This book is superb, completely true to the actual life of a wandering male stray tomcat who once lived with me, several other cats and a kitten.
Had I not seen it first hand, this would be little more than a clever story, well written, interesting, and perhaps meant as a lesson to small children to be nice. Instead, in real life 'Fluffy' was a dominant male who ruled the other cats with an iron paw, but would never lift even a clawless paw to a kitten who decided to adopt him.
It needs to be understood that I'm the 'boss cat' in our household; and secondly, like small children, the charm of kittens is their continual playfulness. Kittens have absolutely no respect for the authority of an old boss cat (whether me or Fluffy), new curtains, or any small object that moves or can be knocked down or shredded. W#ith that spirit and knowledge, this book portrays the experience of an old cat and a kitten with complete authenticity. As an allegory, it is a charming reminder of the obligation of adults to look after the small and weak and fragile dwellers in our world.
In all likelihood, Britta had an adult cat who fell victim to a kitten exactly as she portrays it in this book. People just don't have the imagination to invent stories such as this. It's a wonderful tribute to a real cat, a real kitten and Britta's superb sense of observing the two as they lived together.
In addition to being a delightful story, maybe it's really meant to offer a lesson for children and adults: The strong have a moral obligation to look after the weak and helpless. It's certainly posible to draw such an analogy from the brief but very poignant, very true, very touching story.
It's a wonderful book.
Trust me. Every word of it is authentic.