Book One, Chapter 16 Summary

Theo is invited by his ex-wife to see their cat's kittens. He is part owner of Mathilda, but decided not to go through the humiliation of a custody battle for a cat as so many do in the absence of kids in a divorce. He had received a postcard five days earlier to say they had arrived safely.

He had not been invited to the birthing party, which is a ritual where a group of around six people gather to witness the miracle of birth. Once giving birth, a cat must be sterilized and one female may be kept from the litter for breeding. Alternatively, Mathilda would be allowed one more litter and all but a male kitten would be humanely destroyed.

The day of his invitation is a year exactly since his wife left him. He wonders whether...