Beneath the trappings of a cozy cat book is a visceral, no-holds-barred account of devotion.

“Mornings Without Mii,” Mayumi Inaba’s 1999 memoir, translated into English by Ginny Tapley Takemori, is available in the U.S. this month. The 192-page book charts the course of the author’s 20-year relationship with her cat, Mii, named after her high-pitched cries of mii-mii.

Mornings Without Mii, by Mayumi Inaba. Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori. 192 pages, MACMILLAN, Nonfiction.