Hearts Melt As ‘Spicy’ Foster Kitten Discovers Joy of Hugs

A couple who took in a tiny kitten for fostering was warned he was “spicy,” but never expected what they got.

TikTok user Kate, who posts under the name @riverskate13, shared a video of her and partner with their new addition on November 30.

In words over the video, she wrote: “We were told that we were getting a spicy orange foster kitten.

“This is him day two when you stop petting him.”

The video shows a man sitting with a kitten on his lap, dutifully stroking him from head to tail, as the kitten gratefully accepts.

But then the man stops stroking, and the kitten has an instant reaction.

Looking completely insulted that he has stopped receiving pets, he stares straight up at the man and lets out a roaring meow.

The man, his hand hovering just out of reach, looks to the camera with a grin as the cat revs himself up to let out another scream.

“Spoiled,” Kate wrote in the caption.

TikTok users flocked to the video, which has over 570,000 likes and 3.4 million views, as one shared their own story: “I also was told I was getting a spicy kitten and the moment I brought her home she was sitting on my head (against my will).”

Another admitted: “I would be a foster failure. Orange kitties are the best,” referring to the term when a foster carer ends up adopting the kitten they are meant to be only temporarily looking after.

And one shared their love for orange cats, writing: “Spoiler alert: it’ll never end! Orange cats are a whole separate temperament. You’ll never have a boring day. Mine used to hide bananas in the closet.”

Kate responded to let the commenter know the family are already the owner to one orange cat, meaning there’s sure to be some added chaos to their home while they foster the kitten.

In an earlier video taken on the first day the kitten came to live with them, Kate said he was “hissing and swatting at me,” but she already had her suspicions he was a “fake spicy kitten.”

Spicy is the term given to cats who are distrusting or unused to humans, and may spit, hiss or scratch to keep them away

Kittens under eight weeks old can be socialized relatively easily to become used to humans, but it becomes more difficult the older they get, according to street cat experts the Urban Cat League.

The resource advises using food to help socialize a kitten, such as by getting them to lick food from your finger and stroking them while they eat, to get them used to human touch. Picking up the kitten gently and bringing it from one dish to another will help them learn being picked up is not painful or dangerous.

When playing with the kitten, use nonthreatening toys and one that allows distance, such as a toy at the end of a stick.

Newsweek has contacted @riverskate13 on TikTok for comment on this story.

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