'He's more than "just a cat" to me': After 1.5 years of being homeless with their loyal cat, proud pawrent and feline share heartwarming photo of their first night home

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Oct 17, 2026 9:30 AM EDT

Some accomplishments hit harder than others: sleeping safely and soundly in your very first apartment after being homeless for nearly two years, with your cat snuggled up between your legs, might be worth more than gold.

I'm going to take this opportunity to get a little bit purrsonal. When I was a teenager, I had a brief period where I feared I would be homeless. During the early 2000s, a lot of teens were getting kicked out of their parents' homes for coming out. So much so that it was reported on the national news and even on the cover of Time magazine. I remember because I kept this issue hidden under my mattress for years, it was the only thing I had that helped me form some sort of connection to the… changes I was feeling.

I was outed by my uncle, whom I told in confidence, when I was 15 years old. He told me that I had 6 months to tell my parents, or he would tell them for me. I thought he was bluffing.

He was not.

6 months to the day, he called them. When they told me, I ran up to my room, locked the door, and began frantically throwing clothes and anything I could think of into a bag, tears streaming down my face and blurring my vision. I cried so hard that I actually fell asleep hugging my bag in the closet. Looking back, the irony of falling asleep in my closet, which I had metaphorically hidden in for so long, must have been some weird cosmic joke.

The next day, my dad kicked the door in and told me that I wasn't going to school that day, that he, my mom, and I would go for a drive. They explained to me that they still loved me, I wasn't going to be homeless, and that everything was going to be okay. I'm one of the lucky ones, not every coming-out story had such a wholesome, happy ending.

Those months I spent waiting to see if my uncle was bluffing or not, and the 12 hours after he outed me were some of the scariest of my life. Being homeless, especially at 15 years old, would be something that would alter the course of my life significantly. Homelessness is one of the most difficult cycles to break free from, you need a home address for a bank account, a job, and to get mail. Think of how many roadblocks this one thing can affect.

All this leads me to our story today, which really gives meaning to the phrase "a picture is worth 1,000 words." A proud pawrent and their cute kitty shared a photo of their first night at home after surviving homelessness for 1.5 years. It may be a simple picture, but it means a lot more: a good night's sleep, stability, and hopeful new beginnings.

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After being homeless for 1.5 year(s), my cat and me are sleeping in our new apartment tonight
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Many people asked the pawrent why they didn't give up their cat when they became homeless, but that's a question I don't understand because the answer to me is simple: where there is a will, there is a way. If I was homeless with my cat, I wouldn't give up my only source of comfort, my only friend. I would find a way to feed them, even if it meant me going hungry. For many homeless people, their pets are the only things that keep them from getting worse. The responsibility of caring for another being that you love is a very powerful force that can be used for good.
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