Two bonded cats were perfectly happy cuddling together — until their mom made the mistake of trying to join them.
In an adorable TikTok video, tabby cats Sparky and Ginger were curled up together in what their owner called a “cuddle puddle” when she decided she wanted in on the action.
“Can I snuggle with you?” she asked as both cats looked up at her.
Their expressions suggested they were less than thrilled with the idea.
Mom eventually lay down beside the pair and started petting them, but Sparky and Ginger apparently decided their private cuddle session had officially been ruined. Before long, both cats got up and walked away, leaving their rejected human behind.
“Just wanted to join the cuddle puddle and then they collectively decided it’s time to leave,” she joked in the caption.
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Viewers could not stop laughing at the cats’ perfectly coordinated escape.
“This is a severe case of third wheeling,” one person wrote.
Another joked, “They said… ‘ew bye.’”
“They said ‘three’s a crowd’ and bounced,” someone else added.
Other cat owners admitted they knew the feeling all too well.
“The WORST feeling of rejection when they get up,” one viewer wrote, while another said, “The degree to which I felt your pain of both cats abandoning you!!!”
One commenter offered a different explanation for the sudden departure, joking that the cats may have simply expected their mom to get up and feed them.
“They were waiting for you to feed them, so when you sat down, they had to show you the way to the food,” the person wrote.
Sparky and Ginger’s closeness is also a classic example of a bonded pair.
Bonded cats form especially strong social relationships and often seek each other out for comfort, companionship and security. Some bonded pairs are siblings, while others are unrelated cats that simply become inseparable after spending enough time together.
Animal experts say keeping bonded cats together can help them adjust to a new home, support healthy social development and even reduce conflict between cats.
Of course, in Sparky and Ginger’s case, their bond apparently comes with one important rule: Mom is not invited to every cuddle session.