"I'm here live. I'm not a cat."
If you were online in early 2021, those words are burned into your brain. Rod Ponton, a county attorney in Presidio County, Texas, found himself trapped behind a fluffy white kitten filter during a high-stakes judicial proceeding on Zoom. It was the height of the pandemic. Everyone was tired. Everyone was stressed. And then, suddenly, a lawyer was a cat with giant, terrified eyes.
The Are We Not Cats phenomenon wasn't just a funny video. It became a cultural touchstone for a world trying to navigate a digital reality that felt increasingly surreal. It was the perfect storm of technical incompetence and human vulnerability. We’ve all been there—trying to look professional while our technology betrays us in the most ridiculous way possible.
What Actually Happened During the Are We Not Cats Hearing?
The case wasn't anything glamorous. It was a routine hearing regarding a man attempting to exit the country with undeclared cash. Judge Roy Ferguson was presiding. When the Zoom call started, instead of seeing the face of a veteran prosecutor, the court was greeted by a wide-eyed, sad-looking kitten.
The cat’s eyes moved. They darted back and forth in sync with Ponton’s actual eyes. The mouth moved when he spoke.
"Mr. Ponton, I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings," Judge Ferguson said. He was remarkably calm. You can hear the desperation in Ponton’s voice as he explains that his assistant is trying to fix it. He literally offers to proceed as a cat. "I’m prepared to go forward with it," he says, before clarifying the now-legendary line that he is, in fact, not a feline.
The filter wasn't actually a Zoom feature. It was a piece of legacy software called Dell Webcam Central. It had been sitting on an old computer for years, probably used by a child a decade earlier, only to wake up at the worst possible moment.
Why We Can't Stop Thinking About the Cat Lawyer
Why does this specific moment still resonate? Honestly, it's because it represents the total collapse of the "professional" barrier.
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For decades, we kept our work lives and our home lives in separate boxes. The pandemic smashed those boxes together. We were all just people sitting in our spare bedrooms or at our kitchen tables, pretending to be corporate warriors while our laundry sat in the corner. Ponton’s struggle was our struggle. He was trying to uphold the dignity of the law while appearing as a cartoon pet.
There's also the sheer comedic timing. If the filter had been a potato (which happened to a boss on a different viral call) or a pirate, it would have been funny. But the cat filter had this specific look of existential dread. It looked like a creature that had seen the end of the world.
The Technical Glitch That Fooled the World
Technically speaking, the Are We Not Cats mishap was a driver issue. Modern apps like Zoom or Teams have "Backgrounds" and "Effects" built-in. But back in the day, companies like Dell and Logitech shipped laptops with pre-installed "enhancement" suites.
These suites worked by creating a "virtual camera."
- The software captures the raw video feed.
- It applies the kitten overlay using basic facial tracking.
- It outputs that new, cat-filled video as a selectable camera source in Zoom.
Because Ponton’s computer was likely an older model or hadn't been wiped in years, the virtual camera was set as the default. When he joined the call, the software did exactly what it was programmed to do: it turned the lawyer into a cat.
Judge Ferguson eventually shared the clip on Twitter (now X) as a cautionary tale. He didn't do it to be mean; he did it to show that even in the most serious environments, human error is inevitable. He actually praised the legal community for their "grace" during the transition to virtual hearings.
The Philosophical Side: Are We Not Cats?
There is a deeper question here. When we spend eight hours a day behind a screen, using filters, blurring our backgrounds, and adjusting our lighting, how much of "us" is actually reaching the other person?
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The phrase "Are We Not Cats" (a play on the Devo "Are We Not Men?" lyric) touches on the blurring of identity. We are digital avatars. We are data points on a grid. In that moment, for the people in that virtual courtroom, Rod Ponton was a cat. His legal expertise was secondary to the fact that his face was a bundle of white fur.
It highlights the fragility of our digital presence. We think we are in control of our image, but a single software update or an old driver can strip that away. We are at the mercy of the "ghost in the machine."
