She needed a cat

A Story by Boogabaah

A story about one woman's need for a cat in less than 500 words.

She tried to come up with an idea for a story but nothing was there. Her mind was blank. The deadline drew near and all she could think about was a kitten, maybe if she didn’t stay up late watching cat videos all night she’d be able to think this morning.

Coffee wasn’t doing the trick. She just wanted to watch cat videos because she didn’t have a cat or any pets and so desperately wanted one. If she had a cat she could focus and write a story and her editor wouldn’t be mad, her publisher wouldn’t drop her and she wouldn’t be evicted from her apartment because she’d have money to pay the bills.

Logically she needed a cat. She checked the local shelter’s website. Free cats all weekend! She had to get her hands on a free cat. She put on her coat and called for a ride to take her downtown to the shelter. All the cats looked so sad. She wanted to take them all home with her. They were free so why not? She stuffed a floppy ragdoll cat into her large coat pocket and two tabbies into her backpack when the staff wasn’t looking and walked out the door.

Her pace quickened as she escaped with her new friends. The bus pulled up to the stop just as she got there. She didn’t know where it was going but she needed to get away from the shelter before she was caught. One of the tabbies began to meow loudly several blocks away.

“Hey, lady! You can’t be on my bus with all those animals unsecured!” The bus driver hollered back to her as he pulled the bus over to the curb to let her off.

Sweat poured down her back as she exited the bus and headed south on the street. She’d need to call for a ride quickly as possible. Once home she let the cats free in her apartment. The brown tabby instantly barfed on the rug. The ragdoll cat tried to eat the barf as the grey tabby tried to claw it’s way out through the window screen. She panicked and slammed the window closed scaring all three cats into hiding places. The ragdoll was under the bed, the brown tabby hid in the closet, and the grey tabby disappeared totally.

She opened a can of tuna hoping to draw them out. It didn’t work. Figuring the cats were safe inside her apartment, she left to go buy cat food, litter, and toys. Upon returning, the apartment looked like a war zone. Two of the cushion from the couch were shredded and everywhere. The roll of toilet paper was in tiny pieces and all over the bathroom floor. There was another cat poop, this time on the kitchen counter. The can of tuna was empty but looked like it was all over the floor before it was eaten. The place smelled like fish. Maybe this was not a good idea.