I've been posting a lot of Very Serious threads recently. But on occasion, I think it's important to lighten things up a little bit.

So here's a thread about how my cats fell in love with each other.

Let's get wholesome.

It all started in 2017. My partner and I wanted a cat. Well, I wanted a cat, and Ray wanted me to stop begging for a cat.

I posted in a local group looking for "a cat that will want to be on my lap at literally all times."

The internet gave us Pancake.

This Absolute Unit came from a very loving family. They had decided to rehome him because he was struggling with separation anxiety. You see, Pancake had a best friend (cat) named Daphne. And when Daphne passed away, Pancake fell apart.

He was literally sick with grief. He became overwhelmed with anxiety, stopped eating, isolated himself. And while his physical health had been restored with time, he still struggled to be left at home by himself.

When we met this giant cat with an even bigger heart... we melted.

We brought Pancake home with us, and he thrived. Ray and I were both working remotely, which allowed us to give Pancake all the love in the world that he needed. All of the problems his previous family had told us about literally disappeared. He was a chonky, happy cat.

Pancake loves to love. That's just who he is as a kitty. He's happiest when he has his friends close, and he loves making new friends, too. It's what Ray and I both love about him — he is the sweetest in the universe.

It was on our minds, though, that Pancake might want a kitty companion. We knew that his experience with his cat BFF Daphne was telling. And Pancake continually let us know that, without anyone to play with at 5 AM, his life would remain WOEFULLY INCOMPLETE.

So we poked around on some adoption websites, and found a very wide-eyed, goofy, little cat that stole our hearts. The adoption people warned us that this particular cat was scared of... basically everything.

And we mean everything.

We brought him home anyway. And we did what any reasonable cat parent would do: we asked @chelseaperetti to help us pick a name for the new cat.

(No, seriously. We did.) https://twitter.com/samdylanfinch/status/1036325168132444160

The internet provided once again. Chelsea had some stellar suggestions (Allergen, Saddle — you know, typical cat names), but it was a random Twitter user @sadia615 that came in with the best suggestion yet: Cannoli. https://twitter.com/sadia615/status/1036392881697771521

It was perfect. Because what we learned was that Cannoli was a total sweetheart — he just had a protective shell!

Everyone told us to separate them for ten million years. And for a minute there, we thought that we'd made a mistake.

Pancake wasn't thrilled. Photographic evidence the day after we brought Cannoli home:

The first couple of nights, Pancake would hear Cannoli crying in the other room, and growl like the betrayed no-longer-an-only-child that he was. But within a few days, he was going up to the door, waiting impatiently for us to open it.

And when it occurred to him upon meeting that Cannoli was literally just a terrified mess... something clicked.

Something like, "I must take care of this tiny one who seems completely dysfunctional."

It started with sharing his dinner & keeping an eye out...

Cannoli, instead of running away, got REALLY CURIOUS about this giant friend and decided to test some boundaries.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn4YK8BhDKV/ 

Slowly but surely, they started to like the idea of being buddies. Pancake even let Cannoli claim the tallest part of the cat castle as his napping perch!

It didn't take long for them to become inseparable. And for us to stumble in on moments like these:

Cannoli slowly became more comfortable in his new home. Pancake taught him how to be brave! Which was irritating, because "brave" meant teaching him how to climb up on the kitchen counters and get into the cabinets.

Their dynamic became incredibly silly to watch. Pancake, the gentle giant that just wanted to relax and have a good time and hang out in the sun... and Cannoli, never far behind, needing to be wherever Pancake was and doing whatever Pancake was doing.

They "held tails" and have little names for each other. Pancake calls Cannoli "MOW!" and Cannoli calls Pancake "BREEEE?"

And sometimes this leads to silly games of marco/polo in our apartment, because they always need to know where the other is. https://twitter.com/samdylanfinch/status/1058152656609280000

They developed a cute little routine with each other, too. When Ray is getting their breakfast, they join forces to annoy them into preparing that meal faster. Which works, obviously.

Then they each eat half of their allotted portions, and then switch bowls with each other.

And Pancake went from being a careful protector...

To a nap buddy...

To... well, you can judge for yourself.

Pancake, my gentle giant with an enormous heart, and Cannoli, the squeaker afraid of All The Things, became a perfect match. Pancake found a little one to protect & love; Cannoli found a friend just big enough to make him feel like the world wasn't quite so scary after all.

And let me tell you: Cannoli really came out of his shell.

I can't explain all the weird things that they do, but I'm glad that they have someone equally weird to do whatever this is...

Most of all? I'm just happy that they're happy.

Nowadays, this is how you'll find them most afternoons.

(And Ray, I'll say it one more time: I told you so.)

Lots of people told us not to get "two male cats," not to get Pancake a friend because he's an older cat, or that Cannoli was too old to get along with an older cat, blah blah blah.

But listen: Sometimes, things are just meant to be! And I'm just lucky to be around for it.

Moral of the story? Take your pick:

1. We all neeeeed somebodyyyy to leannnnn on!

2. Get a second cat.