Cats’ Reaction to Owner Checking on Them Via Pet Cam Has Internet Laughing

A video of two cats appearing startled when their owner checks on them via a home security camera while outside at a bar has gone viral on TikTok, with 2.2 million views at the time of writing.

The video was shared from @eddieandlou, the TikTok account that documents the hijinks of two adorable cat siblings. Eddie is the tanned one, while Lou is the dark-haired feline.

A message overlaid on the clip reads: “Throwback to the time I checked on my cats while I was at a bar and I accidentally turned my mic on.”

The video begins with unsuspecting Eddie and Lou lounging on the couch and coffee table, respectively. The cats suddenly flinch after a brief blast of sound in an otherwise soundless clip.

“Lou clearly works the night shift patrol while Eddie just sleeps,” their owner captioned the clip.

The feline duo’s reaction in the video is not surprising because a cat’s fear of sudden motion or movement is “part of the nature of every animal,” notes the Best Friends Animal Society, an animal nonprofit based in Utah.

“Throughout evolution, the ability to perceive and respond to sudden motion has helped keep all animals alive. It’s a survival mechanism, alerting animals to the possible presence of predators,” the nonprofit says.

In addition to sounds, pets can have a fearful or phobic response associated with objects, pets, people and environments.

Fear is an aversive reaction to “stimuli which are perceived as an actual threat or danger,” and phobia is “a sudden, profound, or excessive fear response” that is “out of proportion to the stimulus and is maladaptive,” explained veterinarians Kenneth Martin, Debra Horwitz and Gary Landsberg in an article for VCA, one of North America’s largest animal hospital chains.

What triggers these reactions varies depending on the pet. Phobic responses can develop from just one exposure or continued exposure. A fearful reaction can sometimes be a result of an early experience that was “unpleasant or perceived by the pet as unpleasant,” they said.

But it’s not always down to an unpleasant experience. Any stimuli that a cat has not been exposed to during its sensitive period of development (up to two months of age) “may become a fear-evoking stimulus,” the veterinarians added.

Several TikTok users were in stitches over the cats’ startled reaction in the latest clip.

User @Aguyfrommichigan734(2) said: “Poor cat was scared for his life.”

Mandee noted: “I did this once to say hi to my cat and never again, she was terrified.”

User serenityrosefrappe wrote: “Orange cat jolted awake confused and probably wondering where he was…”

Jay wrote: “The fact that it’s only for a second makes it so much funnier and more confusing.”

User lauren said: “omg i was laughing before it even happened. why is this so funny.”

User coletteymarie agreed, saying: “I started laughing before it even happened I love cats.”

Newsweek reached out to the original poster via TikTok for comment. This video has not been independently verified.

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