Culture

I’m Losing My Mind Over The Lawyer Who Accidentally Joined A Virtual Court Hearing As A Cat

Claw and order.

by Michelle Rennex  10 February 2021
LAwyer Cat filter zoom

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

It’s been a real big week for bonkers Zoom calls.

Over the weekend, we witnessed the world’s most chaotic virtual meeting thanks to Jackie Weaver and the Handforth Parish Council. Now, we have been blessed with footage of a lawyer attending a virtual court hearing as a cat.

Shared by the official 394th District Court of Texas to YouTube, the short clip shows the stressful Zoom exchange between a Rod Ponton, the Texan-attorney-turned-kitten, and human Judge Roy Ferguson.

After Judge Roy Ferguson informed Ponton that he may have “a filter turned on in the video settings” that he “might want to, uh, take a look” at, a flustered Ponton tried his best to assure the judge that he was definitely not a cat.

“Uhhhhhh… I don’t know how to remove it. I’ve got my assistant here, she’s trying to. But, uh, I’m prepared to go forward with it,” said Ponton. “I’m here live. I’m not a cat.”

“I can… I can see that,” the judge responded to the unnecessary clarification.

While only 42 seconds long, you can hear the absolute stress in Rod Ponton’s quivering voice as he struggles to remove the big-eyed kitten filter from his Zoom camera. And, despite Ponton’s face being hidden by the filter, the kitten’s constant darting eyes around the screen showed more than enough emotion to portray what was going on behind the filter.

After the incident, Judge Roy Ferguson took to Twitter to share the “important Zoom tip” he learned from the debacle.

“If a child used your computer, before you join a virtual hearing check the Zoom Video Options to be sure filters are off,” the judge wrote. “This kitten just made a formal announcement on a case in the 394th.”

But the Ferguson also noted that these virtual mishaps aren’t necessarily a negative thing. Instead the judge believes that “these fun moments are a by-product of the legal profession’s dedication to ensuring that the justice system continues to function in these tough times”.


Chatting to BuzzFeed News, Rod Ponton aka the Kitten Lawyer, explained that the snafu happened as he had joined the meeting from a secretary’s computer, not his own.

“When I logged in to Zoom for the hearing, to my great surprise I was a cat,” Ponton said before clarifying that the hearing did not go ahead with the filter on.

“The judge figured out how to take the filter off and remove it, and miraculously my less humorous, old guy image appeared during the hearing,” he continued.

“If the country can pause for a moment and chuckle at a computer snafu at my expense, I’m glad. It’s been a stressful time.”