Chaotic Scenes as White Cat Gets Into Pot of Crayons: "Face Scratches"

A cat owner discovered her cat had turned his own face into a piece of art, after using a pot of crayons as a new scratching post.

The hilarious video was posted on TikTok by Samia Nitazar (@samiahub) on May 1, showing Minnie rubbing his face over a pot of coloring pencils, which cover his fur in marks.

Many cat owners will be familiar with their cats employing household items or furniture, and rubbing their heads against people or objects.

While it's often very sweet when the cat presses its head against you, there's also a very specific reason, because cats have glands in their cheeks, forehead and chin.

These glands all contain pheromones, so when a cat rubs its face against something, they're depositing pheromones to mark their scent. If another cat subsequently came along, they'd smell the pheromones and know they weren't the first cat on the scene.

Pet advice website PetMD also notes that the feeling of rubbing their face against something can be "self-soothing" for the cat, and owners will usually hear them purring as a sign of enjoyment.

Nitazar, from Indonesia, joked in the video's caption that this new way of scratching has become his hobby and the viral video has already generated over 3.9 million views and more than 522,000 likes on TikTok.

After Minnie went viral online, Nitazar told Newsweek that the accidental artist only "wanted to do face scratches," and the pencil pot has quickly become one of his favorite ways to do that

"He was so fascinated by the crayons because he wanted to do face scratches," Nitazar told Newsweek. "I have to wipe the colors off his face afterwards

"Thankfully, the coloring pencils are non-toxic so they don't cause him any sort of harm."

Since sharing Minnie's creative talents online, Nitazar has been amazed by the reaction the video has received. She's been inundated with positive comments and reactions, telling Newsweek that people have even suggested "that he's a professional artist."

With over 1,600 comments on the video at the time of writing, many TikTok users have praised the cat's unconventional way of creating art.

One person commented on the clip: "release your inner artist," while another user suggested that Minnie is a "future make up artist."

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.