If Cats Disappeared from the World: The Complete Study Companion

Name: If Cats Disappeared from the World
Author: Genki Kawamura

Note: This guide contains major spoilers for the novel’s plot and ending.

Quick Facts

Author: Genki Kawamura
Publication Year: 2019
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism
Setting: A small Japanese coastal town, early 21st century
Narrator: An unnamed 30-year-old postman

If Cats Disappeared from the World: Short Summary

An unnamed postman receives a terminal brain cancer diagnosis and faces the prospect of dying within a week. That same day, the devil appears, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and looking exactly like him. The devil, whom he nicknames Aloha, offers a deal: make one thing disappear from the world, and get an extra day of life. Over the next week, the postman erases phones, movies, and clocks, each transaction forcing him to revisit lost relationships and suppressed memories. When Aloha demands that cats vanish next, the narrator refuses. He chooses to die rather than sacrifice the unconditional love embodied by his cat, Cabbage. In his final hours, he writes a letter to his estranged clockmaker father, then decides to deliver it in person, pedaling toward reconciliation.

Full Summary

The novel unfolds across seven days, each structured around a new disappearance and a deeper reckoning with memory, regret, and connection.

The Devil’s Offer After learning his Stage 4 brain tumor is inoperable, the narrator comes home to find his doppelgänger waiting. This is the devil—dressed in a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and full of theatrical cheer. The devil explains that he can prolong the postman’s life by one day for each thing he removes from existence. The first target is mobile phones. Before phones vanish completely, the narrator is allowed one last call. Scrolling through his contacts, he confronts the superficiality of his relationships. He finally dials a number he knows by heart—his ex-girlfriend.

Erasing Phones and Movies Without his phone, the narrator arranges to meet his ex-girlfriend at their old clock-tower spot. Their reunion unpacks the collapse of their college romance and a painful trip to Buenos Aires where a fellow traveler died, shattering their bond. That evening, the devil declares movies will disappear next. The narrator visits a friend at a video rental shop and later sits with his ex-girlfriend in a theater, watching a blank screen. In that emptiness, he sees his life as a film: his parents taking him to E.T., his mother’s death, the widening gulf with his father. When his ex asks why she rewatches sad movies, he finally answers correctly: she hopes for a happier ending. After she leaves, movies vanish.

The Talking Cat and Vanishing Clocks On Thursday, the narrator wakes to find his cat Cabbage speaking in an absurdly refined voice—a bonus from the devil after the previous day’s sacrifice. The day’s item is clocks. The narrator thinks of his father, a reclusive clockmaker he hasn’t spoken to in four years. Cabbage asks about the narrator’s deceased mother, triggering an afternoon of storytelling with old photo albums. The narrator remembers his mother’s final wish: that he and his father reconcile. As the talking spell fades, Aloha announces the next disappearance—cats.

The Refusal The narrator relives the childhood memory of his first cat, Lettuce, dying on his mother’s lap. He panics when Cabbage goes missing and searches frantically, which leads him to the movie theater and his ex-girlfriend. She hands him a letter his mother wrote before she died. The letter lists ten wonderful qualities about her son and ends with a postscript: “Please make up with your father.” Cabbage, speaking one last time, urges the narrator to erase cats and save himself. The narrator refuses. He instead performs his mother’s old magic trick—closing his eyes and forcing a smile until sadness loosens its grip.

A World Without Me By refusing to eliminate cats, the narrator seals his own fate. The devil reveals his true nature: he is the embodiment of the narrator’s unlived life, the cheerful, impulsive person the postman never became. Aloha says goodbye. The narrator cleans his apartment, throws away embarrassing diaries, and discovers a childhood stamp collection. The stamps unlock memories of his father and a realization: the postcards his dad sent, always adorned with a cat resembling Lettuce, are why he became a postman. He spends his remaining hours writing a long letter.

The Final Delivery On Sunday, the narrator finishes his letter but cannot bring himself to mail it. He puts on his old postman uniform, places Cabbage in a bicycle basket, and rides over the hill toward his father’s house. Coasting downhill with spring sunlight warming him, he chooses to deliver his apology in person.

Main Characters

The Narrator: A solitary postman confronting terminal brain cancer. His week of impossible exchanges forces him to weigh regret, memory, and the relationships he let atrophy. Through refusing to sacrifice his cat, he reclaims agency over his remaining life and chooses direct reconnection with his father.
Aloha (The Devil): The narrator’s doppelgänger, clad in gaudy Hawaiian shirts. He orchestrates the daily disappearances but ultimately reveals himself as the personification of the narrator’s unlived possibilities—the cheerful, carefree self he never became.
Cabbage: The narrator’s beloved cat. When granted the power of speech, he adopts a haughty, period-drama tone absorbed from the narrator’s late mother. He represents the unconditional love the narrator refuses to trade away, becoming the story’s moral linchpin.
Ex-Girlfriend: The narrator’s college love, now a movie theater projectionist. Their failed relationship embodies lost intimacy and the consequences of his emotional distance. She delivers his mother’s final letter and gives him the quizzes that unlock his self-awareness.
Mother: Deceased four years before the story’s present. Her enduring love radiates through the letter she left behind, cataloging her son’s best qualities and urging reconciliation. Her “magic trick” for dispelling sadness becomes the narrator’s emotional anchor.
Father: An estranged clockmaker. The broken wristwatch he failed to repair during the mother’s final hours symbolizes severed ties, while the stamp collection and postcards reveal a quiet, persistent love the narrator finally understands.

