Lawyer shows up in Zoom court with face filter on and has to assure judge he’s 'not a cat'

Important reminder: Always check your Zoom settings before entering a video meeting.

Rod Ponton, a lawyer who was about to present a case in Texas' 394th District Court, recently learned this lesson the hard way. Ponton entered a Zoom video call with a filter that turned him into an adorable little kitten.

Judge Roy Ferguson can be heard on the video explaining the face filter situation to Ponton, as the kitten's eyes shift and its little lips mimic what the lawyer is saying.

Ponton acknowledges to the judge that’s he’s aware of the issue, yet neither he nor his assistant can figure out how to turn the cat filter off.

However, Ponton, ever the professional, confirms to the judge that he’s prepared to go forward with the case proceedings regardless. He even assures the judge: “I’m not a cat.”

Readers might notice the clear warning label on the video stating that “recording of this hearing or live stream is prohibited.” A violation of that can even result in a fine of up to $500 and 180 days in jail. So how did this clip make it online?

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Judge Roy Ferguson himself tweeted the video out, with an important Zoom tip: remember to check the Zoom Video Options before entering to make sure filters are off, especially if you have children.

The likely culprit for this kitty face mishap: Snapchat’s Snap Camera, which allows users to choose the app as a virtual camera in the Zoom video preferences. Just go to ‘Preferences’ in Zoom and click on the Video tab to make sure you have the correct camera chosen in settings.

Ponton's Zoom incident will certainly not be the last in an age where the video conferencing app has become a necessity due to the pandemic. However, it's certainly one of the best Zoom-related mishaps to happen so far.