A woman who fostered a litter of kittens realized she had no choice but to keep one after it forged a strong bond with her dog.
Taylor Meadows is the proud owner of a three-year-old Dalmatian, River—and now she also owns tabby cat Summit, who she described as her "foster fail." While Meadows loved Summit right away, it was his relationship with River that cemented her decision to keep him, describing him as "River's emotional support cat."
"Pretty much from a few days into fostering him, I could just tell he was special," Meadows told Newsweek. "River can be a nervous girl, but she's so much calmer when Summit is around. Sometimes I'll bring him to River's vet appointments and she's so much calmer and noticeably does so much better with him there."
A video posted to Meadows' TikTok account, @mywildmeadows, shows the bond between River and Summit, and has had close to 2 million views since being shared on November 12 as viewers fell in love with the two pets.
Meadows, a photographer and content creator, wrote on the clip: "Last year I let my dog keep her favorite foster kitten. Here's how it went."
Then began a sweet montage of River and Summit over the last few months, starting with the tiny kitten cuddling up with the giant dog, both curling up asleep together, Summit kneading River's fur.
As time goes on, they set off on walks together, both on leashes, even going paddleboarding and hiking, traveling in the car, as Summit grows up.
"They are inseparable best friends and adventure buddies," Meadows told Newsweek. "They do everything together, from hiking and camping to paddleboarding. They're the perfect duo for exploring the outdoors and I feel so lucky to have them."
TikTok users instantly fell in love with the animals, with one commenter writing: "This made me cry, in a good way — they are precious."
"Spots and stripes go together like peas and carrots," said another of the tabby and Dalmatian, while one admitted they were "not emotionally stable enough to watch this."
A user also suggested their story would "make the cutest children's book," while another insisted: "It's not a foster fail if [Summit] was adopted by your dog."
A "foster fail" is the term given to when a foster carer cannot give up the animal, and adopts them rather than giving them to a new home. Around 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted in the United States each year, including 2 million dogs and 2.1 million cats, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
Meadows was so determined not to be a foster fail that she initially returned Summit to the shelter after his foster was up, to be neutered and put up for adoption, and "almost immediately I regretted it."
"I think I realized that I didn't want him to be just anyone's adventure cat, I wanted him to be my adventure cat," she said. "And after seeing how much he and River loved each other, I just knew I couldn't separate them — they were truly best friends and so in love with each other."
She told the shelter she wanted to adopt him herself, and the reunion was sweet.
"River was so happy to see him again because to her, the foster kittens never return once they leave so she was so excited. And Summit immediately started nuzzling into her and they cuddled until they fell asleep."
One month later, Summit joined River and Meadows on a road trip across the United States and on to Canada, spending the summer in the Canadian Rockies, where he "learned how to walk on a leash, how to hike, how to camp, and how to paddleboard."
"He is the best little adventure cat and loves to be outdoors as much as possible, so now he joins River and I on just about every adventure."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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