Cat Putting Kitten in a Headlock Leaves Internet in Stitches: 'This Hurts'

A video of a cat appearing to hold a kitten in place on the floor using a headlock has gone viral on TikTok, where it has received 9.1 million views.

A message overlaid on the clip shared by @fatmaslama52 read: "Introducing our new kitten to our cat." A voice in the clip added, "He decided to kill him."

The video showed the cat facing the camera, with its eyes wide open and occasionally squinting, while holding the kitten's head on the floor with its front paws. The kitten squirmed and twisted its body as it tried to break free from the hold.

It may seem unlikely that a friendship will blossom between these two feline housemates, but they may later learn each other's names, according to a study published in April 2022 in the journal Scientific Reports.

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

The study also 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."

How to Introduce a Kitten to a Cat

Molly DeVoss, a certified feline training and behavior specialist and certified cat behavior consultant, previously told Newsweek that a cat and a kitten can become besties even if there is a large age gap.

However, "that pathway won't be without potholes along the way," she said

DeVoss explained that "mismatched play styles are one of the biggest challenges when pairing a very young and very old cat together."

Regardless of age, all new cat introductions should be done "slowly and methodically," she said, with the new cat initially placed in a sanctuary room. Both felines should be given treats and other rewards whenever they're near each other.

Once the cats are being introduced in the same room, have one or both of them in a harness and leash, DeVoss advised.

'Told You We Didn't Need Another Cat'

The interaction between the kitten and the cat in the video left some TikTokers laughing.

Devon Johnson wrote: "Shhhh this hurts me more than it hurts you."

Cherry said, "Show them who's boss here."

Aimée McAllister simply noted "the eye twitch" in a comment that got 25,700 likes, while user oooooooo said, "He looks so proud of himself."

In a post that got 13,800 likes, userblablabla said the cat must have been trying to say, "I told you we didn't need another cat."

User La kucina 🇹🇳🇵🇸 expressed concern, saying, "You should save him [the kitten]." To which the original poster replied, "They used to play like that don't worry."

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

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