Lea Rand's Cats Inspired Her to Write a Book: "When Murka Was Gone, I Understood"

Estonian author Lea Rand created a book inspired by her own cats — two brothers who appeared as kittens at her door and later became book characters. The loss of her cat Murka gave her the final push to write the book.

Estonian author Lea Rand has created a book whose inspiration came from her own cats — two brothers who once appeared as tiny kittens at her doorstep. No one would have thought back then that they would become real book characters.

Rand has said that the loss of her cat Murka gave her the final push to complete the book. "When Murka was gone, I understood that cat stories really needed to be made into a proper book," she explained. The loss of her beloved pet transformed stories that had only lived as memories in her heart into something that needed to be preserved.

A new character now roams the family's backyard — Rebase Rein, who seems to believe he is the sole master of the entire garden. Who knows, perhaps he too will become a book character someday.