Shirley McMillan holds Cosima and Huia beside husband Selwyn, with Kandee, in the car that has become their home.

Living in a car with six cats, four chihuahuas and a rabbit was never part of their plan.

Selwyn and Shirley McMillan went from a comfortable home in Whakatane to a boarding house to a tent and now their maroon Toyota Scepter is home.

It's mid-afternoon on a weekday and they're parked up off the main street in Tokoroa because they'd heard there was cheap housing in the South Waikato town.

DOMINICO ZAPATA/FAIRFAX NZ The McMillans have forgotten what it's like to live in their own home.

The car is packed with stuff - animal cages, clothes, blankets.

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Much of their desperate situation appears to stem from Selwyn's health.

DOMINICO ZAPATA/FAIRFAX NZ They have to sleep upright because there's so much stuff in their car.

The 58-year-old suffers epileptic seizures that came on in 1978 after he came off a farm bike and crashed head first into concrete wall.

They've worsened since the pair became homeless to the point where Shirley, 54, was forced to leave her job to care for him.

Sometimes he'll have one and, when it starts to fade, he'll go into another one.

DOMINICO ZAPATA/STUFF The rest of their belongings are in storage.

"The seizures leave Selwyn very tired. Sometimes he has no balance at all, very shaky, but his walking frame and shower stool we've had to put into storage as they can't fit in the car."

They've been told that it's not a matter of if but when for Selwyn.

The prospect of leaving his wife homeless, dealing with his death, plays on his mind so​ he's already organised his own funeral, headstone and plot.

Being homeless has exacerbated their problems and people assuming they choose this life doesn't help, Shirley says.

"It's very frustrating ... Nothing about it is enjoyable. You can't do anything.

"It's not like you can cook, you've got to use public facilities. So you're constantly searching around for them. We don't have cooking facilities so it's a pie here or there or takeaways if you can afford it."

They've been sleeping in rest areas, streets they know are safe or just roads where they won't bother anyone.

"We don't get many hours sleep. We go to bed with the dark, so around 6.30pm, and are getting up again about 6am. Your feet and legs are swollen because circulation isn't great sleeping sitting up.

"It's starting to get a lot colder even with blankets ... you still feel cold right down to the bone."

The couple live off Selwyn's ACC benefit of $445 a week, and $130 of that goes to storage of their belongings.

Shirley says she isn't eligible for a benefit due to their circumstances.

They eat once every two days so there's enough food for the animals' daily meal.

The cats - Merlot, Little Lady, Kinks, Allie-Mae, Zink and Tigger - the dogs - Sharneeka, Kieran, Cosima, Huia - and Kandee the rabbit share the car too.

Yet parting with them isn't an option, Shirley says.

"The animals keep us going. Every day having to get up to feed them, every day having to take them to the toilet, getting kisses from them - they are what is keeping us alive."

The McMillans are pining for a normal life again, dreaming of going to their own toilet or sitting at their own table.

"I even offered to go to my friends and hang out their laundry because it felt normal again.

"You don't realise how much things mean until you haven't got them - even just simple things like having a shower when you feel like having a shower, going into your own fridge, I use to do a lot of baking."

It's been 11 months since Shirley has had a night in a proper bed, it's a month since they have been able to wash their clothes and they've nearly forgotten what it's like to live in a house.

They have two daughters but neither is actively involved in their parents' lives these days.

The couple do struggle to ask for help yet they've become desperate. They can afford $130 for rent but can't find anything in their price range.

They are hoping Selwyn's seizures will become more manageable in a house, allowing Shirley to find employment again.

She's previously worked as a checkout operator and a checkout supervisor for Pak 'n Save. She'd even look at relief milking so she could take Selwyn with her.

She misses the simple things - "I would love to have a cup of tea every night."