In her final hours, an elderly woman wanted to be comforted by her best friend. And who could deny her that?
A photograph shared on Imgur shows the moment the woman lies with her ginger cat Oliver on a hospital bed. The cat’s face is tucked into her arm and they both appear to be asleep.
The bittersweet moment was shared with the caption: “Her dying wish was to see her best friend Oliver the cat one last time to say goodbye.”
The heartbreaking image has been viewed more than 300,000 times.
It prompted one commenter to ask others to consider choosing older cats when visiting animal shelters, as they “may have been left because their owner died and will be very loving companions”.
Another person added: “Best way to go - loved and happy.”