Abandoned

by G.D. Griffiths

An unwanted kitten is abandoned at the edge of a bleak and dangerous road.

Genres: Animals, Fiction

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Gordon Douglas Griffiths

Reviews

[Anwen Hayward]

I read this book as a child and I still cry whenever I think about it. I might cry now.

[M.K. Aston]

This was the first novel I read as a child outside of the classroom and I was very moved by the little kitten's story. So much so that I never forgot the tale and rereading it now 40 or so years later, I was able to recall numerous events within the author's wonderful and interesting narrative. Recommended reading to all young children.

[Rose]

First novel I really got into. It made me cry. I will reread this at some point now it's several years later. Such a good book, good kitty.

[Katja]

An incredibly beautiful, moving but heart-breaking story. I have always been a cat lover, I read this many times as a child in the 90s and it always made me cry. The descriptions of Dartmoor really bring it, it's bleakness and beauty to life, and you end up really rooting for the cat, and moved by her will to survive. My original copy went missing many years ago when I was in my teens, but the story always stayed with me, until I was able to get a new copy from Amazon a few years ago. Re-reading it as an adult had me sobbing again but I find it a really compelling read. I return to it every few years. Okay, I'm going to go and cuddle my own cats now.

[Jan]

I just remembered this book while petting my very spoiled cat and thinking about all the cats out there without a home. This book made me tear up every time I read it as a young child. Probably first book that grabbed my emotions since The Velveteen Rabbit as a kid.

[Karen Clark]

Read this as a child when it first came out in the 70's, and just found a copy. So nice to revisit an old friend, but such a sad story! A lump in my throat by the end of it 😭

[Clare]

Read this when I was about 10 & blubbed my eyes. Still a very moving story which gives you a lump in your throat at the end.

[Sam Stockdale]

🥺😭

[V Wayman]

I read this book as a child of 9 or 10. I bought it through the school book catalogue (Chip Club). It is about a kitten abandoned on the outskirts of Dartmoor and it deals with the problems the kitten faces. I will not reveal the ending but this book made a huge impact on me and all these years later am excited to be able to re read it.

[寿理 宮本]

1. This is what I expected Warriors to be like, rather than that weird VERY out of character "Clans of Cats that don't know how to put on their own oxygen mask first."

2. *insert usual gripe about giving milk to cats and the odds being VERY LOW that the humans in this book have special cat milk on hand in each instance*

3. A few mentions of the cats sensing sweetness threw me off. Cats can't really taste sweetness! I know the story has to proceed SOMEHOW, but a nitpick.

4. The ending feels cruel, as though the story was dragging out too long and the author just wanted to wrap it up already, what with the "hit by a car" instead of LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE. I suppose I hate it because A. of course this kind of story is going to end in a death, and B. that's how my precious cat went, except for the suffering (probably—won't really know for certain). It also reminds me of The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, sans autobiography and domestication (other than the "grudgingly put up with humans again rather than freeze to death"), or The Fox and the Hound (not THAT one) sans single sworn enemy.

I don't know who I would recommend should read this. Most Warriors fans might find it too boring, and it's "just" the normal life of a cat who was abandoned as a kitten. It's not a BAD book as such, but—again—it's rather predictable in the way that animal stories tend to be.

[Catherine]

Although this story is primarily about the survival of an abandoned kitten, it also describes the changing seasons on Dartmoor in a beautifully evocative manner. It was never going to be a happy story, and I was nearly in tears at points, but the highs and lows of the kittens life are honestly and emotionally described. I had been going to read it to my 8yo son, but he said the first chapter was too sad and didn't want to read the rest, and to be honest I was glad. I'd probably wait a few years before trying again I think.

[JiYoung]

This was my favorite book in my childhood.