A Texas lawyer has had a hilarious Zoom mishap after he accidentally turned himself into a talking cat.
During a hearing for the 394th Judicial District Court of Brewster, attorney Rod Ponton accidentally applied a cat filter to his computer screen before desperately trying to remove it.
In the video, presiding judge Roy Ferguson alerts Ponton to the filter before suggesting he turn it off.
Ponton is then heard letting out a panicked 'ahh' before asking whether the judge can hear him.
"I can hear you. I think it's a filter," Ferguson replies.
"It is [a filter]. And I don't know how to remove it," Ponton says. "I've got my assistant here, she's trying to, but ahh I'm prepared to go forward with it... I'm here live, I'm not a cat."
At this point, the other two people at the hearing start to laugh but Ferguson somehow manages to keep a straight face replying, 'I can see that'.
Ponton told Vice the filter was eventually removed and the hearing continued as normal.
"That was just a mistake by my secretary. I was using her computer and for some reason she had that filter on," he told Vice.
"I took it off and replaced it with my face. It was a case involving a man trying to exit the United States with contraband and contraband cash. All it was was a mistake. It was taken off and we had the hearing as normal."
Ferguson tweeted about the cat mishap after the hearing suggesting people check their settings before joining calls.
"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."
"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. Everyone involved handled it with dignity, and the filtered lawyer showed incredible grace. True professionalism all around," he said.
It's perhaps one of the more innocent Zoom mistakes to come out of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year one of the United States' best-known TV news personalities was fired after he failed to turn off his audio and video before masturbating in the middle of a company Zoom call.
Jeffrey Toobin - a prominent lawyer and author - exposed his genitals and began masturbating during a meeting between WNYC radio and New Yorker staff.
