A pair of little sibling kittens have melted hearts after their new owner shared footage of their emotional reunion in a post that has quickly gone viral on social media.
The viral video, shared on TikTok in August by @shannyyriee, shows the owner’s original kitten, the black one, excitedly walking toward the carrier holding her sister, meowing loudly when she recognizes her.
Her tuxedo sister seems just as excited to see her, and they immediately begin playing together again as if they’ve never been apart.
“Then you adopt a kitten and surprise her a few days later with her sister,” reads layover text in the clip, and a caption says: “The meow of relief in the beginning.”
Not all cats are the same when it comes to social attachment. While some cats are perfectly fine on their own and may even hate the idea of sharing their home with another feline, others do feel the need to have a companion who’s more similar to them.
But how do you know which is your cat’s preference?
Pet wellness experts at Rover explain that when your cat wants a feline companion, it will show signs. It may become extra clingy, spend more time than usual grooming, or even change its eating pattern.
Moreover, they may start having litter issues, changes in sleep patterns, or even changes in energy levels. Often, a cat that needs more company will also become more talkative, as if trying to voice its need to you.
Bonded cats already used to being around each other will likely do better together. Plus, adopting multiple cats means saving multiple lives.
Each year 6.3 million pets enter U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The 24Pet “Shelter Watch Report” found that the number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 in January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared to January 2022.
Stock image of two small kittens playing together. A woman adopted a kitten but then immediately went back to get her sibling because they “belong together.”
Getty Images
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
The video of the siblings’ reunion quickly went viral on TikTok. It has received over 6.1 million views and 1.4 million likes on the platform so far.
One user, Mattt, commented: “I wonder how it feels for them to be so anxious going to a new home, only to smell the one familiar thing they used to have everywhere in that new home.”
Lucy said: “My brother and sister cats would always cuddle each other when they were kittens now they only interact to beat the hell out of each other.”
“THANK YOU!!! They will be inseparable! I adopted my two girls and they’re sisters from the same litter and it honestly makes raising them a lot easier when they’re together!” another TikToker commented.
Newsweek reached out to @shannyyriee for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
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