Cat Alone in House for 8 Months After Owner Passes Away—Then Came a Miracle
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A cat who lived alone for eight months after his owner passed away finally found joy again with a new, forever family.
Kurt the orange cat wouldn't leave his owner's side. He quickly became the man's favorite cat out of the stray felines he rescued over the years. The two best friends would watch NASCAR together, and Kurt always sat on his shoulders, the cat's new owner, Courtnie Burke, told Newsweek via TikTok.
However, Kurt's life turned upside down when his owner passed. All the other cats fled when a real estate agent came to the house, but Kurt stayed put.
"Kurt was then left alone in the house, and his daughter, who lived in a different state because we are in New York, was trying to find someone who could take care of Kurt and adopt him and had no luck for eight months," Burke said.
Burke learned that during those eight months alone, the daughter hired someone to come in, leave food for Kurt and change his litter. But she never saw him. Burke said the caretaker only heard Kurt howling from another room.
Seeing a plea on Facebook about Kurt, Burke immediately knew she needed to step in to adopt him. He came to her with a horrible infection from being scared and sitting in the litter box, she said. He also stopped grooming himself and had cuts over his nose and face.
But despite being alone for all the time, Kurt immediately warmed up to Burke, her boyfriend and her cats. Burke shared in Monday's TikTok video under her account @courtniescats Kurt's story and how he's adjusted to a new family.
With patience and understanding, it did not take long for Kurt to trust his new humans. He especially took to Burke's boyfriend. He made himself comfortable in his home, even after they moved. All he cared about was receiving the love he's been missing since his owner passed.
Screenshots from a June 16 TikTok video of an orange cat adjusting to his new home after living alone for 8 months when his owner passed.
Screenshots from a June 16 TikTok video of an orange cat adjusting to his new home after living alone for 8 months when his owner passed.
@courtniescats/TikTok
Being part of Kurt's story and giving him a home for the rest of his days melted Burke's heart.
"...I didn't know the situation at first, and I had hoped that Kurt was loved by his previous owner, and when I searched up his obituary online, it was flooded with comments about how amazing James was to all of the strays in his area and how much he did for the cats and it made me so happy," she said.
Viewer Reactions
Touched by the miracle of Kurt being saved, the TikTok video reached over 479,700 views and 85,900 likes within two days of being posted.
"If there's an afterlife, I know his old owner probably felt so relieved when you adopted him," wrote one person.
Another added: "Alone for 8 months. That's so sad. Thank you for saving him and giving him the best furever home."
A third user said: "I can't even imagine what this poor guy went through during those 8 lonely months. Thank goodness he now has you as his forever family."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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Cat Alone in House for 8 Months After Owner Passes Away—Then Came a Miracle
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A cat who lived alone for eight months after his owner passed away finally found joy again with a new, forever family. Kurt the orange cat wouldn't leave his owner's side. He quickly became the man's favorite cat out of the stray felines he rescued over the years. The two best friends would watch NASCAR together, and Kurt always sat on his shoulders, the cat's new owner, Courtnie Burke, told Newsweek via TikTok. However, Kurt's life turned upside down when his owner passed. All the other cats fled when a real estate agent came to the house, but Kurt stayed put. "Kurt was then left alone in the house, and his daughter, who lived in a different state because we are in New York, was trying to find someone who could take care of Kurt and adopt him and had no luck for eight months," Burke said. Burke learned that during those eight months alone, the daughter hired someone to come in, leave food for Kurt and change his litter. But she never saw him. Burke said the caretaker only heard Kurt howling from another room. Seeing a plea on Facebook about Kurt, Burke immediately knew she needed to step in to adopt him. He came to her with a horrible infection from being scared and sitting in the litter box, she said. He also stopped grooming himself and had cuts over his nose and face. But despite being alone for all the time, Kurt immediately warmed up to Burke, her boyfriend and her cats. Burke shared in Monday's TikTok video under her account @courtniescats Kurt's story and how he's adjusted to a new family. With patience and understanding, it did not take long for Kurt to trust his new humans. He especially took to Burke's boyfriend. He made himself comfortable in his home, even after they moved. All he cared about was receiving the love he's been missing since his owner passed. Screenshots from a June 16 TikTok video of an orange cat adjusting to his new home after living alone for 8 months when his owner passed. Screenshots from a June 16 TikTok video of an orange cat adjusting to his new home after living alone for 8 months when his owner passed. @courtniescats/TikTok Being part of Kurt's story and giving him a home for the rest of his days melted Burke's heart. "...I didn't know the situation at first, and I had hoped that Kurt was loved by his previous owner, and when I searched up his obituary online, it was flooded with comments about how amazing James was to all of the strays in his area and how much he did for the cats and it made me so happy," she said. Viewer Reactions Touched by the miracle of Kurt being saved, the TikTok video reached over 479,700 views and 85,900 likes within two days of being posted. "If there's an afterlife, I know his old owner probably felt so relieved when you adopted him," wrote one person. Another added: "Alone for 8 months. That's so sad. Thank you for saving him and giving him the best furever home." A third user said: "I can't even imagine what this poor guy went through during those 8 lonely months. Thank goodness he now has you as his forever family." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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