‘I’m Not A Cat’: Lawyer Has A Purr-fect Response In Zoom Hearing

ALPINE, TX — As the grueling pandemic forces us to approach our lives in ways we never imagined, there have been moments of serendipitous joy that lift us from the depths of our collective despair over too many lives lost and too much economic damage wrought.

What happens in 394th District Court Judge Roy Ferguson’s courtroom in Alpine, Texas, is usually serious and often life-changing.

The last thing Rod Ponton expected when he logged into a Zoom hearing Tuesday was to be changed into a cat.

But someone left the cat filter on the computer Ponton was using, and he appeared as a fluffy white kitten with enormous green eyes that rolled around like a couple of tiger eye marbles, offering an explanation for his transformation in full, manly voice. If you don’t find it hilariously funny, we’re very sorry.

“Mr. Ponton, I believe you have a filter turned on,” the judge said.

“Can you hear me, Judge?”

“I can hear you," his honor replied. "I think it’s a filter.”

“Yeah, I don’t know how to remove it,” Ponton explained. “I’ve got my assistant here, and she’s trying to, but I’m prepared to go forward with it.

“I’m here live,” he continued. “I’m not a cat.”

“I can see that,” Ferguson said before offering some tech tips to turn Ponton back into a human.

The video cuts off there, but Ferguson tweeted about the (not really a) cat in his courtroom:

“IMPORTANT ZOOM TIP,” he wrote. “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.”

Ferguson went on to say fun moments like the one that unfolded in his courtroom are the byproduct of a legal profession dedicated “to ensuring that the justice system continues to function in these tough times.”

“Everyone involved handled it with dignity, and the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace,” he said, adding that he was making the video public “for educational purposes” and that “it is crucial this not be used to mock the lawyers, but instead to exemplify the legal community's dedication to the cause of justice.”

The cat’s got class.