upworthy

adorable

Ever seen a deer give a cat a bath? It's quite a sight.

As humans have long kept domesticated pets, we often put our own furry friends in an entirely different category than the wildlife that lives around us. When we do think about our pets interacting with wild animals, it's usually in the context of them chasing birds or squirrels or us protecting them from predators that may pose a threat.

But once in a while we see a beautiful example of a cross-species friendship that stops us in our tracks. Maybe it's two unlikely animals that bonded as babies or a rescue situation that resulted in a close kinship. On rarer occasions, a purely organic wild-domestic connection forms, and we see the most heartwarming example of this in a viral Disney-esque moment between a deer and a housecat.

Sarah Stephens shared a video of a deer in her backyard in Nevada absolutely drenching her orange tabby with a tongue bath, and it's too adorable:


@ckls1622

Unlikely best friends 😂

 


That cat was taking that bath like she was having the greatest spa day of her life, and people went gaga over it.

"This cat is so happy, soaked and all. 😭😭"

"Sun baked cats smell like popcorn and this deer is here for it."

"What in the Disney is this?! 🥹💗 So lovely."

"Pixar just sleeping on this gold mine."

"Is that a lavender field with a wild deer licking an orange tabby cat??? This is what dreams are made of."

"She needed a baby to care for and kitty needed a momma bath. 🥰🥰"

 deer mama, deer baby, baby animals A deer mama bathes her baby.Photo credit: Canva

"Deer is thinking maybe if i get in good with this mountain lion cub it will protect me when it get big. 😂😂😂"

"This is what I pay my internet and phone bills for. 😭"

Several people also found a deeper meaning in the video as they contemplated why different humans so often have a hard time getting along when such different animals can live in harmony.

"Why can’t we ALL get along like this deer and cat 🫶🏼"

"Moments like this or even my own dog or sons love make me quite spiritual, there is definitely a bond greater than ones self that we all share, now I’m not peddling religion here either, but there's definitely more than the primality of life."

"So strange….. why can’t we do the same? They are so different in every way. Yet loving and trusting. What is so wrong with us? 💔 This is beautiful. Feels like I’m watching such a deep and powerful analogy."


 

Some people also took the opportunity to point out how cats are special creatures with special powers over us all.

"Cats are superior and the universe was made for them."

"Cats will befriend any animal willing to clean their ears."

"Cats always have servants 🤣"

"I'm convinced that humans are not the only ones who think cats are adorable and always have to pet them in public."

"Cats are always doing husbandry with every species even us."

Apparently that deer was not the only one with an affinity for cats. In another video, a different deer nuzzled up to the kitty with some mutual love shown.

 

And here's the cat playfully sneaking up on a deer, solidifying the fact that these Nevada deer really are just part of the family to this friendly feline.

@ckls1622

Macky thinks she’s so funny 😂

Of course, wildlife can pose a danger to pets and vice versa, so this is certainly not an endorsement to let your animals roam freely in the wilderness. But we can certainly acknowledge and appreciate when a two creatures form an unlikely friendship, giving us an inspiring and adorable example of peaceful coexistence. And maybe even some spa-like pampering.

You can follow Sara Stephens (@ckls1622) on TikTok for more.


His duck and goat follow him everywhere.

When we think of something "cute," we usually think of tiny humans, tiny animals or both. It's just hard to out-cute a small child with a puppy, you know?

But a little boy in Brazil is testing the boundaries of adorableness with his penchant for farm animals and his uncanny ability to get them to follow him pied piper-style.

In a series of mega-viral videos from @paidobebecampeiros on TikTok, we see a little boy giving various animals on what appears to be his family's farm a ride in toy wagons hitched to his little motorized tractor. But it's not just that he's pulling them around—it's the way the animals show zero fear and absolute trust in this tiny little person.


On one video that has a whopping 39 million views, the caption translated from Portuguese reads, "What a sweet kiss Campeiro gives his friend Tatá before starting the tour." ("Campeiro" is a term used for fielders who work with cattle in Southern Brazil. Tatá is the name of a rooster.) The video starts off cute, gets cuter, and then somehow, miraculously, it gets even better.

Watch:

@paidobebecampeiro

Que beijo gostoso o Campeiro da no seu amigo Tatá, antes de começar o passeio

The duck and the goat? Come on.

And in another viral episode of "Young McDonald Had a Farm," we see a similar scene but with a bunny thrown in—because of course—in addition to solid evidence that the duck, goat and dogs live for the young farmer's caravans.

It's not just the sound of the truck that lures the animals, in case you're wondering. In other videos the boy pulls his friends in a wagon by hand and the duck and goat still walk happily alongside him.

