Having abest friendis likely one of the most wonderful things in life. It is someone who understands you fully and accepts you unconditionally, forming a bond that cannot be easily broken.
One of the greatest parts about this is that being best friends is not limited to gender, race, age, or even species. For example, one woman shared how her dog and cat, despite being vastly different, became inseparable from the moment they met. Now, they can’t even go to sleep before going through theirsweetestnightly routine. Scroll down to read the full story!
More info:TikTok
Everyone needs a close friend, and seeing that friendship unfold and flourish is one of the most beautiful sights
Image credits:jtwohawks
A woman adopted a dog named Tiger right after finishing high school, and 6 years later, she also got a cat named Akaiba
The very roots of this story go way back to 2010, when, right after her senior year of high school, Jean Munn, better known on TikTok asjtwohawks, adopted a 4-and-a-half-month-old pit mix pup named Tiger.
Tiger has always been loved and lived the kind of life some dogs could only dream of. However, little did she know that, around the 6th year of her life, when Jean decided to get a cat named Akaiba, everything would only get better.
The animals became inseparable almost from the moment they met, spending time together and taking care of each other
“Pretty much from the get-go, they were inseparable,” said jtwohawks in herreply videofollowing herviral TikTokfrom a few days prior, which blew up to have over 1.1 million views and more than 216,000 likes in just a couple of weeks.
In the video, Akaiba and Tiger’s bond is depicted at its best. The dog comes over, requesting a ‘bath’ from the cat, and it is a favor that her friend never rejects. In fact, they’ve been in this routine for more or less the whole 8 years of their friendship.
“Tiger groomed Akaiba a lot as a kitten, and as soon as Akaiba grew up a little bit, she started returning the favor,” Jean shared in her interview withThe Dodo, talking about how happy she is to see how much love herpetshave for each other.
Their friendship became the sensation of the internet when the woman posted a video of Akaiba giving Tiger ‘a bath’, which is their nightly bedtime ritual
The two buddies share their space with another cat named Cali. “She’s got classic middle child syndrome,” wrote jtwohawks, replying to a commenter who pointed out that she was just sitting in the shadows behind Tiger and Akaiba during the video of their bedtime ritual.
While Tiger’s bond with Cali may not be as strong as with Akaiba, in her update video, the woman reassured us that they’re getting along great, too, sharing a couple of pics as proof.
Check out the full TikTok video:
Seeing animal friendships blossoming like this is honestly beautiful. But did you know that giving each other ‘a bath’ is more than just a sweet thing that friendly pets might do to one another? As animal behavioristJulie Bondexplained whenBored Pandareached out to her for an expert opinion, “Grooming is a very important behavior that animals engage in from both a cleanliness standpoint [and], more importantly, a social perspective.”
However, when it comes to cats and dogs, even with all these heart-melting videos around, it’s not unusual for people to believe that they actually are enemies. So then, where does the idea that theseanimalshate each other come from? Could it be just pure fiction?
However, this doesn’t have to define the relationship between these animals. Even if they start off on the wrong foot, dogs and cats can learn to curb their instinctive behavior toward each other. “It helps to reward both the dogs and the cats in a household for just being together, sharing space, even if they aren’t directly engaging one another. Over time, they may become closer simply because being in proximity got them rewarded in the past.”
Cats and dogs are often depicted as enemies thanks to pop culture, but in reality, there is hardly anything that could actually stop them from becoming friends
Of course, having these four-pawed buddies get along is very much possible. Of course, it may not always happen as effortlessly as it did with Tiger and Akaiba, but we’ve got a few tips thatKirstin Fawcett of Mental Flossshared that can help you in situations like these:
Thanks! Check out the results:
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