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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

“Winston” by Lance Peltier

Submitted to Contest #187

I am Winston. I’m a cat and to your eyes I’m an orange, tiger striped, tabby. Or so I’ve heard. Orange isn’t something I completely understand. I’ve also heard that I’m a little fat in the middle and insane, both of which I take issue with. I am a little thick in the midsection but I can still fit through holes barely larger than my head, ergo I don’t see this as a shortcoming. As far as my sanity goes, more than one person has called my Mommy a Crazy Cat Lady and I assumed they meant I was the one who w...

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“Healers Have Three Paws” by Gabriela Wels

Submitted to Contest #187

Just a heads up: This story deals with alcohol addiction recovery. :) Thanks for reading. I hope you find it encouraging. ----------------------------------------------------------------There are two types of people in this world: humans and cats. They can be annoying. They may throw a wrench into our lives and plans. But we love them anyway.I am sitting by the window with my recovery journal in hand. My friend limps over to join me. One eye is missing as a testament to his tendency to rush into things. One foot is mangled from a misste...

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“Fur-ends Forever” by Carey Thacker

Submitted to Contest #187

Rap tap tap, bang bang, scratch. From inside my house, I hear odd little noises coming from outside my front door. “What in the world is going on out there.” Bang bang scratch. “Ugh, ok I’m coming.” I slowly make my way through the house towards the front door, as I see the sun shining through the window, as the noises grow increasingly louder. I glaze over at the smudged window with cat nose prints on it, and crack a half smile, “ah, spring is in the air,” thinking to myself. I can slightly spy the green grass spr...

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“MY LAST CAT” by Julia Corliss

Submitted to Contest #187

I’ve had many cats in my life because my mother loved cats and my father loved my mother. In the end, he came to love cats too. I had my first cat when I was two, and there were many in between then and my last cat, Gidget. She began her life as one of the various cats in my parents’ life together. When I first met Gidget, my husband Burt and I were living about 20 minutes from my Momma and Pops and were delighted to spend lots of time with them. It was fun. Momma and Pops knew how to have fun. There were always cats and dogs around as wel...

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“Celebrity Cat” by Michael Nguyen

Submitted to Contest #187

At a youth prayer group in a small town, the group leader starts a discussion. “What pets did Jesus have?” “Peter, James and John.” “No what pets animals did he have. Not pet people. How about you Lucy, our newest prayer group attendee.” “Wasn’t he born with a donkey or after a donkey.” “I heard he can make his all animals his pets so he doesn’t keep one. He’ll make one the spot.” “That’s interesting but incorrect answer the leader. “Before you all leave, please shake hands with the person to the left and right of you. Choose a partner and n...

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“Nursing” by Allan McNeill

Submitted to Contest #187

I believed that some of the hotels along the water were actually brothels. I believed that unless you stipulated otherwise, the rooms within the towering, dazzlingly lit motels would come with a strange woman sitting on your bed, flicking through her phone, just waiting for you to unlock the door. At each of the motels along the beach, there was a small empty lobby which was the size of a bathroom and had a lift’s polished double doors in one wall. In the other wall there was a small frosted window, the size of a car licence ...

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“The Stourbridgedidge” by Mike Creese

Submitted to Contest #187

The Stourbridgedidge I would have made a serious effort to get to know Bagpuss⸺my kind of cat. Number Ten's Larry and the sly ginger down the chippy, I felt I knew already. As much as you can know a cat, that is, which they say you can't. But for a long time, I wanted nothing to do with Kitten. Other than her knack for driving Wanka Mal nuts, I could see no point in her. "I'm vegan, so you gotta understand how horrible it is for me." Wanka Mal was bawling from the landing as the awful whiff of what Kitten had dumped at the foot of the stai...

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“Cats And Flats” by Ramon Martensen

Submitted to Contest #187

So, where I live now, I´m not allowed to have a cat, yet I still had the chance to bond with not just one, but two of them. As my girlfriend at the time said, I was their cat uncle. A title I still find comfort in whenever I miss having a cat of my own. And even though the connection with these two cats was brief, they will have a special place in my memory along with all the others I´ve grown up with, cared for, or seen growing up. I want to tell you their story. Maybe because of the events that followed after the last time I had seen them,...

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“A Cat Called Cat” by Paul Leonard

Submitted to Contest #187

“Bastard cat!” said a man with a wet patch across the groin of his trousers as he burst through the doors of the Hog’s Head. I guessed he was about my age. That is to say, the age where incontinence becomes a very real possibility. His face was ruddy with embarrassment or anger or both as he brushed at the wet patch with his hands as if that would somehow dry them. A mousey lady, his wife I guessed, hurried out after him onto the high street and started doing the same. This just seemed to irritate the man even more, especially when he noti...

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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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