A video showing what a husband packed for vacation has warmed the hearts of social media users.
On July 11, TikTok user @3rescuedkitties posted a video with the caption, “When you’re on a 2-week vacation with your husband and realize he brought this.”
The camera then moves toward a picture frame on a bedside table. The frame, adorned with a heart-shaped piece of wood and a label that says “Cat Dad,” shows two images of a man holding a cat.
The video has since received 1.1 million views and more than 52,000 likes on TikTok, with viewers praising the poster’s husband. “Green flags all around,” one wrote on the video-sharing platform.
Newsweek has contacted @3rescuedkitties for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
The man’s apparent attachment to his cat is not surprising, as pet owners are known to show concern for their animal companions—even more so since the COVID-19 pandemic.
A March 2021 survey conducted by OnePoll, a market research firm, in partnership with Banfield Pet Hospital in Portland, Oregon, found that one in three people got a new pet during the pandemic.
As COVID-19 safety restrictions lifted and workers began returning to the office, many faced the dilemma of having to leave their pets alone at home while they went to work.
About one in two Gen Zers (those born between 1997 and 2012) and one in three millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996) said they would consider looking for another job in the post-pandemic era if their workplace were not pet-friendly, the survey showed.
The survey also found that about 32 percent of owners said they contacted their veterinarian for advice about making the transition back to work easier on their pets.
Though the TikTok video highlighted the man’s devotion to his cat, his partner may also be benefiting from his pet ownership.
In a September 2016 study published in Anthrozoös, couples with pets saw several relationship benefits—such as “greater overall relationship quality, partner responsiveness, adjustment and relational investment”—compared to couples without pets.
“A pet might provide the opportunity to practice empathic abilities, which is a crucial ability in the maintenance of positive relationships,” the study said.
It added that “the number of years an individual owned a pet was positively correlated with empathic concern, which in turn was linked to several relationship benefits,” such as “commitment, couple identity and relationship maintenance behaviors.”
‘Green Flag’
In the TikTok video’s comments section, users praised the man’s attachment to his cat, with one writing, “He’s a keeper and the cat agrees!”
“I only want a partner if he’s like this,” another added.
Other users called it a “green flag,” while one said: “Stop it. This is so sweet!”
“This is so pure,” a commenter wrote. Another added, “That is the cutest!!”
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.