It really is a modern day meow-stery that's becoming the talk of the Internet today.
When Judge Roy Ferguson opened up virtual proceedings of the 394th Judicial District Court in Texas on Zoom on Tuesday, he was not expecting to see two lawyers and a kitten. The cute blue-eyed “cat” in the bottom right corner was actually county attorney Rod Ponton, covered by a filter.
“Mr Ponton, I believe you have filter turned on in the video settings,” said the judge. Ponton said his assistant was trying to fix the settings.
“I’m here live, I’m not a cat,” he said.
“I can see that,” said the judge.
As the video went viral on social media, Ferguson wrote in a tweet: “IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP: If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom Video Options to be sure filters are off.”
IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP: If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom Video Options to be sure filters are off. This kitten just made a formal announcement on a case in the 394th (sound on). #lawtwitter #OhNo @zoom_ushttps://t.co/I0zaj0wu6K— Judge Roy Ferguson (@JudgeFergusonTX) February 9, 2021
The 69-year-old Ponton told Reuters that he was not sure how the filter had appeared.
“I logged into my secretary’s computer to appear at this hearing via Zoom, and when everybody’s ready the judge calls the case and everybody’s face is supposed to pop up on Zoom.
“And everybody’s face popped up except mine. Mine was a cat,” he said.
The judge helped remove the filter and the hearing proceeded, he explained. Judge Ferguson called it a “fun moment.”
“Everyone involved handled it with dignity, and the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace,” he said.
Soon after, the dilemma of whether the cat lawyer had posed, made its way to Twitter and posed an existential crisis - are we human, or are we cat filter?
"I'm not a cat" is exactly what a kitten lawyer would say— Dan Saltzstein (@dansaltzstein) February 9, 2021
The dude in the upper right when he says “I’m not a cat” pic.twitter.com/kYQyZuBPmw— Mike Dorsey (@DorseyFilm) February 9, 2021
Judge: You’re new to this court? Me (terrified): *nods*Judge: Well can you introduce yourself for the record? Me (panicking): ALYSSA FROM THE PUBLIC DEFENDER’S YOUR HONOR I’M HERE LIVE I’M NOT A CAT. — Alyssa Leader (@alittleleader) February 9, 2021
“I’m not a cat,” we all insist as we gradually turn into sentient 12-second videos— Linda Holmes Thinks You're Doing Great (@lindaholmes) February 9, 2021
i'm here live i'm not a cat— (@dodaistewart) February 9, 2021
“I’m here. I’m live. I’m not a cat,” I say to the mirror each morning.— Heather Christle (@heatherchristle) February 9, 2021
‘I’m not a cat’ is what a cat would say in this situation.— Matthew Hedges (@MatthewHedges) February 9, 2021
We’ve now reached the “I’m not a cat” level of working from home in a pandemic.— Avery Francis (@AveryFrancis) February 10, 2021
I feel like it's 2003 and this is a scene I'm reading in a @MargaretAtwood book about a not so far off dystopian future https://t.co/gEj4oNysqM— 👻 Teacup of Teeth 👻 (@curse_collector) February 9, 2021
"If I can make the country chuckle for a moment in these difficult times they’re going through, I’m happy to let them do that at my expense," the lawyer told NY Times.
The real question remains -- where can we also avail the same cute cat filter?
(With inputs from Reuters)