St. Bernard Finds the Ultimate Snuggle Buddies

Yankee the dog worked out a pretty sweet deal with some local cats at his home fort on a farm in Iowa. Every night, the 9-year-old St. Bernard and over a dozen stray felines cuddle up under the starry sky to enjoy some uninterrupted R&R.

The result is one giant ball of cuteness that looks like Beethoven left the movie business to pimp out kittens.

Daily Mail
Daily Mail

You can't even make out all the cats as they're wrapped up so tight, or they've buried their heads in Yankee's stomach.

Daily Mail
Daily Mail

Evidently, the communal sleeping arrangement originated a year ago when Yankee's owner, Keegan Vansoelen, discovered the cats migrating from the barn to start a snoozefest on Yankee. They're regulars now.

"It happens quite a bit during the winter, as it can get pretty cold here," Vansoelen tells the Daily Mail. "Even during the summer they lay with him. I think they do it just to be close to another creature."

Of course, Yankee calls the shots in this relationship. He decides when the sleep begins, when it ends, and he only gets irritated periodically (you can't take the ENTIRE blanket from him, after all).

The cats bicker over who gets the much coveted belly spot, but otherwise, all are content in Yankee's unruly mane.