Tortoise Falls in Love with Family's New Kitten and It's Straight Out of a Fairytale

While introducing a new pet to a multi-pet household can be tricky, at least there's helpful how-to guides out there for the most common pet species. We recently introduced a rescue kitten to our two resident cats, and it was easy to find the information we needed to make the transition a smooth one! Introducing a kitten and an exotic pet, however? That's a bit trickier to navigate.

Pet mom Kendall Marshall didn't have to consult any obscure guidebooks when she introduced her new kitten to the family tortoise, though. Despite the vast differences between their species, it seemed like the tortoise became enamored with his new feline friend right away!

That's one lovestruck tortoise! For a moment, @kendallmarshall24601 suspected that Horvis (the tortoise) might have wanted to, ahem, "have relations" with Copernicus the tuxedo cat - uh-oh. Fortunately, this wasn't the case. It seemed that Horvis wasn't quite that fond of his new friend, instead preferring to chase him around the yard!

Related: Tortoise and Dog Besties Need Their Own Disney Movie

As for Copernicus... well, the little black-and-white kitty seemed like he didn't know what to make of his surprisingly outgoing new roomie. Not that I can blame him, though: Horvis was coming on kinda strong, and that's not how most kitties roll!

Copernicus may have been a little miffed by Horvis' advances, but Kendall's TikTok followers couldn't get enough of the unlikely pair!

"'Hey, slow down,' he says. This is the cutest thing I’ve seen all week,' said @genx_melissa.

"I want to be a tortoise in love with a kitten," @mollysue00 admired.

"Love is blind… he likes what he likes," @jennisan711 remarked.

Affection... or Aggression?

Alright, alright, let's be real for a minute. Cute jokes about interspecies romance aside, a few commenters offered another possible explanation for Horvis' unusual behavior.

"The head bobbing is to assert dominance, he's trying to tell the kitty he's the boss!" @edgarlefrenchfrenchie explained.

"Head bobbing= not in love," @amgfitness agreed. "It’s so funny when they do that. Ours used to do it to the lawn mower and then try biting the wheels."

Is this true? Could Horvis actually just be a real Bossy Britches, and not the pet paramour we suspected? Well, maybe - but not necessarily. It's true that head bobbing can be a sign of dominance in pet tortoises, but  according to the UK pet experts at Green Lane Farm, it can also be a sign that the tortoise just wants some attention (perhaps from a new pet buddy?). Head banging or head butting, however, is a more explicitly aggressive behavior that pet parents need to look out for, especially when introducing a new cat to their tortoise.

Hopefully Horvis and Cornelius will find some sort of equilibrium with each other soon. Though they may need a little more time to fully suss out each other's personalities, the two pets already make an adorable - if unlikely- pair!

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