Dad turns into a big softie after being gifted a kitten for his birthday

Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 1, 2022. It has since been updated.

Welcoming a pet into one's life is a heartwarming experience. They spend time with you, play with you and slowly grow very close to you. Knowing how much his father wanted a kitten, TikTok user Riyadh Khalaf surprised his dad with a tiny feline for his birthday. The birthday boy's response to the little one was so adorable that it's melting the hearts of millions online. In a video of the grand surprise, Khalaf films his dad walking into a room and stopping in his tracks when he spots the kitten. "Happy Birthday dad, it's your kitten," he says, to which his father responds, "No way, I can't believe it." Khalaf's dad then goes on to get a closer look at the cat and says, "Oh Jesus that is so beautiful." When his family informs him that the cat's name is "Lulu," he instantly replies: "Don't mess with my Lulu." He then goes back to adoring the cat and says, "Can you believe we have a cat? She's so tiny," and kisses the kitten.

The father gently holds his new friend for a while and then puts her back into her cat bed. He also tells Khalaf, "She's nicer than yours. I'm sorry." He and his wife then repeat, "I think we love her. I think we keep her." It ends with the family telling him that the feline is a Russian blue cat.

The video garnered more than 8 million views in just two days. So, Khalaf made another video with his dad in which his father says: "I would say thanks for enjoying my video." When asked if he will make more videos with Lulu, he replied: "Yeah, I send them to you and you send them." When asked what made him love Lulu so much, he said, "I think because I saw your cat is so beautiful and clean... [and] she is gorgeous."

People on the internet just loved the adorable kitten and the father's reaction to it. One TikTok user wrote: "'Don't mess with my lulu' actually made my heart burst. Stop, he is so cute." Another wrote, "The way he admires himself holding the kitten in the window reflection."

"I don’t know what’s more adorable the kitten or your parents," added a third. Meanwhile, some TikTok users couldn’t stop admiring the family's kitchen. One said, "When I first saw the video, I went, 'Let's give it up for the kitchen.'" Another user wrote, “I was looking at the kitchen the entire video. Glad I am not the only that noticed lol. The kitty is of course cute.”

In a similar video of the heartwarming relationship between dads and cats, 60-year-old Kamajeet Singh Renoo is seen falling in love with a feline after vehemently opposing the idea of cats in the house a few months ago. In the clip, he jokingly argues with the cat Angie and tells her "that's my chair," before politely asking if he can sit with her. He then begins to compliment Angie and play with her paws, counting "that's a paw there, 2nd paw there, 3rd paw there, 4th paw there." Before long, he can't hold back his emotions and tells Angie that he will always love her and goes on to quote the iconic line from the Dolly Parton song, covered by Whitney Houston, "I Will Always Love You." He is then heard saying, "Never bite me, do you? Because you love me... I'll always love you. I'll put a Whitney Houston song for you every day."