Is there a name for the emotional response to cuteness?

What do you feel when you see this?

We all know the feeling of seeing something adorable, of wanting to hug it, take care of it, and let our speech degenerate into mindless babble and squealing. But does it have a name? Adoration isn't quite it, and that's about as close as I seem to be able to get. For such a common and powerful emotional response, I find it baffling that there seems to be no word for it. If there's no English word, we should re-purpose a foreign one, as we're wont to do.

Solution 1:

Sometimes if we don't have the most cromulent word, we have to make one up.

I think the word squee is starting to catch on. Squeeness actually brings up a few google hits.

Not in the dictionary, yet. Squee's attested by Oxford Living Dictionaries website now:

EXCLAMATION
informal
Used to express great delight or excitement.
…
Check out This Kitty! Squee!

Solution 2:

The Japanese use the word kawaii to describe all things cute. It is a very major part of their culture in some respects, I hear many japanophiles and anime lovers use the word on western shores. So that would be my candidate for adoption, as it already is partially.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuteness_in_Japanese_culture

Our response to cuteness seems innate, and I have always felt is there as a protective device for our young. What we define as cute is quite broad, but the very young tend to fit it quite nicely, we feel protective, maternal/paternal, certainly drawn towards the cute thing. The emotion is such a deep and strong one, that this feeling even pervades to the young of other animals. Indeed it is well observed that this effects many mammal species, with examples of one species looking after the young of another, such is the driving force.

Solution 3:

Tenderness or affection come to mind.