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A video of a cat appearing to befriend his dog housemate after "trying to smack" the canine's ankles has gone viral on Instagram.
The clip was posted from @justmetadognamedmaria, the Instagram account of "Maria the Black Lab." Maria is an American field Labrador, the dog's owner Aly Birch told Newsweek. The clip has had 3.6 million views since it was shared on December 26.
A message overlaid on the video, which was shot in Birch's home in Vermont, reads: "That moment when the cat who smacks you around decides he wants to hang out and you don't know how to act."
Read More on Pets
The footage shows a dog lying on a bed, looking towards the camera. A cat is seen holding the tip of a blanket in his mouth behind the dog and peering around.
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A caption shared with the post reads: "Anyone else live with an alien that chooses when it wants to be friends? My alien is named Binx and I think only mom loves him..."
Birch told Newsweek that Binx is an American shorthair that she adopted while living in Hawaii back in 2016. Binx is an older cat with some health issues, while Maria is much younger and was adopted by Birch's partner Dylan.
"We joke that we have a blended family, as we coerced the two of them to live together and tolerate each other when we moved in together in 2022," she said.
An August 2020 study in PLOS One said dogs and cats are often considered "mortal enemies." But an increasing number of our canine and feline companions have been living under the same roof and "most cohabitations are peaceful," the study said.
It found that most dogs and cats that share a home sleep together "at least occasionally," as well as play together.
"Although some body postures, such as the tail's position, are interpreted differently by the two species, the greater proportions of dogs and cats show a relaxed response to several kinds of approaches of their roommate," the study explained.
"It is true that they speak different languages, but they seem to understand each other well and interpret each other's approaches in the right way," the study added.
'Appreciate Each Other's Presence'
Birch told Newsweek that just before the scene captured in the latest viral clip, Binx was "trying to smack" Maria's ankles and "she jumped up on the bed to escape the paws of fury and he joined soon after."
She said: "He has a favorite blanket that he kneads, sleeps in and actually occasionally humps and when he realized Maria was on his blanket, he figured she wasn't so bad and he would share it with her. Poor Maria was still not over the smacks, but eventually they napped 'together,' aka foot apart, but in the same spot."
Maria and Binx have grown to "appreciate each other's presence" and "as they age, they spend more time near each other," which is "quite endearing," Birch said.
"But by no means will they cuddle," the pet owner added, noting that the pair have reached a point where "they will sit next to each other on the bed or the couch, but never actually touch."
She said: "Binx likes being higher than Maria and will sit on the counters or tables and look at her from above, but when Maria is next to Binx with both feet on the ground, he will swat at her."
'The Face of Fear'
The interaction between in the dog and the cat in the latest viral clip has left Instagram users in stitches.
User kosmo.cat.nz said: "The face of fear..... what is the cat gonna do next ??"
Life.with.maddydog noted: "He's plotting something, don't fall for it!!"
User nlbeach wrote: "I'm sorry. That's not a cat, that's a PANTHER LOL."
While user potandpet noted: "The more he smacks the more he love you. Cat logic."
Liesah2910 said: "Don't move, avoid breathing, hope he goes away again."
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.
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