Set your story in a cat shelter.

Posted in Fiction on Feb 24, 2023

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✍️ 24 stories

“Mitzee’s Moment” by Michelle Oliver

🏆 Winner of Contest #187

Mitzee was in prison for a crime he did not commit.Well, OK, he probably had committed it once or twice. Who knew? Who kept count? But he was very sure that he had been incarcerated now because of something he didn’t do. He glared through the prison bars, plotting. He was Houdini, Al Capone, and Einstein rolled into one. There was nothing he couldn’t do… except break out of this prison, apparently.If looks could kill, there would be no one left alive in this joint. If he could get out, he’d make each and every one of them sorry they wer...

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“The Green Mile” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #187

The Green Mile“Yet ah! Why should they know their Fate? Since Sorrow never comes too late, And Happiness too swiftly flies. Thought would destroy their Paradise. No more; where Ignorance is Bliss, ‘Tis Folly to be Wise."-Thomas Grey“We have a pretty good record for adoptions. Most will find homes.”“And for those who aren’t adopted, how long before you…”“Oh, excuse me, sir, we don’t like to talk about those things in front of our clients.”“I understand.”“But this one is a real cutie. I’m ...

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“Skip the Life Fantastic” by Stevie Burges

Submitted to Contest #187

Skip the Life FantasticMy friend Sheila asked me if she could write my life story and post it on the Reception’s notice board. She thinks it’s a beautiful story and should be shared with potential adoptees or foster parents to know how life was before I was rescued and brought to the Shelter. Sheila apologises for any inconsistencies that may have occurred in the translation between my feline communication and Sheila’s human language.My life started on the damp streets; they always felt wet, even on a dry day. I’m honestly not...

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“Cats and Pigs” by Mad Bennett

Submitted to Contest #187

The worst part about working for the city is that I know exactly where taxpayer money is going. Ticketing Doordashers while they’re inside a chain Chinese place waiting for the egg rolls some college student ordered to come up. Following 20-somethings into a garage at night to let them know they’ve got a running light out. Asking drifters if they’re planning on sleeping under the bridge again or if they’ve scrounged up $1,200 for an apartment deposit since last night. It turns you into your dad in the most insidious way. That’s all I’...

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“Another Pretender” by Nathaniel Miller

Submitted to Contest #187

The finally finished Dartmouth application loomed as imminent as Satty imagined the buildings would in person. Pansy, her collectively-agreed-to-be-perfect mother, stood behind her, equally as nervous.“Go on, hun. I know you’ve done your best. You know it, too. This is what you want, you’ve worked for this, your father works there. There’s a million reasons you’ll make it. Also, your essays were killer.”“Takes one to know one.”Snickers broke the pungent silence that had fallen. The Fate of Aunt Rita’s Cat: an often-repeated story, one Satty ...

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“Dead! Who Me?” by Mark Gagnon

Submitted to Contest #187

The moon was full but shrouded in a halo of clouds. If the stars were out tonight, they must have found some other part of the universe to twinkle in because there were none to be found in my sky. A stiff wind added to what was already turning into a night to forget. The only welcoming light emanated from a hangout my friends and I call The Shelter. It was time to pop in and pay a visit.I headed down the street, carefully avoiding the random circles of light given off by the streetlamps that were still working. My hearing snapped to full att...

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“Chester” by Nona Yobis

Submitted to Contest #187

The soft trill of the bell above the door echoes through the shelter, and my whole body stiffens. It’s 10:00AM on a Wednesday, which means that Mrs. Melbourne is here for her routine visit. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I can be sure of her melodramatic presence, with her cloud of emotional theatrics trailing behind her. It’s not that she is a particularly bad person, or that she is cruel to the cats under my care here at my rescue, Feline Feelin’ Fine. But it is difficult to entertain any other adoptions while she carries on in ...

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“Hannah Finds a New Home” by Wendy Lathrop

Submitted to Contest #187

An early morning sunbeam shone across the grass, making the dew sparkle like tiny round rainbows. Hannah opened her golden-green kitty eyes slowly and stretched her silky gray front legs out in front of her, yawning wide. Then she noticed she was alone. “Mama! Where are you?” she called, looking quickly from side to side as she struggled to get her sleepy legs to stand. Last night Hannah had been playing in the meadow with her two brothers, chasing lightning bugs while Mama Cat watched the sun set. Hannah had tired and found a soft...

