained locked. Wards of Shadow and Light were visible from where he stood, the contrasting tendrils unbroken, indicating a lack of intrusion. S...

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“A little easier” by Ruby Oliver

Submitted to Contest #187

Ali rubbed the spot between her eyebrows, attempting to relax the tension there. She had begun to have second thoughts. Who knew if it would even work? This all would be for nothing. She sighed, resting her head against the steering wheel. She had to try, there was a chance it could do so much. Gathering up her, well, everything, Ali opened her jeep door and stepped carefully out. The sidewalk was cracked and stained, little shriveled plants sprouting in every corner. Probably not the best place to be for an alone, middle-aged woman, she...

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“Patty: The chatty cat” by Rashi Soni

Submitted to Contest #187

What a lazy day! There is too much movement outside, too much noise. Just another lousy day. The mundane world of humans, aha!! While I see from the window pane of my tiny apartment resting on a couch, everything looks so busy, the street and the people. Everyone’s running, so are the vehicles and so is the time. And there he is, Tom: a miniature sort of a dog and my neighbor, with an average coat of black hair. “Woof, Woof, Woof, Woof” is all he does, such a dog speak. Strolling around with his human dad like always. Wagging and panting t...

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“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 ...

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“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...

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“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...

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“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...

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“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...

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$250

Prize money

324

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.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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