When Burp arrived at NAWS Humane Society, he looked like he’d been through a lifetime of hard days.
He’d been found wandering the streets — thin, battered, and exhausted — before a kind stranger scooped him up and brought him to safety. At first, Burp wanted nothing to do with anyone. He sat frozen in his kennel, eyes wide and wary, as if waiting for something bad to happen again.
“He was completely shut down,” said Fran Grzesik, one of the shelter’s directors. “But even then, we could tell there was a very sweet cat buried under all that fear.”
So, the team took things slowly. They spent hours sitting quietly beside him, offering food, soft words, and patience.
And one day, something shifted.
Burp lifted his head, leaned forward — and pressed against a hand. From that moment on, everything changed.
“All he wanted was to stay close to us,” Grzesik said. “He went from terrified to one of the most affectionate cats I’ve ever met.”
Burp had discovered how good love felt, and now he never wanted to be without it.
Unfortunately, life in a shelter meant that every evening, Grzesik had to close his kennel door — something Burp couldn’t bear.
“Burp hates being left alone,” Grzesik wrote on TikTok. “Each time I’d try to close the door, he’d push his way out just to nuzzle me one more time.”
It broke her heart every single time.
“It wasn’t about the size or comfort of his cage,” she said. “It was the loneliness that came with it. Going back in meant the people he had just opened up to were leaving him.”
Despite his sweet, loving nature, Burp kept being overlooked. He was older, had FIV, and wore the weathered look of a cat who’d spent too long outside — all things that shouldn’t have mattered but somehow did.
Then one night, everything changed again.
Grzesik’s TikTok about Burp went viral — and caught the attention of Anna, a woman who couldn’t stop thinking about him.
“She dropped everything to come meet him,” Grzesik said. “She didn’t hesitate. She saw him, saw his heart, and chose him.”
Now, Burp finally has what he’s been longing for all along — a home, a person, and endless companionship.
For the rest of his days, Burp will never have to watch someone walk away again. He’ll always have someone by his side — just the way he always wanted.
If you'd like to support NAWS Humane Society, you can make a donation here.
