Mala's Cat

A remarkable Holocaust memoir about an unlikely friendship between a young girl and a stray cat, and survival against the odds.

Alone in a forest with only a cat for company, this is the deeply moving true story of one little girl's remarkable survival in the shadow of the Holocaust.

Twelve-year-old Mala Szorer has no choice but to give up her childhood. In return, she stands a chance of survival and so, she decides to walk tall, towards freedom, towards life.

Growing up in the Polish village of Tarnogrod on the fringes of a deep pine forest gives Mala the happiest childhood she could have hoped for. But, as the German invasion begins, her beloved village becomes a ghetto and her family and friends are reduced to starvation. She takes matters into her own hands, bravely removes her yellow star, and sneaks out to the surrounding villages to barter for food.

It is on her way back that she sees her loved ones rounded up for deportation and receives a smuggled letter from her sister warning her to stay away. With only her cat, Malach, and the strength of the stories taught by her family, she walks away from her village and everything she holds dear into the dangerous unknown.

Malach becomes her family, her protector, her only respite from painful loneliness, and a reminder to stay hopeful even when faced with unfathomable darkness. With her guardian angel by her side, Mala finds a way to survive against the odds.

Mala's Cat by Mala Kacenberg is a testament to resilience and the extraordinary bond between a girl and her cat amidst the horrors of war.