Golden Retriever Makes Cat 'Fall in Love' Again After Loss of Family Dog: 'She Healed' Him (Exclusive)

"I think he's finally feeling like his normal self again," the feline's owner tells PEOPLE

A cat named Fred has found a new companion after grieving the loss of his longtime friend.

When owner Dayshun Stevens got Fred in 2019, she already had a 7-year-old golden retriever named Arthur, and the pet pair became "inseparable" within days, she tells PEOPLE.

"He just followed Arthur everywhere, and they did everything together side by side for the next four years," Stevens says.

Then, last August, the family suddenly lost Arthur after he developed a tumor that aggressively spread and ruptured.

"Fred didn't really look for Arthur after he died, but I could tell he was grieving," Stevens recalls. "He slept a lot, a lot more than usual."

Stevens says she and her husband were beside themselves over the loss of their beloved canine.

"Arthur was our entire life," she says. "He had been part of every bit of our daily routines for the last decade."

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Three days after Arthur died, Stevens' husband showed her a picture of "this tiny fluffy furball golden retriever" and said he was on his way to pick her up.

"We just couldn't stand not having a golden in our home," she says. "We kind of had a sense that Fred felt the same, so enter Sunny."

Fred warmed up to the new pooch a few weeks after the family brought Sunny to their Colorado home.

"Fred was super curious," Stevens says. "He kept his distance initially unless she was sleeping, and then he'd approach her, sniff her, and get acquainted."

"Then, the wrestling and the chasing was on," she adds. "Fred really perked up, and he was having fun again. I think Sunny's puppy energy was a lot at first, but Fred has a ton of energy as well."

She says Fred had always wanted to wrestle with Arthur, but Arthur was "very gentle" with Fred and refused.

"Fred has finally met his match because Sunny is more than willing to roll and tumble around with him," she says. "They have a lot of fun together."

Last month, Stevens shared an Instagram Reel featuring some of the duo's sweetest moments.

"POV: Watching your cat fall in love with a new golden after losing his first golden friend," reads the text on the video.

"I'm so grateful for Sunny and the way she healed Fred's heart after he lost Arthur," Stevens captioned the post. "Their friendship is blooming in the rays of Sunny's light! It's so wonderful to see Fred love again."

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Stevens says she can tell that Fred is "really bonding" with Sunny as they follow each other around and play all the time.

"I think Fred is really understanding now that Sunny is our family," she says. "As Sunny is maturing, she's calming down a lot more, and she's becoming a lot gentler with Fred. Fred is really protective of Sunny. If she cries or becomes alarmed by something outside and barks, Fred comes running to see if she's okay."

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"It really warms our hearts to see how much their relationship is growing," she adds.

Stevens says she's noticed Fred staring at Sunny and often wonders if he's thinking about Arthur since she's "identical" to the late canine.

"He's used to going on adventures with a golden and being at home with a golden, so I think he's just right at home with Sunny," she says. "I think he's finally feeling like his normal self again in his own routine with his dog."

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