Who Is Tina, the Cat Who Had the Most Touching Reaction to a Video of Her Late Owner
“Now I know that Tina missed him as much as I do”
By Gabriele Tancredo Stella in Cats
Journalist Isadora Monteiro is now Tina’s owner, but before fate brought them together, they shared someone special: Jorge Sebage. He was 61 years old, Isadora’s father, and Tina’s original owner. He passed away in October 2022. That’s when the two grew especially close, supporting each other through the grieving process.
Missing her father, Isadora decided to see if Tina felt the same. So she played one of his videos on the computer to see how the cat would react to his image and voice. The result was touching!
“How do cats—who, by instinct, tend to hide their vulnerabilities—react to the absence of someone dear they’ve lived with for so long?” asked Isadora.
Tina gently strokes the screen, as if touching the face of the one she loved so deeply—recognizing his voice and image, and showing that she grieves Sebage’s loss just as much as his daughter Isadora does.
The touching moment was filmed and shared by the journalist on her X profile (formerly Twitter) on Father’s Day, August 13. The video garnered over 434,000 views and thousands of comments from users touched by the cat’s reaction.
“The result moved me and now I know that Tina misses him as much as I do, that I have company in this eternal mourning that alternates between longing and denial,” wrote Isadora in the caption.
Isadora also shared that Tina was her father’s first pet, and that she lived with him for at least 10 years.
In an interview with Amo Meu Pet (our Brazilian website about pet news), the journalist shared a little more about the love story between Tina and Jorge, and how the cat came into her father’s life.
Jorge lived in Alagoas, Brazil, but owned a farm in the countryside of the state. There, many stray animals—both dogs and cats—roam freely across the properties.
During his travels there, he came across Tina and adopted her.
At the time, Isadora was living in São Paulo, so Tina became Jorge’s constant companion, always by his side.
Their years of friendship were sadly cut short by Jorge’s sudden heart attack.
After his passing, Isadora—who was living in Rio de Janeiro at the time—had to resign from her job and rush to Alagoas to carry on her father’s projects. He was a well-known journalist in the region.
“I spent about two months relocating and had to hire a pet sitter to care for my father’s pets—two dogs and two cats,” she explained.
One of the dogs passed away a month after Jorge’s death, but the other three stayed by Isadora’s side, bringing her joy and sweet memories of her beloved father.
“Tina, along with my father’s other pets, represents family to me. She represents love. She’s an extension of my father—and at the same time, a gift from him. The best inheritance he could’ve left me. She changed my life and makes me a better person every single day,” she concluded.
Curious to see Tina’s reaction to seeing her owner again after so many months? Get your tissues ready—you’re going to be moved!
Check it out:
It’s impossible not to tear up, isn’t it? Wishing all the happiness in the world to Isadora and the pets who once belonged to Jorge and are now in her loving care.
