The Goodbye Cat

By: Hiro Arikawa, Philip Gabriel - translator

Narrated by: George Blagden

In this delightful and touching follow-up to the internationally bestselling Travelling Cat Chronicles, seven felines teach their humans about love, loss, and the art of facing the inevitable—the perfect gift for every cat lover.

Already a bestseller in Japan, The Goodbye Cat is a collection of simple yet charming, funny, and often very moving tales (tails?) woven by seven wise felines and their humans.

Against the backdrop of Japan's changing seasons, 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 holiday island who show a young boy not to stand in nature’s way; a cat whose undying devotion to their charismatic but uncaring father enriches a family; and an elderly cat who 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 for ever.

Bursting with love and warmth, The Goodbye Cat exquisitely explores the cycle of life and how, in different ways, the steadiness and devotion of a well-loved cat never lets us down. 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