In a shelter for over half of his life, Sunny awaited adoption by his forever family. He was overjoyed when they finally did and fell in love with his new life right away.

Shannon Richardson, Sunny’s mother, told The Dodo that Sunny was adopted from a shelter five years ago when he was just 8 years old. “We had to adopt him as soon as we saw him. He spent the first six years of his life searching for a new home.”

Sunny was content with his life and daily routine until one day when his parents brought home a new human sibling called Hazel. Sunny was displeased at first.

“When we first brought Hazel home, he did not care for her much,” Richardson said. “We put the infant carrier down and he sniffed her, then walked away and went and ate his dinner.”

Sunny fought for months to make it known that he didn’t like Hazel. Before lately, when they happened to peek at the baby monitor and were startled by what they saw, his parents questioned if the obstinate cat would ever warm up to his new sister.

One night, after putting Hazel to bed, Sunny crept into her room and climbed up into her crib before curling up next to her and falling asleep.

“This was his first nap with her,” Richardson said. “I was super surprised to see him in the crib. There is not an easy way up without jumping pretty far and he doesn’t really like jumping. He stayed there for four hours before my husband realized he didn’t sneak back into bed with us!”

As it turns out, Sunny had always had a soft spot for Hazel — he just hadn’t been ready to show it yet.

Sunny has no trouble displaying his love for Hazel to the world now that his secret is out. When she cries, he follows her around to make sure she’s okay and he adores cuddling up to her whenever he gets the chance.

When she was weeping in the morning, “he literally jumped in her cot and nuzzled against her,” Richardson said. She hasn’t yet mastered the art of caressing, so when she grabbed him, he remained still. Such a good boy, he is.

Despite their rocky beginning, Sunny and Hazel are now on the right route to being best friends, and Sunny will undoubtedly stay at her side for many more naps to come.