Suffolk Humane Society is hoping the second time will be the charm for two feline sisters who were adopted and then unceremoniously returned two years later.

Bali and Babe, dilute calico domestic shorthairs now about 2-½ years old, were adopted together in September 2011, according to Kay Hurley, a Suffolk Humane board member.

Hurley isn’t exactly sure why they were left on the porch at the group’s Driver office on Nansemond Parkway last July.

“The person said that one of them was not using the litter box, and he didn’t know which one, so he said he was turning them both in,” Hurley said.

When the man approached the office to give back the cats, Hurley said, Suffolk Humane’s director of adoptions and fosters, Lee Murphy, advised him a couple of days would be needed to find a temporary home for them.

“Apparently that angered him, and he turned around and left them on the porch,” Hurley said.

Unfortunately, Hurley says, sometimes people adopt pets and then, for different reasons, feel the need return them. “We do have a policy to return them to us,” she said.

But the group always needs a little notice to locate a foster home, she said — notice that, in this case, the man felt he was unable to give.

“We always need foster homes, and this is an example of why,” Hurley said. “Usually (it’s not for long), but it helps us save lives.”

Bali and Babe, which were adopted as a litter from Suffolk Animal Control, have adapted to one another and need to be re-adopted together, according to Hurley.

“Both are beautiful,” she said. “One is sweet as can be, and the other is a little more aloof (and) depends on the other one.”

The cats were returned flea-infested, “scared and not knowing what they did wrong,” according to a Facebook post, but Hurley said they were now flea-free, adding that the flea problem may have contributed to any behavioral issues the man said he’d experienced.

“They are spayed, we have determined they are healthy and we have not seen any behavioral problems,” Hurley said.

The cats are currently at the Chesapeake Square PetSmart store, 4300 Portsmouth Blvd., and Suffolk Humane will waive the adoption fee for one of them, meaning the sisters can go together to a new home for $85.

“We all make mistakes, and sometimes we might think we are ready for a pet but it’s a lot of responsibility, and they are totally dependent on us,” Hurley said.

For more information, call Suffolk Humane at 538-3030.