#Cat #IntFic #CYOA
You stretch and slowly open your eyes, curled up against a window. You are surrounded by people. Other cats and dogs wander around freely, while some are kept in cages. Many humans interact with them, and some of them are even lucky enough to leave. You want to be one of them.
A family walks by. A mother, father, and a little girl tapping a stick along the ground as she walks. They don't even seem to notice you're there.
Meow. Loudly.
24.3%
Sneak up on one of them and trip them.
10.8%
Try to capture the moving stick.
35.1%
Go back to sleep in the sunshine.
29.7%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #Cyoa #IntFic
You jump down from the window and run to capture the stick. You manage to trap the tip of it in your mouth. The girl looks confused and tries to shake it, but you hold on tight. The mother and father blink and stop walking. They look at you, but the little girl doesn't. It's as if the girl has no idea you're there. She tries to pull the stick towards her and down towards the ground, but you hold fast.
Let go of the stick.
15%
Start running with it.
35%
Jump into the air.
5%
Curl up and don't let go.
45%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
Keeping the stick in your mouth you curl up at the little girl's feet. Mother and father go still, staring down at you. A few moments later they start laughing. Father takes the girl's stick and gently tries to pry it from your iron jaws.
Run with the stick.
33.3%
Drop the stick and run.
13.3%
Play with him.
53.3%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
As father tries to pry the stick from your jaws, you watch him closely. Anticipating his moves you hop into the air, startling him. You land on your paws as the stick comes down in turn, and go from simply not allowing him to take the stick to jumping with it when he tries to pull it away.
Finally getting bored you let him take the stick back. He hands it back to his daughter before explaining what happened. Now knowing you're there, she reaches out a hand towards you.
Rub against her leg.
40%
Jump into her arms.
15%
Attack her laces.
25%
Watch her and see what she does.
20%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
Purring, you paw your way closer to the little girl, rubbing against her leg as she kneels down to pet you. The parents talk among themselves, and then to their daughter as she strokes your fur.
It suddenly hits you that they're talking about taking you home!
Run around in celebratory circles.
44.4%
Wander towards the pet food section.
0%
Groom yourself disinterestedly.
11.1%
Keep rubbing against the little girl's leg.
44.4%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
You rub up against the little girl's leg for another few moments before getting bored. Deciding to celebrate the best way you know how, you start to run around in circles. Mother and father let you for a few minutes before mother picks you up. Soon, you're out of the shop and being placed in a little pet carrier in the car.
Meow. Loudly.
57.1%
Try to claw your way out.
14.3%
Sleep.
14.3%
Tip the box over.
14.3%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
You deserve better than to be trapped in this tiny box. Determined to get your new humans to let you out, you let out a long, loud meow.
It doesn't work, so you try again. And again.
The battle of wills between feline and human finally seems to shift when you notice the little girl's hand moving out of the corner of your eye. She's brushing her fingers over the holes in the crate, as if she's trying to find you.
Nuzzle her hand.
66.7%
Continue meowing.
0%
Tip the crate over.
16.7%
Poke the door with a paw.
16.7%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
Thinking you might be able to get the little girl to open the crate you're stuck in, you let her fingers find your head. You press against the side of the crate and purr, and you do have to admit the little girl gives decent scritches. This continues on for some time, but you're no closer to getting out of your prison.
Continue nuzzling her hand.
36.4%
Paw at her hand.
63.6%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
As nice as the scritches are, your feline mind has other priorities. First among them is getting out of your crate. You step away from the side of the crate and roll onto your back, pawing at the girl's hand through the crate. She just leaves it there, confused by your behavior. You feel the car turn and slow. Maybe you're close to home?
Continue pawing at her.
0%
Wait and see.
12.5%
Meow. Loudly.
62.5%
Take drastic measures.
25%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
You lift your head, leaving your paw pressed against the side of the crate. Mustering up all your annoyance you let out a long, low meow. The car hits a fairly noticeable bump as it slows, then stops. Mother picks up your crate and carries you into the house, then sets it down. Much to your joy the latch is pulled, and you have an easy exit.
Sit up and stare outside.
25%
Slowly exit the crate.
25%
Dash out of the crate.
35%
Tip the crate over.
15%
Poll ended at .
#Caturday #Cat #CYOA #IntFic
Not wanting to remain in here for another second, you dash out of the crate and onto the carpet of your new home. The family sits on the couch, watching you. You spy the door to the kitchen propped open, there are stairs nearby leading upwards, and there's a cat tower in the corner by the window.
