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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

“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...

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“The Haint Tree” by Erica Dorsey

Submitted to Contest #187

Rooster and Keisha had an understanding. Rooster was the family cat… or technically— he was Keisha’s great-grandma’s cat. It was the family myth that Rooster had more than nine lives and just wouldn’t die. The cat was apparently old as sin and had been around for generations. It had been around when Keisha’s great-grandma was a girl, when her grandma was a girl, when her mother was a girl, and so on and so on….. And apparently he was still here over thirty years later and Keisha was an adult. “You still ain’t dead yet Rooster?” Keisha ...

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“FOLLOWING THE CAT” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #187

FOLLOWING THE CAT He stood on the sidewalk at the corner of the street. The matted reddish hair, the great green eyes, the head too big for the body. The stray cat had greeted him with an angry meow. “Poor kitty, you’re hungry” Peter had said, giving him a bite of the cheese and onion sandwich he was eating. That morning he had gotten up late and so he hadn’t been able to eat ( have) breakfast sitting at the table. The cat devoured the morsel and meowed, an imperious meow, as for an urgent request. Peter handed him another bite which ...

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“A gods love” by -` Evenlegila ́-

Submitted to Contest #187

I was coming home for the winter. To my little rural town in Japan. My parents were delighted with the news. And once I arrived, they greeted me at their small little inn and onsen. {Speaking Japanese} “We kept your bedroom just the same!” My mother exclaimed. “Oh you didn’t have to do that, mom. Isn’t it taking up space?” I was very fluent in my English from studying in America. It was a habit now to speak it. “No, no! Never!” My mother’s accent was heavy amongst her words. But her English was getting better. She embraced me, she was ...

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“Lost Things” by Kayla Ayers

Submitted to Contest #187

A soft sigh left her lips as she leaned her head back against the seat. The train swayed gently back and forth, a soft rumble that faded into the background like white noise. Hana hugged her bag to her chest as she closed her eyes, knowing she had at least an hour before they reached her stop. It was a brief moment of peace, a balm to soothe the headache of a day she’d had.First, another woman had bumped into her that morning, spilling coffee down the front of her shirt. There was no time to go back and change before her first class of...

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“Cat Outside the Box” by Ness Turner

Submitted to Contest #187

Running. Running. Running. Stop! Pounce! "Rory!" The dog snapped its head round to hail its owner, struggling five steps behind. Dave stumbled to keep up with his wayward hound, one he'd rescued years ago from ex-police service. Rory loved sniffing and chasing smells just as much as any other dog, but it was different when he found a few particular smells, which weren't so uncommon around this part of town… "Rory!" His dog leapt over a dustbin lid with a clatter, hopped from one bin bag to another, p...

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“Breakfast with Tiffany” by Douglas W. Carr

Submitted to Contest #187

“I’m going to have to let you go. We’re not financially stable right now and – as a result – we’re restructuring. We’re letting numerous people go. It’s not you – we’re just downsizing until we can restructure to the approval of the investors. I’m asking you to clean out your cubicle by five o’clock tonight. Thanks for your time.” Those were the words from my supervisor’s mouth one Friday afternoon and just before the holiday. The company had pulled this shit before, but it never impacted me. They always made things look good on paper an...

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“Love is all there is” by Robert Radcliff

Submitted to Contest #187

Where am I? Where is this? I am surrounded by cloud like fog.... or is it mist...upwards I see just density...no color... just dullness and space...I feel my body ...all seems ok...or is it?What is happening to me?Sometimes in our lives it can be difficult to distinguish between reality and fantasy....so....Am I at the end of my life, or is this just a dream?Then from the bleakness I hear a sound ...coming from nearby:'Meow. Meow'... hey........ I am not alone!I look around.... in front of me on the ground there suddenly appears green e...

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“Prostration, astronomy, and a black cat” by Ksenija Rubež

Submitted to Contest #187

The prostration (Arabic: sajdah or sujud) is thought to be the most important part of the Muslim prayer. According to the prophet Muhammad, one is nearest to God during prostration. The noblest parts of one’s body are touching the ground, signifying utmost submission and humility in front of God. For some, it is also the most therapeutic part of the entire prayer. So, it was for Salma. She would find herself meditating in that pose, in a sort of ecstasy of repeating the Arabic words Subhana Rabbi Al Ala (Glory be to my Lord, the Most E...

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“The Memoir of The Forgotten” by Lovga Keiser

Submitted to Contest #187

Leaving Mr. Kephu’s shop of unextraordinary capes and cloaks by 58th and the gateway wall, I spotted the prints of a shadow trotting atop the marble fence enclosing the District of Magic. Incredibly, the shadow was on the fence. Not off to the side, neither above it nor below it. Quite impossible. It wasn’t often mages were given a chance to ascend the societal ladder, a discovery of magical importance here or there and suddenly, the towering walls separating the Academy of Berryben and yourself shrink. So, I did the only logical thing a mag...

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“Unnatural Habitats” by Nathan You

Submitted to Contest #187

Unnatural Habitats: by Nathan You Lucy had always loved the atmosphere of Victorian London streets. The way the gaslights cut through the heavy fog. It gave the whole city an air of beauty and mystery. There wasn't anything like this back home, everything there was so boring. She was too used to that place, there was nothing new there, nothing interesting. But here it felt like there was some new secret to uncover everywhere she looked. It almost made up for the discomfort that came from having to wear a corset. She desperately wa...

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“Galinthias ” by Ellaura Shoop

Submitted to Contest #187

When my mother looks at me it is as if she is seeing me the day I was born, belting thunder, and covered in gore. Her gaze sparkles with the miracle of it. I don’t understand what is so miraculous about a dirty, scruffy-haired, ten-year-old boy. When my father looks at me it is with stiffness, as if he sits on nails and my hands are red. My hands are not red. I washed the blood from them long ago with the help of Mother’s gentle fingers and briny tears. Well, they had looked at me like that over a year ago, as Father decreed, I should go t...

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“Second Start” by Cameron Lyle

Submitted to Contest #187

I had just witnessed the most horrifying scene unfold in almost a fraction of a heart beat. The raw, pure emotions surging through my heart caused me to be crushed by the weight of my conscious deteriorating. It all started when I followed this rather strange cat into a poorly lit, filthy alleyway one night. The thing I believe that set this poor ragged feline apart, was her blonde hair with a white streak running down her nose. She was limping. It looked as though she had been hit by a car or attacked. And the moment the cat looked at me, I...

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“Cupid cat” by Robert Cook

Submitted to Contest #187

Cupid Cat My name is Roger Griff allow me to tell you a story of how I met my one true love. It all started when I woke up around five in the morning randomly during the week. I had a basic nine to five at a photo production warehouse down the street. After waking up and worried that if I went back to sleep I’d just end up sleeping in there by wasting my morning I got up. It was too early to getting ready for work or eating breakfast. And just playing video games would also cause me to waste my morning away. I was trying to be more cautious ...

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“The Alley In Between” by Ember Sky

Submitted to Contest #187

Midnight walks through the streets of Paris were the best way for me to relax, even during the most stressful times. I sometimes went out when I did horribly on a test or when my parents and I got into an argument. But tonight was different.I looked down at the envelope I held in my hand. I had just received it this morning, but it wasn’t signed…So what did I do? Go to the listed address at twelve in the morning when almost no one is out and about to hear any screams of help. I took the letter out of the envelope again, but instead of t...

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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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