A new dad captured a heartwarming moment with his infant son on camera, unaware of who was watching on in the background.
Rhianna Hill and her partner, Curtis, welcomed their son, Gene-Vincent, into the world on September 12, 2024. Prior to that, the number one boy in Hill’s life had been her 2-year-old cat, Binx.
He loves all the things you would expect of a cat. “He enjoys sleeping, playing with anything he can get hold of and eating,” Hill told Newsweek.
One thing he is a little less sure of, at first at least, is Gene. “Binx isn’t a huge fan of children; he tends to avoid them,” Hill said. “He has certainly been intrigued by the arrival of Gene, but they didn’t get off to a great start with their relationship because Gene pulled Binx’s tail.”
These days, Binx is happy to play alongside Gene, with the pair often found catching bubbles together or messing around on a water mat. More often than not, though, Binx likes to watch on from a distance.
That is what led to the moment Hill ended up capturing in a video posted to TikTok under the handle @rhiannahill87. “I was recording Gene laughing with Curtis, and then I noticed Binx in the corner, and I couldn’t help but zoom in on his face,” Hill said.
Though cats are often characterized as solitary, aloof pets, research suggests they have a level of attachment toward their caregivers that is similar to a dog or infant child. They consider their humans to be their parents.
A 2019 study published in the journal Current Biology detailed an experiment in which 70 kittens were put in a room with their human for two minutes, before then being left alone for two minutes and then reunited. Researchers then observed their behavior to determine how attached they were.
The results revealed more than 60 percent of the kittens demonstrated a level of attachment on a par with a dog or child. While Binx’s attachment to Hill was already well-established, there was some initial concern she could struggle to bond with Curtis.
“When we were dating and talking about pets, I told him about Binx. Curtis said, ‘I don’t like cats,’” Hill said. “Looking back on this is funny because he absolutely loves Binx. Binx can snooze upstairs all day and come 5 p.m., when Curt finishes work, Binx will come downstairs to see him and play.”
However, as Hill quickly realized while filming the cute interaction between Curtis and Gene, at that precise moment while watching on, Binx must have had mixed emotions. The “slow blink” Hill picked up as she zoomed in on her cat’s face watching on certainly suggested that.
“When you are no longer his favorite boy,” she wrote alongside the clip, which has been watched more than 1.2 million times. “I think the video just perfectly captures how fur babies have to take a backseat at times and, despite them not liking it, they can’t help but watch,” Hill said.
Despite Binx’s perception of events, Hill is keen to stress that the love she feels for her feline companion is undiminished, even if she has her hands full with a baby now.
“I love animals. There’s something so special about reflecting on happy moments with our pets. They are always there to cuddle through the good, the bad and the ugly of life,” Hill said. “Hopefully, Binx forgives us for putting Gene’s needs first. If not, we might need to send them for some relationship therapy!”
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