Their hot and cold relationship plays out just like an old Looney Tunes cartoon, and we love it.

Hedgehogs are getting a bad rep in the press these past few months, especially because their biggest blue ambassador is taking some brutal criticism from fans and even his own creator.

But the good news is that real world hedgehogs are a mile away from ill-conceived CG animations of ’90s video game characters. Small, snuffly and cute, there’s nothing like a good hedgehog video to cheer you up on a dreary day. Except maybe a cat video.

And Japanese Twitter user @tikuwamaru0728 has scored two birds with one stone – she keeps both a cat and a hedgehog in her home, and regularly documents their adventures for an online audience of thousands. Most recently, her video of Sante (the cat) running in to bother Sanitas (the hedgehog) has been spreading across Twitter timelines like wildfire.

▼ “Why do you always just bap her on the head a bit and then leave…?”

In the video, Sanitas is happily snuffling around in a clear box when Sante makes his dramatic entrance. He wastes no time in marching over and reaching out his mighty paw to smack her on the head – but whether it’s his conscience that kicks in, or Sanitas’ fearsome quills, he immediately thinks better of it and saunters on his way.

The two seem to have something of a Tom and Jerry dynamic, with hapless Sante always ending up retreating with his tail between his legs after bopping Sanitas.

▼ “Sani-tan being loomed over”

▼ “Of the two of them, Sani-tan is more like the big sister, so she gets her way over Sante a lot.”

▼ “Maybe he wasn’t trying to punch her here…maybe he wanted to pet her…?”

And while this might sound overly optimistic, there is a video of Sante giving Sanitas a little nibble on her spiky butt. That’s how cats say “I love you!” (Or “you are very delicious.” The language of Japanese cats has a lot of subtle tone differences.)

▼ “He loves her too much not to give her a bite on the butt.”

In some of the videos Sanitas is seen enjoying a little splish-plash in one of her plastic boxes, though the water isn’t quite enough to even cover her adorable little feet. This is probably why in the reply to that first viral tweet she warned visitors at length about hedgehog bathing…

▼ Of course she included a cute picture of Sante and Sanitas, too.

“The hedgehog in this video is taking a bath.🦔
The American pygmy hedgehog, commonly kept as a pet in Japan, originated in the African Savannah desert – so it can’t swim! I’ve seen videos before where those hedgehogs are floating in baths of water and being forced to paddle… It’s really dangerous for them so please don’t do it! It’s a horrid way for them to die! They can also die if the water is too hot or too cold! I just wanted to spread awareness about this.”

▼ Sanitas takes a very safe bath while Sante supervises.

If you’re wondering how other common pets react to a sudden hedgehog pottering about the place, we have an article for that. Want to sip coffee and fuss over a bunch of tiny hogs? We have one for that too. And if you’re wondering how hedgehogs can keep cool without plunging into tiny hedgehog-sized pools in the summer… Well, see for yourself.

Source: Twitter/@tikuwamaru0728 via Hamster Sokuho
Featured image: Twitter/@tikuwamaru0728
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