'Gentle Giant' Dog Scared of Kitten Has Internet in Stitches

A video of a dog looking "scared" while being introduced to a tiny kitten has gone viral on TikTok, where it has received 1.8 million views.

A message overlaid on the clip, shared by Bridey Drake (@brideydrake), an Australian dog owner based in Ettalong Beach in the Australian state of New South Wales, read: "Showing my dog the baby for the first time [emoji of eyes crying floods of tears]."

The video, which was posted with a caption that says "Gentle giant," showed a woman sitting next to her dog, who "doesn't like kittens."

The woman said: "She would never hurt them but she is a little bit scared.... Let's see how we'll go."

Turning toward the dog, she asked, "Are you ready to see a baby? All right," before holding a tiny kitten in her hands and putting it close to the dog's nose.

"What is this? This is a little baby," the woman said as the dog was seen pulling her head away from the palm-sized kitten. Gazing toward the floor and away from the kitten, the nervous-looking pet later walked away from the woman and the kitten.

"We are making progress," the woman said as she held the kitten to her chest, sitting closer to the camera.

It's not surprising for the dog and kitten to have not hit it off in the video. Dogs and cats may speak a different language, and "this could influence their mutual relationship, as well as those with humans and with other animals," says an August 2020 study in the online journal PLOS One.

The study found that when many of the observed dogs saw a cat, they attacked, barked or wagged their tails, while only one dog ignored the cat. Many of the observed cats escaped, ignored, hissed or approached the dog "amicably," according to the pet owners surveyed.

Pam Johnson-Bennett is an author of several books on cat behavior and training and the former vice president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She previously told Newsweek that the personality and characteristics of the dog breed, as well as the age and activity levels of both dogs and cats, play a crucial role in their introduction.

Zazie Todd, the author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy, previously told Newsweek that early life experiences are key factors in helping cats and dogs to get along.

The period from around the age of 2 to around 7 weeks old is a sensitive period for kittens' socialization, Todd said. So cats will get along better with pups when they're introduced as kittens.

A successful introduction will be dependent on how well trained the dog is and how safe the cat feels, Johnson-Bennett said.

Todd agreed, saying slow and gradual introductions are key, starting with smell before moving on to sight and short, safe introductions with both pets in the same room.

The TikTok video left some users laughing, while others swooned over the pup's "cute" reaction.

Lameez Ackers said: "Lol [laugh out loud] she's like 'Immediately no' [crying/laughing emoji]," while michellelouisew84 wrote: "She's like get that thing away from me mom lol."

Katrina Gardam said the dog must have been saying, "OK. I tried. I'm leaving [crying/laughing emojis].

User Rachel wrote that the pup must have thought, "Errrrr no I'm nah no I'm out of here [worried face emojis]."

Sophie Callard said: "That look screams I did not sign up for parenthood," while user josenOne said: "She is child free please respect her life choices."

User @jemimamcc.x wrote: "Her reaction was so cute," while Renee agreed, saying, "Awww [teary eyes emoji]. Cutest thing ever!!"

Newsweek has contacted the original poster via TikTok and email. This video has not been independently verified.

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