How Two Abandoned Cats Chose a New Porch—and a New Life
🐾 The Bart & Sissy Chronicles
The Day They Chose Us
How two neighborhood cats landed on our porch—and in our hearts.
Bart & Sissy above
It started with something strange.
Bart—who rarely gave us more than a passing glance—was in our driveway. Meowing. Rubbing against the car tires. Looking directly at us like he was trying to say something.
That alone was odd.
Bart has always been… independent. The kind of cat you admire from afar. Aloof, mysterious, with a three-legged hop that somehow makes him seem more powerful, not less. He’d let you look at him. Maybe even touch him—briefly—if the stars aligned. But affection was on his terms. Always.
And yet, here he was. Vocal. Present. Pleading.
And he wasn’t alone.
Right there next to him was Sissy.
The little black-and-white tuxedo cat who never strayed far from her home up the road.
She was more cautious, not quite as confident. The kind of cat who stayed on familiar porches and disappeared the second a car door shut.
But that morning, she was with Bart.
And they both looked… off.
Not feral. Not injured. But unsettled.
Hungry.
Anxious.
Needy in a way that cats rarely allow themselves to be.
It was clear: something was wrong.
We didn’t know exactly what at the time. But the moment was unusual enough that we couldn’t just ignore it. So we listened.
We brought out some leftover beef. They ate like they hadn’t seen food in days—snapping at each other between bites.
Then we added some of our own cat’s food to the mix. Gone in seconds.
That’s when it started to click.
They weren’t just visiting.
They were asking for help.
And that’s what they got.
Within a day or two, Bart had moved in—claiming the porch, the garage, and any sun-warmed spot as his own.
Sissy came back the next morning, and this time, she stayed.
As it turns out, she was sick.
A bladder infection. A bad one.
We got her to the vet, covered the bill, gave her the antibiotics she needed.
She got better. Fast.
Sometimes I wonder if Bart knew.
If he sensed she needed care and brought her here on purpose.
If his sudden softness that morning wasn’t just about hunger, but about hope.
About finding someone who would pay attention.
And knowing we would.
Because here’s the truth:
They could’ve waited.
They could’ve curled up in a bush and hoped someone showed up.
They could’ve stayed where they were and wished things would go back to normal.
But they didn’t.
Bart took action.
He made the call.
He showed up, boldly, on a stranger’s porch—and asked for help.
And maybe most surprising of all… he let himself receive it.
🐾 If You’ve Ever Felt a Shift Coming…
We all want things to change—our circumstances, our relationships, our internal patterns—but often we wait. We hope. We stay quiet.
We’re afraid to ask.
Afraid to be seen in our need.
Afraid we’ll be too much, or not enough.
But sometimes, the bravest thing you can do… is show up and ask for what you need.
That’s what Bart and Sissy did.
They didn’t come with a plan.
They didn’t know how it would turn out.
But they trusted their instincts.
They trusted that help might exist—and that they were worthy of receiving it.
And what happened next?
They relaxed.
The moment food and safety were consistent, they stopped pacing.
They napped in the sun.
They stretched across the porch like it belonged to them.
Sissy started purring. Bart let himself be pet—for more than a few seconds.
Because when needs are met…
When you feel safe…
You stop surviving.
You start resting.
You start becoming.
I think about that often—how sometimes all it takes is one brave decision to change everything. Whether you're a three-legged porch panther or a human quietly craving more, the turning point doesn’t always come with fanfare. Sometimes, it’s just a quiet nudge… a sense that there’s more out there, and you’re ready to find it.
If that’s where you are, this free training might be exactly what you didn’t know you needed.
More stories (and porch drama) coming soon.
Until then, may you feel safe.
May you feel fed.
And may you remember that it’s okay to ask for more.
