Cat's Reaction to End of 'Unlikely' Friendship Has Internet Sobbing

A cat's unlikely friendship with a very unusual pet has melted hearts on the internet after his owner shared their story in a video that quickly went viral on social media.

In a post shared on TikTok earlier this month under the username almondandcashie, the ginger cat owner said that when the feline, Cashie, was brought home from the shelter he immediately fell in love with the family's betta fish, Violet, and spent most of his days with her. But soon she passed away.

"Cashie was devastated. Heartbroken. We took the tank away to properly clean it. We had planned to get another fish. The hurt in his eyes and his soft crying meows [were] enough to make you cry. He smelled for her but started to realize she was gone," the poster wrote.

"We took Cashie the next day to pick out a new friend. Somehow, they were completely out of bettas. We were sad, but took this as a sign that our new betta friend needed and deserved a better life," the poster said.

At that point, the poster decided to get an 11-gallon tank for the new fish and filled it with lots of sticks and stones to create a natural environment for the tank, with no plastic at all. Then, after letting the tank cycle for a few weeks, the family finally got Cashie his new best friend.

"I found the perfect fishie. He looks so similar to Violet. Cashie and Tango will have many more adventures together. Our Violet will forever be missed," the poster wrote.

They also bought a cat tree for Cashie and placed it right by the tank so he can watch the fish and spend as much time with him as he wants.

A caption shared with the heartwarming clip says: "An unlikely friendship."

While some cats may not like the idea of having to share their owner with other pets, some do very well with a companion, especially if it's another cat.

VCA Animal Hospitals says that because cats are family-oriented they will usually do well when adopted in pairs. Some may even sleep together and groom each other like family.

However, if your cat is an adult and is established within your home as the only cat, it may be challenging to get it to accept a sibling. If you decide to go for it, you should introduce them properly, giving each their space and space.

The video quickly went viral on TikTok and has so far received over 1.1 million views and 66,700 likes.

One user, Maira, commented: "Not me thinking he was going to eat the fish."

Dayna Kopitzke said: "Surprise surprise, I'm crying over ANOTHER TikTok video."

StevieG84 wrote: "My favourite part of this story is you researching to better provide for the next fish. I wish more people took this level of care when deciding on a pet."

Newsweek reached out to almondandcashie for comment via email and could not verify the details of the case.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.