@paidobebecampeiro

O Campeiro é um encantador de animais 🐓🪿🐇🐑🐕😍😍❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻

It's seriously a Disney cartoon come to life. People in the comments remark that this kiddo is living their dream life. (And people are also super invested in that duck getting a ride—holy moly.) There's just something so pure and wholesome and simple in the harmonious interactions between this little boy and his animals.

Check out @paidobebecampeiro on TikTok to see more of this unbelievable adorableness. Obrigado, Bebe Campeiro!

4-year-old New Zealand boy and police share toys.

Sometimes the adorableness of small children is almost too much to take.

According to the New Zealand Police, a 4-year-old called the country's emergency number to report that he had some toys for them—and that's only the first cute thing to happen in this story.

After calling 111 (the New Zealand equivalent to 911), the preschooler told the "police lady" who answered the call that he had some toys for her. "Come over and see them!" he said to her.

The dispatcher asked where he was, and then the boy's father picked up. He explained that the kids' mother was sick and the boy had made the call while he was attending to the other child. After confirming that there was no emergency—all in a remarkably calm exchange—the call was ended. The whole conversation was so sweet and innocent.

But then it went to another level of wholesome. The dispatcher put out a call to the police units asking if anyone was available to go look at the 4-year-old's toys. And an officer responded in the affirmative as if this were a totally normal occurrence.


Is this what life is like in New Zealand? Practically no COVID-19 to speak of and police units casually dropping by kids' houses to check out their toys?

Listen to the call shared by New Zealand Police:

Child calls 111 to show Police their toys | New Zealand Policewww.youtube.com

The New Zealand Police wrote on YouTube, "Constable Kurt from Southern District Police responded by arriving at the child's house and was shown an array of toys. He also had a good educational chat with the child and his parents about only using 111 for emergencies." The officer also showed the boy his patrol car, put the lights on for him and remarked, "He did have cool toys!"

Lovely exchanges all around, from the kind emergency dispatcher, to the clearly exhausted dad, to the officer going out of his way to look at a random kid's toys, to the precious little kiwi who kicked off the whole chain of events with his thoughtful offer.

Add this to the ever-growing list of reasons to love New Zealand.

Heeyyyyy, everyone! It's time to share our weekly collection of Hopeful Happy Things, which has frankly become a bit therapeutic for me to pull together. It's far too easy to let the Terrible Trending Things suck up all of our attention, so purposefully focusing on joy and delight feels quite healing.

Check out these 10 things and see if you agree.


Bear cubs find a hammock and create delightful chaos.

How frigging cute are these cubs? Every kid who tries to get into a hammock for the first time understands. Hang in there, cubbies. Hammocks are hard, even for humans.

This beatbox champion's stylings—the beatboxing AND the hair—are too epic.

First of all, holy talent, Batman. I don't even understand what he's doing, much less how, but I'm floored. Go, Show-go, go.

Second, let's talk about the bowl cut/mullet mashup, because that's just all kinds of WOW.

Pandas entertain themselves like toddlers and it's the best thing ever.

More videos of pandas doing somersaults, please.

The way this kiddo talks to his younger sibling is literally the cutest thing ever.

The voice. The sweetness. The emotional intelligence. The consent lesson. This is more than my ovaries can handle. Good job, Mama.

These super big brothers make Halloween epic with their baby sister every year.

That is one lucky baby girl.

There's nothing better than a best friend reunion, but this one will hit you right in the feelies.

Love a kid who lets his emotions out. Read the full story here. 

Profoundly autistic boy said he wanted friends for his birthday. More than 55,000 people responded.

Daniel is profoundly autistic and his parents said that he had never expressed a desire for friends before. They weren't even sure if he fully grasped the idea of friendship. His dad shared his birthday wish on Twitter, and birthday greetings poured in from unexpected places. Read this beautiful story here.

We all need this reminder of how powerful and life-changing teachers can be. 

"My teacher said I'm an artist!" and that's all it took for this kid to proudly display his artwork. Teachers are superheroes with incredible powers.

Surprise veteran homecomings never get old. This one is just pure joy. 

If that doesn't make you smile (and then maybe cry a little), then I don't even know. Splash some cold water on your face or something and make sure your heart is pumping.

Seriously cannot get enough of Abby, the donut thief superhero.

This isn't new, but I'd never seen a compilation of this cutie's verbal gems before. Too hilarious. I did a little digging and found out the family has a TikTok channel (@alongcameabby), so excuse me while I go bingewatch a precocious preschooler for hours.


Hope that lifted your spirit! Keep an eye out next Friday for another round-up of happiness. :)