Cat Full of Attitude Filmed Passing Back Stolen Sponge: 'The Audacity'

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A video of a cat giving its owner an "attitude" while returning an object it stole has gone viral on TikTok, where it had received over 843,000 views at the time of writing.

The clip shared from the TikTok account @pennythegingercat was posted with a caption that read: "It's the audacity for me."

The video showed the cat, called Penny, sitting on the floor of a living room, holding an object in its mouth. A message overlaid on the video said: "You stole my kitchen sponge and now mama wants it back."

As another message shown across the video read: "Give it back to me please. Right now. Please hand it over," the cat was seen abruptly flicking the sponge across the floor towards the camera as the clip ended.

Cat looking annoyed.
A stock image of a cat looking annoyed while sitting on a doormat. A video of a cat with "attitude" flinging a stolen sponge back at its owner has gone viral on TikTok. iStock / Getty Images Plus

A cat's obsession with objects it's gotten hold of could be down to its hunter origins.

"Cats are natural hunters, so their toys will be most interesting if they are the size and texture of prey, if they can be moved around in such a way as to represent small prey (mice, insects, lizards, birds), or if they contain tasty food or treats," veterinarians Debra Horwitz, Gary Landsberg and Theresa DePorter explained in an article for VCA, one of North America's largest animal hospital chains.

In another article for VCA, Horwitz and Landsberg said it's often the simple toys, such as ones that offer unpredictable and rapid movement as well as a high-pitched sound, that are likely to provide your cat with "hours of entertainment."

The veterinarians advised: "It is important to keep in mind that some pets may have aggressive chew strength and could potentially ingest bone or toy material. Pets should be monitored and supervised, at least initially, with all toys. If a pet will chew off pieces of a product, then this product is not recommended for them."

The latest viral video has left users on TikTok in stitches.

In a comment that got 8,911 likes, user @iammasadilla said the cat must have been saying: "Fine take it" by throwing the sponge towards the owner.

User angeliz [heart emoji] wrote: "The attitude [face crying floods of tears emoji]," while user Cik Da said: "hahahaha...ohhhh..what an attitude [crying laughing emojis]."

User @ruizgisale wrote: "The level of disrespect [crying laughing emoji]" while Red said: "I love how she [the cat] flings it, 'fine, I didn't want it anyway'."

Evan Williams said: "You know after the video cut off, she [the cat] slammed a door somewhere."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment. This video has not been independently verified.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

About the writer

Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel, health, home/interior design and property/real estate. Soo covered the COVID-19 pandemic extensively from 2020 to 2022, including several interviews with the chief medical advisor to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Soo has reported on various major news events, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the U.S. Capitol riots, the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. and Canadian elections, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Soo is also a South Korea expert, covering the latest K-dramas—including the breakout hit Squid Game, which she has covered extensively, including from Seoul, the South Korean capital—as well as Korean films, such as the Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Past Lives, and K-pop news, to interviews with the biggest Korean actors, such as Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game and Star Wars, and Korean directors, such as Golden Globe and Oscar nominee Celine Song. Soo is the author of the book How to Live Korean, which is available in 11 languages, and co-author of the book Hello, South Korea: Meet the Country Behind Hallyu. Before Newsweek, Soo was a travel reporter and commissioning editor for the award-winning travel section of The Daily Telegraph (a leading U.K. national newspaper) for nearly a decade from 2010, reporting on the latest in the travel industry, from travel news, consumer travel and aviation issues to major new openings and emerging destinations. Soo is a graduate of Binghamton University in New York and the journalism school of City University in London, where she earned a Masters in international journalism. You can get in touch with Soo by emailing s.kim@newsweek.com . Follow her on Instagram at @miss.soo.kim or X, formerly Twitter, at @MissSooKim .Languages spoken: English and Korean


Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more