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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

“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...

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“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...

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“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...

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“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...

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“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...

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“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...

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“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 ...

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“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...

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“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 ...

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“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 ...

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“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...

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“Cat of the Alley” by Zachary Lloyd

Submitted to Contest #187

Let me tell you about the cat in the alley. One day, I was walking to work eating my morning breakfast of bacon, eggs, and cheese. Seemed like a normal day when I tripped over a cat that had matted fur, scars on their head, and so thin that you can see all the bones in its body. I tear off a piece of my sandwich to feed it. Worried about its well being I go to pick the poor cat up. As I go to lift the cat it claws my arm and leaves long marks down my arms. Even though my arm was hurt I was still worried about the cat. I looked around ...

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“Stray Love” by Richard Busby

Submitted to Contest #187

You wake up with a hankering for caffeine. As you stretch into your morning clothes, you can hear your neighbors arguing. Nothing new, just the occasional relationship scuffle. You wish you could have what they did. The kind of love that lasts through anything. You head out into the city though, trying to ignore the lonely feeling in the pit of your stomach. You enter the Cafe, a central hotspot for meeting great fellows. You walk up to the counter and order your morning brew, a large hazelnut latte with two shots of espresso. A few minutes ...

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“Stray on Tanner Street” by Travis Blake

Submitted to Contest #187

“Sorry buddy, I’m allergic.” Alex kept a shoe between him and the black cat while he tried to shuffle through the front door to his apartment. The cat was a relative newcomer to the street, but then again, so was Alex. In fact, he felt he would be more likely to pick the cat out of a lineup than any neighbor. Usually he spotted it poking about the October piles of street leaves when he got home from work. Sometimes it followed halfway up his stoop, but then stopped as if it knew better than to...

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“The Cat and the Vet” by Vishwa Jay

Submitted to Contest #187

Trigger Warning: guns, PTSD, combat-related graphic violence, suicidal ideation, violence against women, alcohol, substance abuseAndrew was just coming home from the VFW like he did every Friday night. At least, every Friday he didn’t have a date. Which was to say: most Fridays. Nobody there was from the old unit. But there were a few Marines there who got it. Not many POGs to contend with—People Other than Grunts. But enough were there that he wanted to stick with Marine riflemen more than he wanted to mix.But as he stepped out of the Uber,...

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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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