If this story doesn’t prove that animals can be incredibly empathic, just like humans, nothing will.
It shows the heartwarming actions of a feline who’s just looking after one of his best friends, and it’s heart-melting, to say the least.
This cat realized that this grandpa, the father of the cat’s owner, wasn’t doing too well and was seriously ill.
He knew he had to help him feel better.
It all started when Kelly Nugent temporarily moved from her home in the Sunshine State to New York, so she could be there for her ill father and take care of him.
Kelly’s cat, Sweet Potato, also went along on the trip.
The woman’s father was recently diagnosed with a severe form of bone marrow cancer and was undergoing difficult treatment.
It’s no secret that radiation, chemotherapy, and drugs can make the recovery process incredibly difficult. As such, Kelly didn’t even hesitate to hop on a plane and take care of her father as best as she could.
“He started having a really hard time getting around and doing things and pretty much needed 24-hour care while he was healing,” Kelly said in an interview with The Dodo. “My dad is my best friend, and I realized I just had to be there with him.”
Sweet Potato has been doing his best to take care of him and shower him with love and attention, and it’s just so incredibly cute and heartwarming.
“He’s the sweetest cat on the earth,” mom Kelly added. “He just loves everybody and wants to be around people. He has that dog-like personality.”
What’s even sweeter about the whole situation, is that Sweet Potato has completely changed the elderly man’s mind.
You see, he used to be a dog person and didn’t particularly care for felines, and certainly didn’t think that they could be supportive or loving – until he met Sweet Potato in person.
Right now, these two are the best of friends and completely inseparable!
“As soon as we got there and Sweet Potato acclimated, he became a madman for my dad,” she said. “He would not leave his side, and still, to this day, they’re just attached at the hip.”
Whenever the man feels a little bit down or exhausted, the feline seems to be able to pick it up and tries his best to distract him.
For Kelly’s dad, having Sweet Potato and his sweet antics around has become part of the healing and recovery process.
“It’s just the sweetest thing you could ever see because I know [Sweet Potato] can sense something’s wrong and that he’s needed,” she says. “So he kind of just stepped up to the plate and was like, ‘This is my job now. I’m gonna help heal you.’ It’s like he knew.”
The three of them have already spent two months together, and it’s clear that Sweet Potato and Kelly’s dad have made an incredible connection. Their the best of friends and do everything together!
“So my dad has a recliner that he sits in and he’ll put his arm on the recliner, and every single time, without fail, Sweet Potato will jump up and sit in the little cove in his arm and cuddle with him,” Kelly recalls. “He’ll sleep in his bed or in his room. Whenever my dad’s computer, [Sweet Potato will] jump on his keyboard. Whenever my dad is sitting at the table to do some of his paperwork, Sweet Potato will sit on the paperwork. He just has to be on top of him.”
This amazing grandpa and cat duo has won the hearts of the internet, as Kelly regularly posts TikTok videos of the two which are very popular.
And it’s even quite fun for Kelly’s father, as he gets to read all the positive comments that warm his heart.
“When I read him all the comments, it was so cool to him that so many random people were rooting for him,” she said. “My favorite part is that so many people say they look alike. Sweet Potato has a little white mustache, and my dad has a white mustache … and it makes us laugh so hard.”
Even though the treatment is very harsh and difficult, the man’s health situation has vastly improved ever since the two moved in.
“I really think the emotional support of Sweet Potato and the cuddles and just being there — it’s had a huge impact on him,” Kelly said.
What an absolutely adorable pair.
See the video that first made them viral in the video below!
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