Man Bringing Cat on First Date Praised: 'Green Flags Everywhere'

On a typical first date, there are usually two people trying to impress each other, but a young man from Toronto changed the game when he decided to bring along a "third wheel."

A post was shared on TikTok in March, by the woman the man took on a date, Huynh, under the username @huynhtwins. She wrote that when he picked her up for their date, he showed up with his cat. The pet was quietly resting in his carrier, which the man made Kaitlyn hold during the car journey.

The post comes with a caption that reads: "On a date with a man [right now] and he brought his cat??" It is followed by: "He's making me hold the crate too."

And the cat strategy did work indeed. Huynh told Newsweek: "The date went great, we are now officially in a relationship and it's been amazing so far! As well, the kitty is well-loved and she's the cutest! Her name is Soju and she's a very silly kitty. We recently introduced her to catnip and she loves it."

However, for many Americans dating is becoming much harder than it was. About 47 percent of the population believes that going on a date is now more challenging than it was 10 years ago, according to an October 2019 survey of 4,860 U.S. adults by Pew Research Center. While men tend to attribute this increasing difficulty to technology, women are more likely to say the reason behind it is that they fear for their safety.

More and more Americans now use online dating to find a date. In 2020, there were 44.2 million users of online dating services in the U.S., according to Statista. The number is estimated to be increasing to 53.3 million by 2025.

The TikTok video quickly gained popularity on social media, attracting animal lovers from all over the platform. It has so far received over 2.2 million views and 550,000 likes.

One user, Salwa, commented: "He is a good man savannah! a good man." Cloudiesxx added: "Green flags everywhere."

Blklbl83 wrote: "If you don't pass the cat's vibe check, you gotta go." And Charlie commented: "Cuff him up cause he's a keeper." User andy684205 posted: "making sure the cat likes u first." OMNI FRENZY!! added: "you should feel blessed."

Another user, Jerry, commented: "Gotta get the cat's approval." And Space Ghost wrote: "Cats are a good judge of character, I hope you made a good impression on him/her." Oreo_mcflurry209 added: "The way I'd marry that man."

Minihirsch posted: "You're the third wheel now." And Iluvfatcatss wrote: "It's his baby, nothing wrong with bringing him along."

Update 6/12/23, 5:21 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the original poster, Huynh.

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