The Goodbye Cat

By: Hiro Arikawa, Philip Gabriel - translator

Narrated by: George Blagden

In the much-anticipated follow-up to the bestselling and beloved The Travelling Cat Chronicles, seven cats weave their way through their owners’ lives, climbing, comforting, nestling, and sometimes just tripping everyone up in this uplifting collection of tales by international bestselling author Hiro Arikawa.

Against the backdrop of changing seasons in Japan, we meet Spin, a kitten rescued from the recycling bin, whose playful nature and simple needs teach an anxious father how to parent his own human baby; a colony of wild cats on a popular holiday island show a young boy not to stand in nature’s way; a family is perplexed by their cat’s undying devotion to their charismatic but uncaring father; a woman curses how her cat will not stop visiting her at night; and an elderly cat hatches a plan to pass into the next world as a spirit so that he and his owner may be in each other’s lives forever.

Bursting with love and warmth, The Goodbye Cat exquisitely explores the cycle of life, from birth to death—as each of the seven stories explores how, in different ways, the steadiness and devotion of a well-loved cat never lets us down. A huge bestseller in Japan, this magical book is a joyous celebration of the wondrousness of cats and why we choose to share our lives with them.

Critic reviews

"All manner of cats and their chosen humans—and the otherworldly bonds between them—are tearfully and joyously spotlighted in The Goodbye Cat...More than her human protagonists, her furry characters exude distinct, memorable, impossible-to-ignore personalities. From one tale to the next, tissues might get soggy and eyes puffy, but the hope that there will be more stories will surely lift readers’ hearts."
—Christian Science Monitor

Excellent Storytelling

Being a cat person, I absolutely loved this book! The stories were artfully executed and entwined, the narrative was compelling, and each story was interesting.
The wry commentary from the cats was right on target! So amusing!
This is the first book I have read from this author, and definitely not the last! I look forward to his other novels so much!
Recommended 100%!!!!

Great story for cat lovers

this writer is excellent at telling stories from a cat's view. Beautiful stories of love between a human and their pet.

beautiful

beautiful stories with beautiful narration! However I'd recommend listening to The Travelling Cat Chronicles first as a couple of stories connect directly to it in a side story kind of way.
Still extremely good by itself though!!

Not my favorite

The stories began great from the cat’s point of view, but then lost its way.