A cat's refusal to let her owner touch the kitten they had just rescued resulted in a hilarious video that quickly went viral on social media.

In a hilarious video shared on TikTok in August, under the username @deniseglessner, the poster's orange feline can be seen chilling in his cat tree, next to the couch where the new kitten is sleeping, guarding him with his life.

"Not sure what his problem is. Every time I try to touch the kitten he tries to smack me," the woman can be heard saying. As she tries to touch the little kitten again, her cat smacks her with even more strength. "Jerk! You won't let me touch the baby? Why can't I touch the baby?"

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After a few more unsuccessful attempts at touching the newcomer, the poster asked the angry cat: "Are you going to let me touch the baby?"

"He is guarding the new kitten we rescued," read a caption shared along with the viral post.

The poster, Denise Glessner, from Fresno, California, told Newsweek that the older, orange cat, Sunny, was rescued from a local cemetery when he was about 8 weeks old. She had originally decided to foster him and socialize him for adoption, but her family quickly fell in love with Sunny and ended up keeping him instead.

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"Although he acclimated to the indoor life well, he still gets skittish and has some 'feral' tendencies. One of those is we have a custom-made cat tree in our living room that our cats just love," Glessner said.

"Every time he gets in that tree, he becomes very territorial, spitting and slapping (without claws) when we reach in to touch him, but will run to get us and then run up in the tree, so it is obvious that this is his way of playing. He is just full of character and we adore him."

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The kitten he was "protecting" was also a rescue from the same cemetery, which Glessner took in to socialize and then ended up being a foster fail too.

"Although this story has a fun and happy ending, animal rescue and TNR (trap, spay/neuter, release) does not always have a happy ending. Outdoor cats have very hard lives. They are subjected to hunger, the harsh elements, predators, illness/trauma, cars, and some not so nice people."

"Statistics show that only 25 percent of kittens born outdoors survive past 6 months. Please spay/neuter your pets and remember that adoption is a long-term commitment. Please consider donating to the groups that help our community, or donate to a rescue or TNR group in your community!" the poster added.

According to PETA, between 60 and 100 million homeless cats live on the streets of the U.S. But as domesticated animals they depend on humans for food, water, and shelter. In the streets, they also face threats from contagious diseases, worms, fleas, and untreated injuries.

But there is also another reason why PETA insists that "the street is no place for a cat." They can be a significant threat to wildlife.

The American Bird Conservancy estimates that free-roaming cats kill millions of birds and small mammals in the U.S. every year, including endangered species like the least tern and the piping plover.

Adopting a new kitten into a household with an established cat can be challenging, but certainly not impossible.

Newsweek previously reported on the best way to introduce a kitten to your new cat and found that it can't be done all at once. Instead, take your time to allow the pets to get used to each other.

The first thing you should do is introduce the two kittens through their scent. The best way to do this is rubbing a cloth on your kitten to collect its scent and then offering the cloth to your older cat to smell, as well as some treats as a reward, to make this a positive experience.

You must give each of the cats its personal space where it can isolate if needed. It is also important to keep the cats separated in the beginning and to keep their interactions monitored until they are clearly comfortable with each other.

@deniseglessner

#rescue #rescuekitten #kitten #kittensoftiktok #orangecat #orangecatsoftiktok #sunny #misty #fy #fypシ゚viral #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #🧡

♬ original sound - Denise Glessner

The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 597,300 views and 93,600 likes on the platform.

One user, Carolinelabarre86, commented: "Is he jealous or protective? We definitely need an update."

Kristy Ann said: "I have an orange boy kitty who is obsessed with kittens. He has brought two kittens home! He also moved his girlfriend in."

User of the TT added: "He's orange so he doesn't need a reason to be sassy HE is the reason."

Jaxon T Thomas wrote: "Lady, I told you to keep your hands off my kid!"

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.