A viral video has shared the unexpected moment a cat and pigeon were caught rewriting the rules of interspecies relationships.
Posted by @supersecretacc1818, the video captured the moment a tabby cat gently batted at a pigeon in the backyard. But in an unexpected twist, there were no claws or aggression.
“I recorded ’cause it was cute,” the poster wrote in a comment. “They hang out a lot. They never hurt each other.” While the text overlay on the video, which has been viewed over 4.2 million times, said: “I did NOT raise a hunter.”
In the caption, she joked: “Like girl, why are you petting the opps?”
“You raised a lover,” said viewer rizzle. While Drea said: “No survival instincts from that pigeon.”
Like girl why r u petting the opps?!!
While viewer Melo Melo pointed out: “The fact they both are lacking instincts.”
Fellow cat owner Amelie shared her own experience: “My cat only goes for mice and rats, she was laying in the garden the other day and a pigeon literally walked right next to her, she just looked at it. I swear to god, cats never go for pigeons I don’t know why.”
The moment is perhaps most surprising given the reputation cats have for their impact on wild bird life. According to a 2013 study led by researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, outdoor cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds annually in the U.S. alone.
While unowned or feral cats are responsible for the bulk of this—69 percent for birds and 89 percent for mammals—but owned pets still contribute significantly. The USDA Wildlife Services has even labeled free-ranging cats as invasive species, citing their role in disease spread and wildlife decline.
Last year, another cat gained viral attention during a bird encounter when he was caught on camera sitting right next to giant bird of prey, the crested caracara, through the window.
While other cats have found similar unlikely friendships, like the ginger cat who made friends with the pet betta fish and was heartbroken when the one they had passed away. While a cat rescued from a hoarding house with 77 other animals, found a happy home with two unlikely friends—a pair of golden retrievers.
Newsweek reached out to @supersecretacc1818 via TikTok for comment.
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