Climb the cat tower.
60%
Run into the kitchen.
10%
Run upstairs.
0%
Jump on the coffee table.
30%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
If there's one thing you know instinctively is that he who has height has power. Resolved to claim what is essentially a throne for cats you make a running leap, landing on the third and highest level of your tower. The material underfoot is much softer than you were expecting. You could nap here if you wanted to. There's also the window to examine, or you could look for some way to assert your dominance.
Take a nap.
57.1%
Stare out the window.
14.3%
Survey the room further.
14.3%
Perform a stunt.
14.3%
Poll ended at .
#Caturday #Cat #CYOA #IntFic
You let out a yawn, stretch, pat the floor of your domaine with your paws and close your eyes.
When you wake up, it's dark and very very quiet, save for a strange buzzing sound. It seems to be moving about the room. You've heard it before in the pet store you were kept at, but you were never able to do anything about it then.
Go back to sleep.
3.6%
Track down the noise.
50%
Explore the house.
10.7%
Commence 2:00 AM meowing.
35.7%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
This domaine is yours to protect and take advantage of as you like. You will not allow such nuisances. Your tail swishing you leap off your tower and land on the coffee table. Following your ears, you easily track the sound into the kitchen. it's an insect. Buzzing without a care in the world, it either doesn't notice or care that you're there. But it will...
Knock something over.
8.3%
Try to trap the fly.
16.7%
Attack the fly.
66.7%
Toy with the fly.
8.3%
Poll ended at .
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
You're going to end this, now. You leap towards the fly, claws extended... and miss. It manages to get out of your way and now circles you from higher ground. Looking around you spot a nearby chair and hop onto it. Leaping at the fly again it just ascends out of reach. You leap onto the counter and try again. The fly now circles the light fixture.
Look for higher ground.
40%
Play tired.
20%
Give up.
10%
Meow. Loudly.
30%
Poll ended at .
You've come too far to give up now. Tapping into your dormant hunting instincts, you leap from the floor to the counter, and then onto the top of the fridge. You watch and wait for the moment, then when the fly strays a little too close, you jump. It tries to escape but a quick swipe as gravity exerts its influence over you catches the fly in your grasp. As you land on the ground you let out a victory meow, your enemy vanquished.
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic #Writing #Story
Begin 2:00 AM meowing.
37.5%
Gift the fly to family.
37.5%
Sleep.
6.3%
Scout the house further.
18.8%
Poll ended at .
Holding onto your prize, you wander the house until you find the master bedroom. Fortunately for you, the door is open. Entering, you make your way to the bed and hop up, perching at your humans feet. Lifting your head and dropping your gift on the bed, you let out a prideful meow. Mother stirs and looks down, then gasps. She tries to play it off but you can tell your gift didn't go over as you'd hoped.
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic #Writing #Story
Return to your tower.
0%
Curl up on the bed.
50%
Explore the house.
0%
Continue your hunt.
50%
Poll ended at .
You have only just begun to ensure your domain is rid of threats and little annoyances. Leaving your gift on the bed you hop off and dart out the door. On the upstairs floor there are several rooms for you to choose from, most of which have open doors and some of which you think you can open yourself. You decide to check out...
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic #Story #Writing
Bathroom
25%
Little girl's room.
50%
Laundry room.
0%
Go to the basement.
25%
Poll ended at .
Creeping your way down the hall, you notice the little girl's bedroom door is propped open just a little. You stick your head into the crack and carefully nudge the door open with your paw. You enter a moderately sized room, the girl asleep on her bed. Above it dangles a chain you think you could pull on. Entering the room, you notice a little spring sticking out from behind the door.
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic #Writing #Story #Caturday
Attack the spring.
31.8%
Attack the chain.
22.7%
Curl up with the girl.
45.5%
Head to another room.
0%
Poll ended at .
Feeling like you've accomplished enough for now, you carefully move forward and hop onto the bed. Shifting and fussing, you eventually come to a cozy resting position, curled up on your side, your head against the girl's leg. You drift off to sleep.
Opening your eyes, it's bright. You smell food. The little girl is gone. You make your way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where you see a bowl of cat food in the corner. The humans are having breakfast.
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic
Eat your own food.
40%
Tip your bowl over.
10%
Try and steal human food.
40%
Demand better food.
10%
Poll ended at .
