PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson
Shelter
I remember my siblings and I chasing each other down wet alleys and hiding behind trash bins. We ate gritty mice and scraps of garbage – until the day we smelled something delicious in a box. We hunted it like lions. I, being boldest, pounced first. With the first bite came a metallic trap-door snap.
In the place with many boxes, sometimes I even dreamed of Mama and her warm fur.
I live in another world now. Their memories fade as new ones take their place. I chase sunbeams on the carpet and play hide and seek with my humans.
[100 words]
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields is the insightful host of Friday Fictioneers.
Tao Talk 
Playing hide and seek fits the image context so correctly!
Poor cat separated from its family. Missing mother’s warm fur.
But, now has a shelter, a home of humans…
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Thanks for reading and your comment, Anita.
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Wow, what a compelling narrative, from a cat’s voice of course! I love it. ❤
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Thank you, Lamittan, glad you enjoyed the story.
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Sure I did. You’re most welcome, Msjadeli.
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A happy ending of sorts. Nice one.
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Thank you, Iain.
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Awww. I love this, Lisa. Each world has their pluses and minuses… Hopefully she is happy.
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I wrote this with your kitten in mind. I have no idea if she was a stray or not, but I know she is in a happy place now ❤
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Sweet. No, she is not a stray. She is from my son’s friend’s litter. She is definitely taken care of 😉 xoxo
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Awwwww 🙂 I’m always amazed where cats can maneuver into places without knocking anything over. How she got in there behind the books is one example. My smaller cat, Dotty, has gotten into my china cabinet that has a missing pane of glass in it (long story) and walks among the knick knacks without ever knocking any over.
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She’s all over the place. Our two former cats never did what she does! She goes where she’s not supposed to, as well 😏 They amaze me how they do that (not knock anything over… when they are careful. Other times, not so much!)
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A terrible trade-off. I guess the cat is happy. But ….
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I’m sure she still dreams of gritty mice crunches from time to time… Thanks for reading and your comment, Neil 🙂
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A terrible trade-off. I guess the cat is happy. But …
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Aaah, turned out nice for the cat this time, lucky her or him. Good stuff
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Shrawl, you’re right, for this kitty it turned out well. I fear for his Mama and siblings, still scrabbling…
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My Dog was rescued from Cyprus at a few months old, black dogs are considered bad luck and he was hours from the chop I believe
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Oh I’m so glad you rescued him from certain death. They say the same about black cats in the US. Interestingly a lot of people make it their mission to adopt black cats from shelters because of it. The most plentiful color of cat stuck in shelters is orange.
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Orange? Like ginger?
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Yes
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Plus he still doesn’t understand what I’m saying!!
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🙂
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Nice story and cute picture. Many years ago, we took in and domesticated five feral kittens that had settled on our property. Their parents had been caught by animal control, and we felt terrible for the little ones. Today, two are left.
Two black males disappeared one day and never returned. I hope it was because they missed chasing gritty mice, though I’m afraid that’s not the reason. A third cat (a male) died two years ago, likely after having eating something poisonous. The two that are left are girls. They are senior citizens by now! 🙂
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You and your wife are kind to have taken the feral kittens in. They wouldn’t have made it without your care. All of my life cats have wandered in from here and there. The two I have now came from the shelter I volunteered at after retirement. Covid put the kibosh on that though when the other volunteers refused to wear masks and the shelter refused to put mask mandate in place.
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My wife loves animals. She grew up with all kinds of pets. At some point, our house was a mini-circus. We had five cats, two bunnies and two dogs. Not to mention my wife’s fish tank!
I’ve quickly gotten attached to all of our pets, but I will also admit they can make a lot of mess!
In addition to the two remaining cats, we also have a silkie lady. And my wife still has some fish. While the cats and the dog are fun, the fish definitely are not my thing!
That’s really nice of you to take in the cats from the shelter. The Covid situation at the place is very unfortunate!
