Our Cat Connection

How one friendly feline turned a street of strangers into a community

- BY Mike Hohnen

Everything changed with a voicemail. I was used to my cat getting into trouble—Bootsy always had a tough time respecting other people's boundaries. When a concerned neighbour called the number on his collar, I assumed that he had done something like sneak in and eat their roast dinner.

Actually, it was a courtesy call. Bootsy was sleeping on a chair on her back verandah, the woman on the line said, and was more than welcome to stay as long as he liked.

I ventured down the street to the caller’s house. It was a fortress, with large steel panels over the windows blocking out the world. It was a jarring contrast to Enid Morrison, the gentle woman who opened the door.

This would be the start of a friendship that helped transform our street in Rozelle, an inner-west suburb of Sydney, Australia, into a community. Bootsy would create a sense of home that expanded well beyond my house. “I think it’s quite an honour, really, to be accepted like this,” Enid told me later.

I had lived for six years in nearby Newtown, a trendy, cultural hub that pulses like a beacon for the youth of Sydney. But my life there had fallen into a rut. A baffling and cruel medical diagnosis—late-onset type 1 diabetes—was the final straw.

At 28, I packed up and moved to Rozelle, a sleepy haven for well-to-do young families and retirees. I planned to build a life of solitude. Since leaving the house required some medical preparation, I decided it was easier simply to not leave at all.