Rescue Cat's Behavior When He Thought Owner 'Left for the Day' Goes Viral

Online viewers seem obsessed with the moment a rescue cat in a video is caught in the act after assuming his owner had left their home.

In a viral clip shared to a page dedicated to Momo, the fluffy cat (@momo.aiya), he can be seen chewing on a spider plant while sitting on the window sill. Seconds later, the cat is confronted by his owner, who is on the other side of the glass, and he instantly stops playing with the plant.

His face, which has guilty written all over it, has left viewers laughing and racked up 3.1 million views in just 24 hours. The on-screen text says: "When you think mom has left for the day," followed by a shocked emoji.

While the video is funny, pet owners should know that some plants can be hazardous to animals. A previous Newsweek story highlights which plants are toxic for cats. The list includes lilies, tulips, hyacinths and rhododendrons.

While lilies, for instance, are beautiful flowers, they are not worth buying if you own a cat. American Kennel Club Chief Veterinary Officer Jerry Klein previously told Newsweek: "Every part of the lily is extremely dangerous for cats."

If a cat does digest part of a lily, the symptoms to look out for are drooling, vomiting, a painful abdomen and an abnormal heart rate. The flowers can lead to a complete shutdown of urine production, which is usually fatal, within 48 hours.

Ingesting part of a rhododendron can also be extremely dangerous to most pets, sometimes resulting in death.

Fortunately, Momo wasn't chewing on any of the aforementioned plants, but judging by his facial expression, he has been warned against chewing on any kind.

In the comments, the owner tells users: "Before I adopted him, I gave half of my plants to my friends that [are] toxic to cats. Some of them I moved to a higher place or another room."

Many people may wonder what to do if a cat eats a toxic plant. One vet said in a viral video that it's not what you think.

The CEO/founder of Wellnergy Pets, Zonram Liao described an unusual method that involves spinning the feline around on an office chair to force it to be sick after consuming a lily. While it must have been a frightening time for the owner, viewers of the clip couldn't help but laugh.

It seems making people laugh is something that comes naturally to some cats, and thousands of TikTok users have been in stitches after seeing Momo's face.

One user wrote: "Caught red pawed."

"It funny when they do this [because] they KNOW it's wrong," said another.

"CAT IS LIKE, NOT ME," said another user.

Newsweek reached out to u/momo.aiya for comment via TikTok and could not verify the details of the case.

Update 10/10/23, 3:02 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add Read Mores.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.