A father's bet with his children backfired after a picture of them holding up a sign pleading for a cat received over 117,000 'likes' on Facebook.

American Dan Urbano underestimated the powerful combination of the internet and cats when he bet his young children their appeal couldn’t get anywhere near 1,000 hits on the social network.

He promised seven-year-old son Remi and his one-year-old sister, Evelyn, that if they achieved the magical figure he would treat them to a new feline companion.

Posing with a whiteboard message, the kids uploaded a picture on their mother Marisa's Facebook page which quickly took the internet by storm.

It read: 'Hey FACEBOOK! My sister & I REALLY want a CAT! My Papa PROMISES we can get one if we can get 1000 LIKES! PLEASE like this picture! Thank you.'

The  photo become so popular on Facebook that it eventually received over 117,000 likes.

And father Dan honoured the bet when the family picked up a new pet from a local animal shelter near their home in Boston. 

They named the cat Hairietta L. Pawturr, with the 'L' representing the 'likes' the picture received on Facebook.