A rescue cat has had a surprising reaction to trying wet food for the first time.
Aqilah Rahasnan adopted Benji, a Norwegian Forest cat mix, after moving to Norway for her studies and work. She already had one rescue cat, a lynx point Siamese called Tuna, who moved over with her from his native Malaysia. Natural Dog Wet Food
Her two feline companions couldn't be more different but are somehow the best of friends. "It took Tuna three days to be comfortable with Benji, but after that, he was very cuddly and loving towards him," Rahasnan told Newsweek. "They get along really well despite being very different, kind of like yin yang."
While Tuna's favorite things include sitting on Rahasnan's balcony and watching the birds, Benji is a decidedly different character. "He is extremely silly and loves stealing," Rahasnan said.
Benji's thievery tends to focus on whatever Rahasnan is eating or drinking at the time. "Benji likes to steal my Matcha lattes, freshly baked bread, and lettuce from my salads," she said. "His current obsession is ripping plants from the pot and breaking into the shower in hopes of getting wet."
All of which might go some way to explaining Benji's reaction when Rahasnan decided to treat him to a can of wet cat food. It was a reaction the cat owner was able to catch on camera with the resulting footage shared to TikTok under the handle chunkytunaaa. At the time of writing, it's been viewed over 700,000 times.
In the clip, Rahasnan can be seen approaching Benji by his food bowl, evidently eager to gauge his reaction to the meal. Benji, however, takes it to mean something else entirely and proceeds to pick up a large chunk of the food before hissing in Rahasnan's direction and dashing off.
Rahasnan can be heard laughing as she follows her cat, explaining to him: "You can eat it, you don't have to run away with it."
She eventually succeeds in getting close to Benji, who still has the piece of food protruding from his mouth. "You can eat it you know," she tells him again. The rescue cat appears confused standing on a series of cushions on the back of the couch, evidently concerned someone is going to take the food off her.
Tuna, meanwhile, can be seen finishing off his meal with minimum fuss. It's a further demonstration of the two cats' contrasting personalities, but there may be more to Benji's behavior than just that.
His response is not entirely dissimilar to the kind you would witness with a cat living in the wild. Feral cats tend to eat periodically throughout the day and will often set up nests where they store food and keep kittens warm.
According to veterinarian Dr. Elizabeth McKinstry, this is crucial to understanding the reasons why cats steal. "Cats in the wild will sometimes bury their food so they can eat it later," she told the BeChewy website. "When cats steal and hide items, they may be mimicking this food-related behavior."
That certainly chimes with Rahasnan's reading of the situation. "Benji likes to steal human food and when he steals, he likes to run off with it because I would try to take it away from him, especially if it's not safe for him to consume," she said.
"So when I was trying to place the new cat food onto his plate, he snatched it and went running off with it. I guess he thought it was human food and didn't want me to snatch it from him."
Despite the drama, Rahasnan has not been put off feeding her cats wet food. "It's the best way to get hydration into their diet," she said. She also has no plans to stop posting clips of Benji's antics on social media. "He's just really playful and chaotic which makes for some funny videos," she said.
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.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on trending topics on the Internet, he covers viral stories from around the world on social media. Jack joined Newsweek in 2021 and previously worked at The Irish Post, Loaded, Den of Geek and FourFourTwo. He is a graduate of Manchester University. Languages: English.
You can get in touch with Jack by emailing j.beresford@newsweek.com
Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
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