Cat Asking to Be Cuddled Has Internet Bawling: 'The Paw'

A video of a cat appearing to remind his owner about their morning cuddle routine has gone viral on TikTok.

The clip was posted on September 20 by Paquito & Andrea (@paquito_thecat) and has 11.7 million views at the time of writing.

A message overlaid on the clip says: "I almost forgot to cuddle Paquito this morning and he kindly reminded me." The footage shows a cat staring at a woman lying in bed.

A caption shared with the post reads: "The 'aren't you forgetting something?' paw tap."

Cats have a reputation for being independent. However, a study published in September 2019 in Current Biology found evidence that our feline friends "display distinct attachment styles toward human caregivers."

The study said: "Research suggests we may be underestimating cats' socio-cognitive abilities.

"Cats, like dogs, can be found living in social groups or solitarily, depending on early developmental factors, resource distribution, and lifetime experiences such as human interaction," the study found.

Cats can also develop strong bonds with their feline housemates and even learn each other's names, according to to an April 2022 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.

The findings of the Japanese study, which looked at household cats and felines belonging to cat cafés where many cats live together, showed that cats learn the names of their "friend cats" in their daily lives.

The study found that "cats expect a specific face upon hearing the specific name of a companion" through the "spontaneous learning of relationships between names and faces in their everyday experiences, similar to what human children do."

'A Cuddly Cat'

The cat in the latest viral video is seen putting his paw on the arm of the woman in bed, as she appears to shuffle herself around. She then pulls the cat towards her chest and gives him several kisses while cuddling him. The cat is shown being hugged by the woman, with one of his paws resting on her arm as the clip ends.

The latest video has melted the hearts of users on TikTok.

Dano The Mano wrote: "the amount of money I would give to have a cuddly cat."

Lowes noted: "The way you just scooped him up."

Elaine said: "I love how he always has a paw curled around your arm."

Sass C agreed, noting "The paw over your arm always gets me."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

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.