Dave Franco’s cats determined relationship with Alison Brie

The way to Dave Franco‘s heart is through his cats.

“I don’t know how I became the quirky cat guy,” the “Lego Ninjago” star told Jimmy Fallon Thursday on the “Tonight Show.” “At one point in my life, I was the single guy with two 16-pound cats.”

Fortunately for Franco, 32, future wife Alison Brie, 34, also embraced the unique affection he felt for his felines.

“It definitely weeds out a lot of potential dating partners,” he explained. “Alison loves them, thank God. She was really the only option [for marriage].”

After meeting in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras in 2011, the couple announced their engagement four years later. But before Franco put a ring on it, he had to recover from a surprise party gone awry first.

“When we first started dating, my birthday came up in the first three months of the relationship,” he said. “She started planning a surprise party, which was very sweet. But it got out control.”

Franco dished that he consumed a weed cookie to calm his nerves, a plan that ended up backfiring completely.

“It had the opposite effect I intended,” he revealed. “I ran downstairs and had the first panic attack of my life.”

“Alison and I still talk about how if we can survive my surprise party, we can survive anything,” he added.

The pair wed in March.