There are plenty of people on this planet who don’t give reincarnation a second thought, but they may find themselves revisiting the concept after witnessing a stirring TikTok.
The video in question was uploaded to the app by user @jessicapadover, who was greeted by a wonderfully welcoming sight just a few weeks after her beloved pet passed away.
It’s always hard to lose a pet, particularly when you’ve spent years adapting to their unique habits and individual particularities. That was certainly the case for Jess, whose longtime cat had a very unique, and equally charming, habit of doing the biggest of stretches over the side of the TikToker’s couch. Not over the armrest or the back, as other cat owners have occasionally seen, but off the edge of the seat. Their little paws would reach forward and rest there like a cartoon drawing.
It’s an adorably individual stretch, and one that was utterly unique to Jess’s precious feline. When her kitty passed on, the content creator assumed she’d seen it for the last time — until, that is, her lost pet decided to send her a little message, reminding her that our loved ones never truly leave us.
That message came delivered via Jess’s new kitten, an addition she added to her family just months ahead of her first cat’s death. In a touching video that leaves no room for questions, we see Jess’s new cat channel her lost baby through the exact same stretch, done in almost the exact same area of the couch.
Jess witnessed a glimpse of her lost cat in that moment, and so did much of TikTok. Heartfelt messages poured in from affected viewers, many of whom saw the perfect argument for reincarnation contained in that 16-second video.
“Reincarnation has to be real I swear to you,” one viewer wrote, echoing the sentiment shared by dozens of others. Others swore her old cat sent the new one as a perfect replacement — someone to keep Jess company in her stead.
It’s a heartwarming sentiment, and one that resonated with viewers across the board. It’s also a sign of affection and trust from both old kitty and new, as are stretches from all our feline friends. Cats stretch for a variety of reasons, all positive, from greeting and expressing their love to inviting you to play.
Regardless of which of the above Jess’s cats are trying to communicate, it’s hitting her right in the feels. She likely feels an even deeper connection with her new cat in the wake of their nostalgic behavior, a behavior that helped convince hundreds of TikTokers of reincarnation and how it is able to keep our pets close to us even long after their deaths.