You sniff your food. It smells... tolerable, but you deserve better. You sit patiently in waiting by your dish, the family seemingly paying you no mind as they talk. You slowly get up and slowly inch closer. You're about halfway to the table before a piece of chicken falls off the girl's fork.
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic #Story #Writing
Make a run for it.
14.3%
Play it cool.
57.1%
Don't move and see what happens.
21.4%
Go for the main course.
7.1%
Poll ended at .
You don't want to seem too obvious. You just hope you can make it before the food is snatched away. Casually, you walk across the tile floor, the family either not noticing, or not reacting to, the dropped chicken. They continue to eat and talk. You finally reach your target and nibble quietly on it. Very, very satisfying, but you're far from full..
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic #Story #Writing
Go eat your own food.
12.5%
Try to take some food from the girl.
0%
Wait to see if any more food falls.
37.5%
Demand better food. Loudly.
50%
Poll ended at .
You're the ruler of this domain, even if the humans don't realize it yet. It is time for you to start exercising that power. You sit down next to the girl and look up at the table, letting out a long meow. Mother looks at you before getting up from the table. She speaks to you, though you don't understand human. The next thing you know she's picking you up and petting you as she carries you towards your food dish.
#Cat #CYOA #IntFic #Writing #Story
Continue demanding food.
25%
Cuddle up in mother's arms.
37.5%
Try to jump away.
0%
Play along... for now.
37.5%
Poll ended at .
@JesseF8693 Pull the chain! Do it! Pull the chain and watch the pretty laser beams come down from the sky!
@JesseF8693 Roomba?
@Calicokittycat Nah. Not at 2:00 AM at least.
@JesseF8693 Bug! Pounce!
@Calicokittycat Meow! Stick around for the fun. I'll post a continuation for the story later.
@JesseF8693 I think I'll take a nap here.
@JesseF8693 I love this :)
@ambergrey Thanks! I try to run it daily but with headaches and the like, plus college, I don't always succeed. But it's just a thing to bring a little cuteness and a smile to someone's day. Feel free to follow along! I use those hashtags every time. As do, I believe, some other folks.
@JesseF8693 Interesting; it’s totally psychological for me that I really don’t like interactive fiction games, but in this medium, it totally works for me.
@Pipistrelle Psychological in what sense? I'm kinda curious now.
@JesseF8693 Well, my first game on iOS was Papa Sangre, so it was a very rich soundscape. I got used to playing multimedia games, and when I tried text-based ones, they didn’t do it for me at all. I basically said to myself, “Throw this thing down and read a book.” But here, I’m just reading text anyway, so I don’t mind the interactive fiction bit.
@Pipistrelle Ah, got you. Yeah, I could see that.
I don't really game at all these days though. The "blind friendly" games just don't do it for me in the slightest.
@JesseF8693 I love arcade and adventure games, so yes, I do get into those from time to time.
@Pipistrelle The problem I have is that it feels like a lot of games that are made for us, as a community, seem to be simpler in play and design. I have no issues with folks who like that kind of thing but I don't enjoy playing games that feel like they were made for younger folks. I want something deep I can sink my teeth into, and that's just not something we see too often.
@JesseF8693 I understand that argument. I’m not looking for anything intricate in games in general. I save my deep thinking for books. Games are my way of blowing off steam. Kill zombies, etc. LOL
@Pipistrelle I should read more but the only options I'm aware of are Bookshare, which I don't enjoy as I don't like books read by a screen reader. Which is weird considering I use one *all the time...* but whatever. CNIB which doesn't have a very large collection, and Audible, which... yeah, I'm not paying $15/month or whatever it is for one book.
@JesseF8693 Kindle is very accessible nowadays. I’m hearing-impaired, so I mostly use Braille when reading. But I also use iOS speech to read Kindle books when I’m puttering around the house.
@Pipistrelle Is it? When I tried it a couple months ago I was basically stuck on one page of a book and didn't have the ability to do anything. Forced me to buy a book twice, because I had to get it the second time through Apple Books, as I needed it for a college course. Still niffed about that.
@JesseF8693 three-finger swipe left and right to change pages. Two-finger swipe down to read continuously. It has its own keystrokes and gestures, and is most accessible on iOS.
@Pipistrelle I tried that at the time. One of the issues I had was voiceover would just... stop speaking in the middle of a sentence, presumably when it tried to go onto the next page, then it would start up again after a few seconds. That really annoyed me and killed the flow.
I think the other issue was because everything was one element, I couldn't skip past things I didn't need to read, like blocks of links and sources throughout the text that took a while to read.