Nathan, a dog dad from Canada, originally created the Tik Tok account “Tales of Arlo” (@TalesOfArlo) to share videos of his Australian Shepherd puppy Arlo. While Arlo’s still the main focus, the account also features some of the kittens Nathan fosters.
Several litters of foster kittens have come through this household at various times, but one video shows how Arlo really stepped up to look after a litter of orphaned cats. Little did he or his dad know, Arlo would also form a deep bond with his future sibling, a kitten named Maple.
An Orphaned Litter And A Dog Foster Dad
Maple’s litter, though all young kittens, had no mother to nurture them when they arrived at the shelter. Arlo, usually not super involved in the fostering duties, stepped up when this particular litter came into the home.
He watched over the kittens as they slept, stood by while they ate, and even groomed them. Despite foster dad duties being new to him, Arlo was obviously a natural. He and the kittens adored each other.
In a caption on an Instagram post, Nathan explained:
“These foster babies unfortunately arrived at the shelter without their mom. The moms are usually super protective so we don’t generally let Arlo meet them. But this time we figured we’d give it a try and he’s been like a major cat dad all day! Playing with them and even grooming them. They’re a mess because they basically sit in their wet food so Arlo’s been keeping them clean. The best boy!”
The video @TalesOfArlo posted to TikTok depicting Arlo’s cat dad-ing and his relationship with Maple went viral, amassing nearly 43,000 likes and over 280,000 views. Watch the sweet journey for yourself below:
@talesofarlo Little did we know when we brought home our last foster litter that we’d foster fail and keep little sweet girl forever 😻🥰 #dogsofttiktok #kittensoftiktok #catsoftiktok #bestfriends #australianshepherd #aussie #aussiesdoingthings #fosterkittens #rescue #rescuecat #fyp #foryou ♬ Let Her Go – Jasmine Thompson
“We had to keep one.”
Fostering is a great thing to do, but the toughest part is handing the animals over to their new adoptive families or original rescue groups. While sadly, Nathan and Arlo had to say goodbye to most of the kittens from this litter, a strong bond with one of them resulted in a “foster fail.”
As the captions on the viral Tik Tok video state:
“My heart couldn’t prepare for how much he’d love them… so we had to keep one for him. Now they’re best friends and inseparable.”
Maple, a calico kitten, joined the family permanently last year. Nathan posted about the adoption on Instagram in early November 2021:
“Still can’t believe this sassy lady has been with us for one whole month (+3 foster weeks)! It’s been amazing to watch her grow from a 5 week old little gremlin to a sweet, sassy, beautiful baby girl! The thing that excites me the most is her bond with Arlo and how they’ll grow to be such good friends together!”
There are also two other cats in the family, both five years old and from the same litter. It’s getting to be a full house, but Nathan feels “the more, the merrier,” especially since Arlo and Maple have their close bond while the other two cats have theirs.
“Our other two cats are turning 5 next month and they’ve been with each other since birth and there’s no separating them, so I’m excited that now Arlo doesn’t bug them to play and they have their own space back 😹 It’s been a blast having 4 animals in our farm now, and while meal time is hectic AF, I wouldn’t change a thing for the world!”
It’s Arlo’s name in both the Instagram and Tik Tok handles, but Maple and the pup’s friendship with her deserve all the attention as well. These two furry pals have a lifetime of love together ahead.
Follow Arlo, Maple, and their siblings @TalesOfArlo on Instagram and TikTok for more adorable content like this.
Featured Image: TikTok