Major Themes

Trade-offs and the Cost of Existence: The devil’s barter forces the narrator to assess what makes life meaningful. Erasing phones costs him easy connection; erasing movies costs him art and shared experience. When cats are on the line, he recognizes a line he cannot cross, proving that some things are worth more than additional days.
Memory and Identity: Each disappearance strips away an external container for memory—a stored number, a film reel, a ticking clock—and tests whether the associated relationships and emotions survive without them. The novel argues that identity is built on what we remember, and memory persists even when its props vanish.
Mortality and Acceptance: The narrator’s terminal diagnosis is a ticking clock that never stops. Through his bargains, he moves from desperate bargaining toward acceptance, concluding that regret is not a failure but proof of a life lived.
Love and Sacrifice: By choosing to die rather than erase cats, the narrator inverts the deal’s logic. His sacrifice asserts that love—especially the unconditional bond with a pet—is non-negotiable. The novel frames selfless love as the ultimate source of meaning.
Family Estrangement and Reconciliation: The entire week builds toward the narrator’s journey to his father’s doorstep. His mother’s letter, the stamp collection, and the broken wristwatch all push him toward the truth that family is not inherited but actively made through reaching out.

Key Symbols

The Wristwatch: A broken heirloom from the father that the mother wore until her death. It represents the imperfect, unrepairable bond between parent and child and the irreversible passage of time.
Cabbage the Cat: More than a pet, Cabbage is the living embodiment of all the love the narrator refuses to sacrifice. His talking scenes channel the mother’s voice and values, making him the story’s moral center.
The Stamp Collection: A shared childhood project with his father, rediscovered as the narrator prepares to die. The stamps—and the postcards his father sent with cat illustrations—reveal that his career as a postman was an unconscious homage to that bond.
The Postman Uniform: Donned on the final day, the uniform signifies the narrator’s acceptance of his inherited role and his determination to deliver his message of reconciliation not by mail, but in person.

Ending Overview

The narrator refuses to make cats disappear, accepting his imminent death. He discovers a childhood stamp collection that clarifies his life path and writes a letter to his estranged father. At the mailbox, he realizes a written apology is insufficient. He puts on his old postman uniform, places Cabbage in a bicycle basket, and pedals toward his father’s house. The novel ends on this hopeful, open gesture—reconciliation attempted, not guaranteed—with spring sunlight and the sea framing his descent toward the next town.

For deeper analysis, read the ending explained.

Chapter-by-Chapter Summaries

Chapter	Title	Key Events
1	Monday: The Devil Makes His Appearance	The postman learns of his terminal diagnosis. Aloha proposes the deal and makes phones disappear after a final, uncertain call.
2	Tuesday: A World Without Phones	The narrator reunites with his ex-girlfriend. Memories of their trip to Buenos Aires resurface. The devil announces movies will vanish next.
3	Wednesday: A World Without Movies	The narrator watches a blank screen with his ex and confronts his life as a film. He answers her final quiz correctly before movies disappear.
4	Thursday: A World Without Clocks	Cabbage begins speaking. The narrator reflects on his clockmaker father and shares memories of his mother. Clocks vanish, and cats are named as the next target.
5	Friday: A World Without Cats	The narrator refuses to erase cats after receiving his mother’s letter and recalling Lettuce’s death. He performs his mother’s magic trick and whispers, “Thanks, Mom.”
6	Saturday: A World Without Me	With death certain, the narrator learns the devil’s true nature. He discovers his childhood stamp collection and writes a letter to his father.
7	Sunday: Good-Bye, World	The narrator dons his postman uniform and cycles with Cabbage toward his father’s house, determined to reconcile in person.

Common Questions

Why does the narrator refuse to make cats disappear? Through the week’s erasures, the narrator learns that some things are worth more than extra days of life. Cats represent unconditional love, companionship, and a link to his mother. When Aloha targets cats, the narrator recognizes this as a line he cannot cross. He accepts death rather than take something so cherished from the world.

Who is Aloha really? Aloha is the narrator’s doppelgänger and the embodiment of his unlived life—the cheerful, impulsive, carefree person he never allowed himself to become. The devil explains directly: he is made up of all the little regrets and unchosen paths in the narrator’s life.

What is in the mother’s letter? The mother’s letter contains a list of ten wonderful qualities about her son. She writes about his heart, his sense of humor, and his capacity for love. The postscript delivers her final wish: “Please make up with your father.” The letter holds no requests for herself, only affirmation and a push toward reconciliation.

Why did the narrator become a postman? While sorting through a childhood stamp collection, the narrator realizes his father sent postcards stamped with a cat resembling Lettuce. This epiphany reveals that his career choice was an unconscious act of connection—a way of handling the same objects his father once sent him.

What does the wristwatch symbolize? The broken wristwatch belongs to the mother, who wore it even after it stopped working. The father spent her final hours trying to repair it and arrived at the hospital too late. The watch symbolizes the imperfect, unrepairable bond between father and son and the irreversible passage of time.

What happens at the movie theater on Wednesday? The narrator and his ex-girlfriend watch a blank screen. In the emptiness, he projects his life as a silent film: childhood with his parents, his mother’s death, and his isolation. Afterward, she asks why she rewinds sad movies. He answers correctly: she hopes for a happier ending the next time around.

How does Cabbage talk, and what does he say? The devil grants Cabbage the power of speech as a bonus after movies disappear. His refined, old-fashioned speech comes from absorbing the mother’s period dramas. Cabbage urges the narrator to erase cats to save himself, demonstrating a selfless love that mirrors the mother’s.

Does the narrator reconcile with his father? The novel ends before the reconciliation occurs, but the final image is one of determined hope. The narrator, wearing his postman uniform, cycles with Cabbage over the hill toward his father’s house, choosing to deliver his apology face-to-face rather than by letter.