A cat has captured the hearts of many with her touching reaction to her late owner’s wallet. In a video shared by the owner’s daughter, Gem the cat can be seen sniffing the wallet intently before sitting on it protectively.
The TikToker, who has chosen to remain anonymous and goes by the username @deesuze, lives in rural Ohio. She took in Gem, who was around 8 years old, after her father passed away.
“My dad and I always had a difficult relationship and had been estranged for a long time before one of his neighbors informed me of his advanced cancer and that he wanted to see me. I am so glad we shared the time, closure, and love that we did before he died,” @deesuze told Newsweek.
Gem was initially very defensive, having been declawed after being played with roughly by her owner’s other pet, a German shepherd named Jasper. It took a long time for @deesuze to earn Gem’s trust, but now they have a mutually loving relationship, even if Gem hasn’t fully integrated with the owner’s three other cats.
Around a year after losing her father, @deesuze was dealing with estate matters when Gem came across the wallet. “I was doing some paperwork in my room and had tossed his wallet on the bed. When I came back, Gem had jumped up and was sniffing it very intensely,” she said. “I knew it was a special moment, so I started recording. It had been a long time since she had smelled anything of his, but it was so obvious that the wallet’s scent was familiar, comforting, and emotional for her. When she finally laid down across it, I knew she was thinking of him and remembering ‘her human.'”
The video has since been viewed more than 4.7 million times on TikTok, resonating with many who have shared similar stories of their pets’ reactions to the loss of a loved one. Seeing the video’s impact, @deesuze shared more about Gem and her relationship with her late father, including some funny anecdotes.
“I am still both shocked and touched that this little video has reached the hearts of so many people,” she said. “I am also really pleased that only a very small percentage of the comments have been negative—and I have been deleting those without mercy.”
