How to Train a Cyber Cat

By: LM Fontanes

I trained my cyber cat to purr upon touch and now, even when I simply stretch my fingers outward, it starts to rumble. I trained my cyber cat to rub its feline replica face against my suited leg as soon as I emerge from the lunar lander and meow if I spend more than five minutes scrolling through old vids of me and Charlie. I trained my cyber cat to replicate my darling Charlie in most of the obvious ways, but I couldn’t train my own heart to forget that beloved whiskered creature on the sheltering planet I left behind.

© 2025. LM Fontanes

LM Fontanes comes from a family of educators and first responders in working class Philadelphia. Words in/upcoming: Roi Fainéant, Frazzled Lit, Silly Goose Press, JAKE, 34 Orchard, Flash Fiction Festival Anthology, The Willowherb Review, and other venues.

P.S. If you enjoyed this, share it with an awesome friend. If a friend shared it with you, subscribe here!