In a heartwarming twist of fate, an orange cat moves in next door to his litter brother—their close bond melts hearts among internet users.
In a viral Reddit post shared in October under the username u/Beetlejuice2013, the poster shared a video of the two look-alike siblings playing in the yard, and it is like they’ve never really parted. "My cat's brother moved in next door a year after they left their mama," the caption says, as the two felines gently wrestle each other on the grass.
In the comments section, the poster added that they had originally taken two boys from the same litter, but one sadly died about six months ago.
"It's been very hard on our kids and the kitty has missed his bro. So absolutely delighted when the new neighbors moved in and we made the connection that they had another boy from the litter."
Moreover, the poster said that they live in a small town and got their kittens from a big litter in a nearby farm, so, while the chances of them reuniting were small, it wasn’t totally impossible.
The poster wrote: "They have been grooming each other, and little nose boops. It's adorable, but yes one home is at risk of losing the company of their pet—more likely the neighbor I think."
Experts at Dial a Vet believe that cats can indeed remember their littermates, because they possess both short-term and long-term memory.
Even after a long time, felines may recognize each other through scent and familiarity, which can last several months after separating or even longer.
While the cats may remember each other, it is still important to give them a gradual introduction, and to provide both animals with plenty of attention and playtime.
The post quickly went viral on social media and has so far received over 32,000 upvotes and 159 comments on the platform.
One user, McDeathUK, said: "That’s some fun playtime right there, I think you and the neighbor are gonna have to preempt the cats coming into each others home as they look close enough to watch to sleep together like a mini pack."
Pegasis69 wrote: "Now neither you or your neighbor are allowed to move house."
Dont_shoot_jr added: "The way their tails tangle at the end awww."
Newsweek reached out to u/Beetlejuice2013 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
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