SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I think I read something similar last summer, although there are some differences.
In the book I read, the main character, after a fight with her family, moves into a small house in the woods left to her by a mysterious woman who was her mentor, so you could say she inherited it. There, her cat suddenly starts to talk (although he seemed like a normal cat before) and tells the girl that he is actually a magician who has been turned into a cat by his enemy.
Then they go on a journey to return this cat to his former form, and the cat actually serves as the girl's guardian, protecting her from various monsters and evil people. But this cat's name is Smokey, not Shadow, and the girl definitely does not have magical powers. This cat can do magic because he's a magician who temporarily looks like a cat.
Also, I don't remember griffins and dragons in that book, although there were giant birds that looked like griffins and dragons. And there was no supernatural hotel or vampires, but an ancient elf-like race living far to the north.
Anyway, you can have a look at this book. It's called Chimeras of Estmer.