Mornings With My Cat Mii
Mayumi Inaba author Ginny Tapley Takemori translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Publishing:2nd Oct '25
£10.99
This title is due to be published on 2nd October, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£12.99(9781787304413)

The perfect gift for cat lovers, now in paperback: a beloved Japanese modern classic about our special connection with cats, and how they can change our lives over the course of a lifetime
‘Heartwarming...a beautiful read for cat lovers everywhere’ My Weekly
'A great love story... reveals the profound respect, and compassion, that a friendship with an animal can inspire in a human being' Sigrid Nunez, New Yorker
It was the end of summer, 1977. I found a cat, a little ball of fluff. A teeny tiny baby kitten.
The Japanese poet Mayumi Inaba first encountered her adorable cat Mii when she rescued her as a kitten from a riverbank in Tokyo. Mornings With My Cat Mii is the story of their cherished life together. We follow their everyday joys through the seasons, as Mayumi develops her career as a writer and finds her feet in life, with her small feline always at her side.
Mayumi lovingly chronicles their unshakeable bond, meditating on companionship, how we care for our cats as they grow older and how they care for us in return. This beloved modern classic is a celebration of our special connection with cats, and how a cat can change our lives forever.
‘Beautiful… Inaba is writing about love, the sort of love one could equally have for a human companion’ Nicky Harman, Books on Asia
Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
**Readers ADORE Mii**
‘A lovely little gem’
‘Gentle and enchanting and had me in floods by the end’
‘Absolutely beautiful'
‘Sweet and heartbreaking’
‘This book was just so pure and beautiful’
‘Told with grace, beauty and love’
[A] gentle meditative narrative… Inaba muses on her own life…and has to confront mortality… Cat lovers, prepare to weep * The Times, *Book of the Month* *
Supernaturally insightful and aglow with incidental joys, Mornings Without Mii uncovers something eternal about companionship, about being alone, and about cats -- Rivka Galchen, author of EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR MOTHER IS A WITCH
I have never read a book quite like this ... Profoundly real, specific, moving, and beautifully written -- Elif Batuman, author of EITHER/OR
This book is more than a tribute to a companion. It’s proof of a world normally concealed from humans, exposed here through the eyes of an artist -- Sloane Crosley, author of GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE
Skillfully translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori… Inaba has a poet’s eye for the natural world… The memoir documents not only one woman’s personal journey, but also the ineffable bond between human and animal as Inaba becomes guardian to Mii, then caretaker and, finally, mourner. * Japan Times *
Heartwarming... a beautiful read for cat lovers everywhere * My Weekly *
Mornings With My Cat Mii is beautiful (irrespective of one’s feelings towards cats) because Inaba is writing about love, the sort of love one could equally have for a human companion, about her pleasure in Mii’s company and ultimately, about grief. I read it in one sitting, and will likely go back and read it again. I thoroughly recommend it. -- Nicky Harman * Books on Asia *
A great love story, one that gathers strength as the beloved begins to decline ... This memoir reveals the profound respect, and compassion, that a friendship with an animal can inspire in a human being * Sigrid Nunez, New Yorker *
Mornings Without Mii is a meditative memoir about love, grief, writing, and cats. What a lovely book to curl up with -- Literary Hub, Most Anticipated Books of 2025
A striking evocation of the way we meld our lives and hearts with a beloved creature -- Kirkus, Starred Review
ISBN: 9781529922813
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 15mm
Weight: 200g
192 pages