Cute cat falls immediately in love with his mom's "temporary" kitten, he convinces her to turn his younger foster brother into a furrever foster fail

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Jan 9, 2026 1:00 PM EST

There is no stronger love than a Papa cat and his adopted kitten.

It's funny how people tend to describe cats as solitary animals when in fact, they're quite the opposite. We've always said that kittens are best adopted in pairs, and that's because it's true! Think about it - if you get a kitten a playmate, they will play with each other and tire each other out, instead of you having to do that work for them. Cats grow up in litters, literally doing everything together. They sleep in giant cuddle puddles, play together, and eat together, so when you separate them from other cats, they can become distant and lonely.

Some cats also just love to be a pawrent-figure. It gives them someone to care for (other than you, because to them, you are a stoopid hairless cat that can't do anything right) and a furrever playmate. Our cat below is the purrfect example of that. His mom was fostering a new kitten until he was old enough to get fixed, but her cat fell madly in love with her "temporary" kitten. After seeing how happy they were together, she knew she couldn't separate them. So, in the end, he convinced her to turn his younger foster brother into a furrever foster fail.

The picture she sent of them might be the best cat picture we've ever seen on the internet. The "dad's" excited face and the kitten's happiness (or terror… we can't really tell which one it is), we're sure this is going to be one happy feline family.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10594704384
    via armlaeglaegarmhead
  • 02
    I was only trying to foster the little one until he was big enough to be neutered, but they fell so in love with each other I don't know if I can bring myself to break them up!
    via armlaeglaegarmhead
  • 03
    MikeTheDude23 Haha that face
    via MikeTheDude23
  • 04
    delhibellyvictim "thanks for the new friend"
    via delhibellyvictim
  • 05
    CutSea5865 17:24 Happiness or terror? I really can't tell lol
    via CutSea5865
  • 06
    richheavenbloom NO ONE WILL SEPERATE US
    via richheavenbloom

  • The cat dad is cheezing so hard. We love it. It's a mix of smugness, happiness, excitement, and thankfulness. There will be many shenanigans to come in that house, but there will also be lots of happy meowmories. Somebody get them a photo album, ASAP! Or a Disney movie. Purrhaps both.

  • 07
    Realistic-Dark Both of your cats are so photogenic. The father smiling for the camera like a proper gentleman, and the kitten's look of sheer joy. You gotta keep them together <3
    via Realistic-Dark
  • 08
    emilycecilia Not a step-dad, but a dad who stepped up.
    via @emilycecilia
  • 09
    TheProblem Chiled Mom can we keep him
    via TheProblemChiled
  • 10
    Flat-Limit5595
    via Flat-Limit5595
  • 11
    Love adopted dads. We found an abandoned kitten nearly starved to d th. We used to have a very maternal fluffy orange boy that adopted every kitten he found. His last adopted kitten shared a lot of traits with him, above is Sr Fluffy Buns the 2nd the first time he met his daughter. It was nearly love at first sight.
    via Flat-Limit5595
  • 12
    Late_Can6807 I love this so much. Congratulations on your new cat.
    via Late_Can6807
  • 13
    ans97 So cute it reminds me of my little daddy. when we brought in our kitten we found on the road. He exhausted him lol.
    via ans97
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    Cheezburger Image 10594705408
    via ans97
  • 15
    Swimming_Mortgage599 I had a similar situation - I had two cats and then I took a third one from a stray cats, with the intention of neutering and finding a new owner for that third cat, but all cats became so friendly that I ended up having three cats now :)
    via Swimming_Mortgage599

  • If you thought you had any influence on the future decisions of that “stray” cat, you are sorely mistaken! Don't furget that your cats are the ones who run the house, and they decide if the cat stays or goes. Of course the cat stayed because once you have two, why not add one more? In our opinion, the difference in work between 2-3 cats is minimal, but once you get above four, you get to another level.

  • 16
    TheSwearJarlsMy401k There is no love stronger than the love of a Papa cat for his adopted kitten. He clearly needed this baby. You gotta keep him. Papa cat needed another cat around, one he could love and care for and pounce on and smack around and bathe and nap with.
    via TheSwearJarlsMy401k
  • 17
    I got my cat a wife and he loved her immediately, but she was less playful than he wanted. So three years ago I got him a kitten, and he raised that baby boy like a single dad who always wanted a family. His wife did not want a family.
    via TheSwearJarlsMy401k
  • 18
    Then I found a pregnant cat in the road one night and after weeks in the cat hospital I adopted her and brought her home. Her babies all lived but she was too injured and sick to care for them so they were bottle fostered and adopted out. She hadn't seen them since the day after they were born.
    via TheSwearJarlsMy401k
  • 19
    She saw my boy and his adopted son her first day in the house, and went straight up to that 7 month old baby and started bathing him. She worked out a co-parenting schedule with Papal the same day, and they've been babying his ass ever since.
    via @TheSwearJarlsMy401k
  • 20
    So my boy got a wife, a son, and a best friend. And then a very al sed shelter cat who hid from everyone and wouldn't let the staff touch her for months climbed up onto my shoulder when her kennel door was open while I was helping my mom pick up a cat for herself.
    via TheSwearJarlsMy401k
  • 21
    I said absolutely not I can't have five cats, I don't care that she's been here for months and is the last cat at the shelter the day before New Year's Eve and has already been returned and has never left this kennel voluntarily before. I'm not taking another cat, ever.
    via TheSwearJarlsMy401k
  • 22
    So now my boy has a wife, a son, a best friend, and a weird little cousin who has the mind of a kitten and needs exactly three licks in the middle of the forehead before she runs away and hides under the dining table again. He loves his little family so much.
    via TheSwearJarlsMy401k
  • 23
    MaskedDonkeyKicker looks a lot like the energy of the humans photographed in my house, lol
    via MaskedDonkeyKicker
  • 24
    Help_a_user_out Similar situation. Had a foster that looked like a carbon copy kitten version of my resident cat. My resident cat showed her the ropes and bathed her, and I was done for.
    via Help_a_user_out
  • 25
    timesuck897 Sometimes kittens have to be sat on, they are full of energy.
    via timesuck897
  • 26
    Capital_Past69 HE'S SQUISHING ME!!!
    via Capital_Past69
  • 27
    Yorgl This might be one of the best cat photos i've seen
    via Yorgl

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temporary foster fail foster Cats cute kittens animals
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