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“The Old Man’s Family” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #187

Owen pulled himself up from the overturned truck. His passenger door was face up to the sky and fell closed the moment he was clear of it. He slid down the roof side of the truck into the snow. There was a long gash in his right leg that hurt bad. Why did the old man put up such a fight? From the way the truck had hit the ditch and rolled into the tree and landed on the driver’s side, he knew the old man was dead for sure. Why did he fight? When you have a knife people are supposed to listen to you. Owen could se...

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“They Call Me "TC"” by Valerie Shand

Submitted to Contest #187

They call me “TC" Now, I'm sure you've guessed already, but “TC” stands for “That Cat.” I'm also sometimes called “TDC,” meaning “That Darn Cat,” but only when I've gotten in someone's way or been a bad boy, which I try not to do too often. ` I'm now almost six years old. I've lived at the animal shelter for almost my entire life because I was only about six weeks old – vet's best estimate – when I was rescued. I was found with my siblings, drowning, in a sealed-up garbage bag. There were six of us, but two died. The story goes we we...

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“Shelter from the Storm” by Sarah Paris

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #187

This place smells of cat pee and desperation, yet for the first time in so long, I am hopeful. I feel like I might save a life today. I sigh and scan the room. I spot her right away. She’s hunched and trembling. Alone, in the corner by the cage of buoyant, adorable kittens. Stooped and scarred, gray all over, her body shakes. I can smell her fear – tangled, yet screaming from every pore. I wonder what storms brought her here? Who abused her and discarded her? She notices me too. She’s older than the rest. The flicker of hope in t...

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“Special Pets” by Kayla Marie

Submitted to Contest #187

Every day, people walk into my cat shelter. Most of them visit in hopes of finding a furry companion to adopt and take home. Others show up asking to volunteer so they can spend time with the adorable little furballs. These people adore my cats so much that they never want to leave. and some of them never will. Every now and then a woman who I find absolutely fascinating walks in. Whether it’s because of her hair, her eyes, or the way she walks and talks. There is something about her that draws me in, and I refuse to let her leave. It’...

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“The Magnificent Maron Maloney - Part 4/4” by Russell Mickler

Submitted to Contest #187

Maron Makes his Escape. Battle at the Swindle. Breakfast. Rounding from the back, Maron tightened a rope and secured it to an anchor in the wagon. Huddled in Taika Maru’s cage, Elina Hogsbreath cradled Benzie’s limp, unconscious body and contemptuously glared at Maron. “You should get used to that cat shelter,” Maron smiled slyly, lifting a trunk from the ground and sliding it onto the wagon. Resting against it, he gestured to the inn. “Think of it as your home away from home.” Elina scowled, “This ain’t over, scoundrel.” “Scoundrel,” Pip re...

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“Soaked in Betrayal” by LEVI WOOD

Submitted to Contest #187

“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.”(William Blake)Click!Miles stirred and looked up as a guard tapped a little silver key across the bars. As much as he wished he’d been asleep, he hadn’t. He had another night of pacing in his cell until he became so weary that he collapsed onto the floor. He spent most of his time like that. Neither asleep nor awake, just drifting. Nothing to do, nothing to say.The others didn’t have that struggle. They yelped and screamed whenever someone walked by. When there was nobody else ...

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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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Ended on 23:59 - Mar 03, 2023 EST

Won by Michelle Oliver 🏆

Title: Mitzee’s Moment

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Set your story in a cat shelter.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 24 stories

“Mitzee’s Moment” by Michelle Oliver

“The Green Mile” by Murray Burns

“Skip the Life Fantastic” by Stevie Burges

“Cats and Pigs” by Mad Bennett

“Another Pretender” by Nathaniel Miller

“Dead! Who Me?” by Mark Gagnon

“Chester” by Nona Yobis

“Hannah Finds a New Home” by Wendy Lathrop

“The Old Man’s Family” by David B Fraser

“They Call Me "TC"” by Valerie Shand

“Shelter from the Storm” by Sarah Paris

“Special Pets” by Kayla Marie

“The Magnificent Maron Maloney - Part 4/4” by Russell Mickler

“Soaked in Betrayal” by LEVI WOOD

“Ailurophile” by Jane Sparrow

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character being led somewhere by a stray cat.

Write a story from the point of view of a big cat — whether that’s a lion, cheetah, etc., or just a chunky pet.

Write about a cat living in an ancient temple, like the Acropolis.

Write about a human and a cat that come to some kind of mutual understanding.

Contest #187

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

323

Contest entries

117

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: