Kitten Arrives In Foster Home, Immediately Starts 'Pushing Boundaries'

Hearts have well and truly melted after seeing the special moment a resident cat finally came to accept the new foster kitten, who had been trying his hardest to become friends for weeks.

The pandemic changed many aspects of our lives, and for California resident Alaina, it affirmed her love of fostering cats and offering them a temporary home before they find a forever family. While Alaina is so proud of the help she's provided, her older tabby cat named Mango isn't so supportive. Alaina told Newsweek Mango prefers "to avoid them" and hisses if they get too close.

In March 2024, she rescued 5-week-old Chimney who was absolutely "desperate to play with the older cats," but none of them were interested and wouldn't give him the time of day. That didn't stop him from trying though, and eventually, Chimney managed to win Mango over (just slightly).

"The video that took off was a special moment between Mango, who had fallen asleep next to me, and Chimney, who had sort of slid down from my chest to lay on top of her," Alaina said. "Mango woke up to him on her back, and very sleepily decided she would just accept his presence.

"It was a nice send-off for Chimney, since he was ready to go back to the shelter for adoption. That said, it was super evident that Chimney needed a kitten his own age to play with."

Alaina captured the touching moment when Mango finally accepted the littlest addition and shared it on her TikTok account (@everyones_a_cat). In the video, Mango's dislike for the kitten is plain to see, but rather than reacting to him, she just glared at him briefly and went back to sleep while Chimney leaned on her.

The clip has melted many hearts online, and since it was posted on April 14 it has already gained over 8.5 million views and more than 1.2 million likes at the time of writing. Alongside the adorable video, Alaina joked that the "foster kitten is pushing boundaries" with Mango, much to the resident cat's disappointment.

Chimney shouldn't take it to heart however, because this certainly isn't the first time Mango has shown resentment towards another cat in the house. Alaina explained that when she and her husband Sam first brought their second cat Blueberry home in November 2020, "Mango hated her" did everything she could to push the new arrival away.

Alaina continued: "We did all the things you are supposed to do with introducing cats, but Mango just kept hissing at her. But with enough time and exposure, they came to love each other eventually.

"Fast forward four years, and we have fostered almost 50 cats, and whatever magic allowed Mango and Blueberry to bond has never extended to the other kittens."

The two older cats, Mango and Blueberry, hate all of the fosters that their owner brings home, and while they aren't aggressive, they just prefer to stay away from them entirely. Even so, Chimney managed to battle his way through and get a bit closer to Mango after all.

After seeing her video go viral on TikTok, Alaina has been amazed by the social media reaction and she hopes it will encourage more people to consider fostering.

"We have been incredibly surprised by the reaction, and we are so touched by it," she told Newsweek.

"We are incredibly passionate about fostering, and really encourage cat owners to adopt in pairs. Cats are social animals and while it can take effort to introduce them, it is so important for their development and wellbeing."

The TikTok post has already received over 1,900 comments, with many people lauding the bond that slowly developed between Chimney and Mango. One comment read: "the way the baby stared at him with all that love in its little eyes."

Another person wrote: "how can you be mad at that face."

A third user joked: "The way the kitten barely blinks to make sure he doesn't have to run for his life."

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