Although a part of me would always think of Purdy and her siblings as kittens, I had to accept that they had long outgrown their kittenhood. They were adults now, and their well-being could not be viewed collectively. My desire for them to be happy as individuals had to outweigh any sentimental notion of keeping my family together; and, as their mother, the best thing I could do was encourage each of them to follow the path that suited them best.
After all, I had followed my own path, a long time ago, when I had first lost Margery. I had found my way to Stourton, to Debbie and to Jasper. I was certain that my future would always lie with Debbie and the cat café, but the same might not be true for the kittens. Their future was an open book, a story waiting to be told, and it was my privilege to have come this far on their journey with them. Whatever happened, wherever they decided to go, I was confident that they had had the best start in life I could have given them; they had been safe, and loved, and happy.
Perhaps, when all was said and done, that had been my own legacy to them.
Acknowledgements
Much of this book was written either late at night or in the early hours of the morning, and it often felt like a solitary enterprise. Having finally emerged, blinking, into the daylight, I would like to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to some of the people who helped along the way.
Firstly I need to acknowledge the work done by the real cat cafés which inspired this book. In the interests of a good story I have put Molly, Ming and the other cats through ordeals that I am certain they would never face in reality. Cat-café staff take the utmost care of their cats’ physical and emotional wellbeing, and I am quite sure they would be aghast at some – if not all – of the goings-on at Molly’s.
I would like to thank my agent Kate Burke, and also Chloe Seager at Diane Banks Associates.
Thank you to everyone at Pan Macmillan. To my diligent editor Victoria Hughes-Williams and the rest of the team: Natalie McCourt, Stuart Dwyer, Holly Sheldrake, Lloyd Jones, James Annal, Matthew Garrett and Jess Duffy. I appreciate all of your hard work behind the scenes.
To Debbie Nash, for being the ongoing inspiration for my (human) heroine, even though you are more of a dog person.
To my sister Emma, for your empathy, encouragement and support.
To my children, Suse and Louis, for your incredible patience throughout this process. Thank you Suse for being an eagle-eyed editor-in-training; your grammatical knowledge puts me to shame.
Lastly, and mostly, to Phil. Even with a broken leg, you kept the show on the road. Without you, this book wouldn’t have happened.
MD, 2016
First published 2016 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2016 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5098-3013-8
Copyright © Melissa Tredinnick, 2016
Cover images © Shutterstock
and © Dreamstime
The right of Melissa Tredinnick to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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