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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

“Black Sheep Beyond the Balustrade” by Carina Caccia

Submitted to Contest #187

A small crowd gathers on a flight of stairs by the river, by the food carts and their blinding white lights; the ping of a bottlecap can be heard as it hits the pavement, the shrill of gas as a can is opened, and the crumple of a plastic chopstick wrapper. A man in his twenties stands with his back to the river, a microphone before him. The streetlight paints his black hair with white streaks like rivulets, like moonlit water. He cradles his guitar lightly in his arms, rocks it back and forth as though singing it to sleep, and as his fingers...

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“The Wound” by Scott Skinner

Submitted to Contest #187

His dirty fingernails made flakes of the raw skin surrounding the puss-filled crater above his ankle. Like a bitch in heat dragging her backside across the yard, he scratched the itch. His fingers became wet with a viscous mixture of blood and puss. He was sure that the antibiotics to cure his staph infection hadn't worked; the bowl-shaped depression was becoming larger, and the swelling of his chaffed skin around the wound would soon burst like a volcanic fissure and consume more of his leg. Don't lose sight of the long game by reveling in ...

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“Vengeance Served Cold” by Timothy Rennels

Submitted to Contest #187

VENGEANCE SERVED COLD " Am I not Bar-Tigar, lord of all lands I roam?" He looked down at the pulsing red jets that spurted from the throat of the boar. " I honor you by taking your flesh and freeing your spirit, continuing the circle." He lapped at his still twitching prey, curved hooks pointing towards his throat, called papillae, coated his tongue, ripping off layers of hide and flesh with each pass. The tender pork exposed was a delicacy he could not resist. Holding its body do...

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“Ailurophile” by Jane Sparrow

Submitted to Contest #187

Ailurophile "Ailurophile?" I say, raising an eyebrow. "Really? You work in a cat shelter and you don't know what an ailurophile is?” She’s got a lot of confidence for a lady whose foot fat spills over the sides of her heels, “An ailurophile is a lover of cats,” she says, swiping her hair behind her ears. That’s probably why I don't know what one is. I’m not a lover of cats so I have no reason to have ever heard of suc...

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“A Fairy, A Child, and a Cat” by Lily Graves

Submitted to Contest #187

The white tip of the cat’s tail disappeared under a bushel of cowberry. Ghillie Dhu looks up from the deer’s leg he was finishing mending. He grumbles, always the humans’ meddlesome animals disturbing his forest. Ghillie looks at the deer who’s eyes blink up at him as if to say I don’t know what you should do. Ghillie Dhu had a reputation to uphold as guardian of the Caledonian forest. Humans were meant to be afraid of him. What if it got around that he allowed a simple house cat to move about the forest as it pleases. Ghillie Dhu stood up w...

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“A Gift” by Lexi Rose

Submitted to Contest #187

I set out three weeks ago to make the journey to the Great Synagogue. This is the first time I've ever left home on my own, but the gods have called down from above for me to venture out. They came to me in a dream, and in my mother’s the very same night–a great treasure has been given to me and the people of my village, long as I claim it. I’ve almost made it, yet I feel as though I haven’t done enough to actually go in the old temple. Every boy wants to have the chance of adventure they hear of in folk tales–and I had that chance and it wa...

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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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“Purrl ” by Chelsey B

Submitted to Contest #187

One bright morning in early spring, cars honked, buses held up traffic, and bicycles whizzed down the street as the city awoke. The neighborhood dogs barked and howled, sounding the alarm that Purrl was slinking down the sidewalk on her way to the park. The usually bustling playground sat empty for now, and that was just the way Purrl liked it. Children often confused her. They were loud, and unpredictable. They could seem nice, but then turn mean without warning. A wild breeze sent a small green leaf spinning to the ground. Purrl pounced ...

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“A Stroll to the Other Side” by Matt Savarese

Submitted to Contest #187

A Stroll to the Other Side Matt Savarese “I believe cats to be spirits come to Earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through.” -Jules Verne Spirits… one I would soon become. My old flesh would not stand the test against malignant cancer, unfortunately. Not long ago my doctor informed me he did not expect me to survive the next three months. Since then I’ve elected to do the things I love regardless of how much my illness burdens me. Before my body gave way to the powers of disease I spent my days walking throug...

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“Day 1007” by Myranda Wren

Submitted to Contest #187

DAY 1007: The dog hasn't spoken to me since I accidentally lost his frisbee out the airlock. How was I supposed to know he had hidden it in the other space trash? "The cat was eyeballing it," he claimed before he shut me out altogether. I tried to plead with him, "I was just doing my job. I feed you and the cat and I keep the ship clean, which includes taking out the trash." He was unmoved. "I'm sorry," I added. "I was only allowed to bring one toy, Doug. And now, thanks to you, it's gone," he said with a flip of his tail, turni...

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“The Melting Pot” by Ginger Edin

Submitted to Contest #187

I woke up outside of my car with the feeling that something was licking my face. I struggled to open my eyes, to move. My body didn’t feel like my own anymore. Signals from my brain weren’t having any impact. ‘Stop licking my face! Your breath really stinks!’ I thought. Whatever it was, it was sitting right on my chest, very persistently licking my mouth. It took all my effort, but I managed to open my eyes. The licking stopped. I was staring at an enormous black cat with golden eyes. Where’s the deer? It all happened so fast. O...

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“Harold and Maude” by Patricia Merewether

Submitted to Contest #187

Harold and Maude I have to tell you how angry and disappointed I am. My dinner was so late that it was dark outside when they returned. They told me they were going out to get me a surprise, so I let the late dinner slide. But then they came home with my surprise, and I just wanted to jump up on that knick-knack shelf and knock every smashy thing onto the floor! The female scratched my head and said, "Harold, this is Maude! You have a new friend!" Another cat! Seriously? Why would they think that was a good idea? Don't they know by now tha...

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“Two mice please!” by Marija Rozman

Submitted to Contest #187

This story is based on mythology of Galinthias, some detailes are true, some are added. I was mortal once, they said I betrayed Gods but I was only trying to help my friend. They would let her suffer, ah, my dear Alkmene, continuous birth pangs put on her by Moirai and Eileithyia almost killed me watching it. I was her servant, but actually, we were best friends. When Heraklo was born, I felt like he was a nephew to me, I wanted to hold him, but I couldn't. Moirai was mad, he was furious that I stopped their spells and, together with Eil...

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“The Upright Cub” by Michele Hinton

Submitted to Contest #187

The Upright CubBy Michele L. HintonHigh on a ridge of the Smoky Mountains lounged a mated pair of cougars relaxing after satisfying their appetites on a deer. Myr, the female, Ska, the male, as roughly translated in cougar speak, licked their claws.“How was your meal, Ska?”“Delicious! That deer was just right. Very tender. You made an excellent choice from your hunt.” Ska leaned closer to her and gave her lick on the mouth.“What was that for?”“There was a small piece of meat left on your whiskers you missed. Waste not want not, my mother alw...

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“Good Cheese” by Anonymous .

Submitted to Contest #187

Hi, my name is Cheese. Well, that’s what my human seems to think anyway. She also seems to believe I am a male. Oh cheese, is she gonna be surprised to know how many kittens I’m carrying right now. I’m a hard working mother, to both my future kittens and my human, as she has been oblivious lately. Oblivious, did I use that right? English is my ninth language. Anyway, speaking of her, for the past five minutes I have been trying to notify her that I am currently stuck under her bed. I have been struggling to squeeze through so I decided...

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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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