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By Melissa Fleur Afshar
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The bond between a rehomed stray cat and her older feline sibling has delighted viewers online.
The pet, who had been adopted as a stray kitten, was captured copying every move that her older sibling, a male cat, made. The pair were filmed mimicking one another on their household pet cam, with the resulting footage being shared to TikTok by @99centnuggets on June 5. The post has been viewed more than 4.5 million times and has amassed over 1.2 million likes to date.
Viewers were able to see the younger cat following every footstep of her older sibling, including his walk toward a display unit, his stretch, his decision to sit on the floor, and his eventual walk in the opposite direction.
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An overlaid text on the video read: "POV: [Point of view] The stray cat you brought home as a kitten copies everything your older cat does."
Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado is a certified applied animal behaviorist and certified cat behavior consultant who has been working with felines for over 20 years. She told Newsweek her expert takes on why some take being a "copy cat" literally.
"Cats are definitely social learners, meaning that they can observe other cats doing things and have their attention drawn to that activity," Delgado, who is an affiliate member of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, said. "Many studies show that cats benefit from observing other cats.
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"For example, kittens who watch their mom hunt can capture prey faster," she added.
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The animal behaviorist, who is also a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Davis, said that, despite what was captured on the pet cam, true copying is rare in nonhuman animals.
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"Imitation relies on both copying the exact behaviors and having the same goal," Delgado said. "Often animals achieve the same goal, such as getting food out of a food puzzle, through trial and error.
"They are more interested in the food puzzle because the other cat is interested, but they actually get the food out of the puzzle by trying different things that the cat they are learning from," she added. " They still benefit from the presence of the other cat."
Although Delgado said that there is no evidence to suggest that 'copying' is more prevalent among young or recently adopted cats, viewers online have shared their amusement at the dynamic between the siblings.
"He's learning how to cat," one viewer, @ohshesnicole, posted.
Another, @mxm0chie, added: "A little copy cat."
"Literally sobbing [right now] because its kinda feels like she's trying to learn how to live like an indoor cat," a third user, @mniimxx, shared.
Newsweek reached out to @99centnuggets for more information via TikTok.
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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