The Legal Implications of "Cat" Appearances
Believe it or not, this incident sparked serious discussions in legal tech circles. It wasn't just a laugh. It raised questions about the "decorum" of virtual courts.
If a lawyer is a cat, is the proceeding still valid? Judge Ferguson argued that as long as the person is identified and the testimony is clear, the court moves forward. But it led to a massive push for better "tech literacy" among older professionals. Bar associations across the country started hosting webinars on how to use Zoom properly.
They had to teach people how to turn off the kitten.
The Meme Life Cycle
The Are We Not Cats clip went through the standard internet meat grinder:
- Stage 1: The Initial Viral Shock. Millions of views in hours.
- Stage 2: The Late Night Talk Show Phase. Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon make the obvious jokes.
- Stage 3: The Remonstration. Serious think pieces (like this one, I guess) about what it says about our society.
- Stage 4: The Merchandise. T-shirts with "I'm not a cat" started appearing on Etsy within 48 hours.
What’s interesting is that Ponton took it in stride. He didn't hide. He did interviews. He laughed at himself. That’s the real human element—the ability to be embarrassed in front of the entire world and just say, "Well, that happened."
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How to Avoid Your Own "Cat Lawyer" Moment
If you want to make sure you don't become a feline in your next board meeting, there are a few practical things you should do. Don't assume your computer is "clean" just because you haven't downloaded anything lately.
First, check your "Video" settings in your meeting app before the call starts. Most apps have a "Preview" window. Use it. If you see a cat, stop.
Second, look for "Virtual Camera" drivers. If you see names like "Snap Camera," "Logitech Capture," or "Dell Webcam Central" in your camera dropdown menu, those are the culprits. They are secondary layers that can hijack your feed. If you don't use them for fun, uninstall them.
Third, keep it simple. The more "enhancement" software you have running, the more likely something is to crash or default to a weird setting.
The Legacy of the Kitten Filter
Rod Ponton is a real person with a long career. He’s handled major cases. But for the rest of history, he will be the Cat Lawyer.
It’s a strange kind of fame. It’s not based on achievement, but on a glitch. Yet, it brought a lot of joy to people at a time when things were pretty bleak. It reminded us that the people in power—the judges, the lawyers, the officials—are just as confused by their computers as we are.
We are all just trying to figure out which button to press. Sometimes we press the wrong one. Sometimes that button turns us into a cat. And honestly? That’s okay.
Practical Steps for Managing Your Digital Image
- Perform a "Software Audit": Go through your installed programs and remove anything that hasn't been used in the last year. Old webcam software is notorious for causing issues with modern apps like Zoom or Teams.
- Use the "Wait Room" Feature: If you’re hosting or joining a meeting, use the preview screen to check your appearance. It’s your last line of defense.
- Learn the Shortcuts: Know how to quickly kill your video feed. On Zoom, it's
Alt+V(Windows) orCommand+Shift+V(Mac). If you see fur, hit those keys immediately. - Update Your Drivers: While the cat lawyer issue was caused by old software being present, many modern glitches are solved by simply having the latest version of your meeting platform.
- Keep Your Assistant Close: If you aren't tech-savvy, make sure the person who helps you is actually in the room or available via phone. Ponton’s assistant was trying to help, but the pressure of a live hearing makes everything harder.
- Embrace the Human Error: If a glitch happens, don't panic. The "I'm not a cat" line worked because it was honest and direct. Acknowledge it, laugh if appropriate, and fix it.
The story of Are We Not Cats is ultimately a story about resilience. It’s about a man who tried his best to do his job while a cartoon kitten mimicked his every move. It’s the ultimate 21st-century tall tale. It reminds us that no matter how much technology we wrap ourselves in, the human (or the lawyer) underneath is what really matters. Even if that human happens to look like a very sad, very white kitten for a few minutes on a Tuesday morning in Texas.