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Pets can bring a place to life for sure. What is a silkie? I first started having fish when I met my now-ex back in 2006. He took care of them at first and taught me how. After awhile I became their caretakers. There is a lot of work and expense with fish tanks. I only have two fish left. Because we have power outages here I hesitate to get more but I don’t like having 2 fish and the one tank. They look lonely in there.
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A Silky is a type of terrier. It’s basically a slightly bigger version of a Yorkie! 🙂
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Sounds like a lovable little critter 🙂
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Aww, I hope the cast has a happier life. Lovely story.
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Sadje, I think she will have a good life. Thank you.
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You’re welcome
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So beautiful photography, so cute cat 🌷🙏🌷
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Thank you, Thattamma 🙂
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Cats love enclosed spaces. Better the carpet than the street I think. (K)
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I think so too, Kerfe. My two are happy being off of the street.
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Ah, a happy ending for the cat. I’ve given up feeling guilty for trading their freedom for comfort and safety. Our cats only went in the garden on long leashes and they all were happy.
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I was fearing the worst here, but it was lovely happy ending. Having just taken possession of a very affectionate rescue cat, it struck a chord with me.
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Sandra very awesome to know.
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My cats are rescues and I hope have a very happy life. They were on the street… Our dog, Idina, though is the one who had a very traumatic puppyhood out on the streets
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Bless you and your wife’s hearts for rescuing your critters. I’m sorry Idina went through a traumatic puppyhood.
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From the streets to a home. The poor little cat will miss their mother and siblings though.
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It’s one of those mixed blessings…
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I was so relieved when it ended on a happy note!
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Me too!
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glad how it turned out in the end. nice story. 🙂
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Thank you, Plaridel.
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you’re welcome.
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Sounds like she has found a good home.
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Cats and readers go well together 🙂
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A great story Lisa. Love the cute kitty cat!
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Thanks, Dwight!
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Nice story Lisa… if that cat is hiding from millennials…they will never find it behind books… that was mean wasn’t it?
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LMAO truth!
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I like the ‘place with many boxes’. Cute story – lucky cat.
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Thank you, Margaret.
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Dear Lisa,
Ah what a sweet story. I hope her life is a good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle, thank you, I do also ❤
Shalom,
Lisa
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You had me a little worried with that ‘another world’ comment. Good one, Lisa.
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Bill, I’m glad the new world she went to was a loving place for her. Thank you.
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A plauseble story from a different prospective that kept me enthralled with every word, Lisa. Genious write … loved it!!! Have a good weekend … Isadora 😎
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Thank you for reading and your kind comment, Isadora. You have a good weekend also ❤
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Breeding dogs, I wonder how they feel about being taken from their families and everything they’ve ever known. As jarring as it may be, they seem to adapt well. For Thing, after two months, she went from being overprotective to a playmate to thinking of them as a nuisance for getting the attention she felt was rightfully hers. They seem to bond with people more than with other dogs. I think the cat in your story is better off if the home is a loving one.
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So sensitively written, from the cat’s point of view. For some reason the sunbeams on the carpet really got to me. Loved it.
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Thank you, Jilly 🙂
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Awwww…. Me taking in my (at first very reluctant) rescues, but now you can tell this is their home. They sometimes get outside but they always come back for food and snuggles. ❤ So much fond memories. Home is home!
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Glad to bring back fond memories for you, Anne.
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Awwwww it sounds like she’s found a better and safer forever home
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❤ Yes ❤
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Gritty mice to sunbeams on a carpet. It sounds like a typical cat world to me. -Michael
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So it is 🙂
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Aw. I’m so glad it wasn’t a death trap! And it seems it was a happy ending.
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Me too, Linda. Thank you 🙂
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At first I thought she’d gotten trapped in a mouse trap or something horrible and then realized that she found a lovely warm home. So nice!
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Sascha, I’m glad she was trapped by kindly rescuers, taken to the vet, cleaned up, immunized, spayed, and found her forever home. Thank you for your lovely comment.
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