Unlikely Friend Combo Of A Cat And A Meerkat Are Conquering The Internet (23 Pics)

Meerkats (Suricata Suricatta) are naturally wild animals mostly living in the Kalahari or Namibian desert and other regions of Africa. It seems that the last place you’d expect them is somewhere up north where there’s winter and it’s cold, like Russia. This is why this meerkat called Surya is so special as she’s living in the loving home of Ekaterina Kuraeva in St. Petersburg. Surya was adopted from the Moscow zoo and Ekaterina didn’t want the lovely thing to end up as an “office toy”.

More info: Instagram

Image credits: meerkat_suren

One could think that there’s not much to do and that it’s pretty boring for a social animal like meerkat who usually live in clans, mobs, and gangs. But Surya is not alone. She has a chunky Chartreux cat named Nice to keep him company. It’s an ironic coincidence that even though they’re not genetically related to cats, they look so feline-like, that they were called meerkat, or mierkat, which in Dutch and Afrikaans respectively mean “lake cat” and “termite cat.”

Image credits: meerkat_suren

This unlikely yet very lively duo became BFFs 6 years ago when Nice was already 2-years-old at the time and Surya was only a little babe. They clicked from the get-go and they’re inseparable ever since, and their Instagram profile is a testament to this relationship. Surya has a needy and affectionate personality, up to a point that he gets jealous if Ekaterina is giving too much attention to the cat, then he jumps and claws to get Nice away. Nice is much calmer and discrete, yet he’s very happy to oblige when Surya needs some TLC. They spend their time together 24/7 as they cuddle, play, nap and hug each other all the time. As they do it, they make for, arguably, the most adorable photos and videos on the internet.

Image credits: meerkat_suren

Ekaterina Kuraeva, the 45-year-old loving owner of the two, updates the Instagram profile daily, which now has over 36k followers, and it steadily keeps growing. The owner is, of course, more than happy that they get along, as she admitted to Bored Panda, “it is fortunate that they have become friends and are so affectionate to each other.” We couldn’t agree more! So check out these two best buds, and their adorable adventures together, and we also recommend visiting Surya’s personal Instagram, as there are loads of super cute videos in there, too!