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By Alice Gibbs
Senior Reporter
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A quick-thinking cat mom has shared how she managed to save her pet from potential danger, despite being hundreds of miles away.
Mandee, 36, from New York, shared a now-viral clip of her 9-month-old cat, Fifi, who recently joined the family after being adopted from a shelter in 2024. In the video on TikTok Fifi is seen on the front porch of their home, moments before slipping out of a loose harness.
On Friday, May 9, while Mandee's husband was outside digging a trench for a culvert in their yard. He briefly tethered Fifi to the porch so he could run inside for a tool. But the kitten, wearing a harness meant for a larger cat, quickly wriggled free.
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That's when Mandee, who only shared her first name, received a motion alert from their home security system while away on a work trip. Opening the live feed, she spotted the problem instantly.
"I could see she was wearing the wrong harness," Mandee told Newsweek. "I'm a helicopter cat mom who is always watching, even from afar."
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Using the camera's audio function, she immediately called out to her husband, who was just a few yards away, to intervene before Fifi could venture too far.
"Tim Fifi's out," the voice from the camera said in the video. "Tim. FiFi is out, she is loose," she said, and quickly, her husband came running.
Thankfully, he arrived in time to scoop up the escapee. No harm was done, but Mandee said the incident was a lesson learned.
"The harness was obviously too large for Fifi, and my husband realized afterward he can't tether her, even if only for a moment," she explained. "It was the first and last time he would try that."
Harnesses for cats can be a great way for them to spend time outdoors safely, but it is important to ensure that it is a harness designed for cats and that it fits properly. Dr. Christian Broadhurst, senior veterinarian at non-profit clinic Clay Humane in Orange Park, Florida, previously told Newsweek that a cat harness should fit snugly enough that your pet can't easily slip free.
"We don't want to put it so tight that it cuts into the tissue—that's obviously not good. It just needs to be tight enough that they can't escape if they try," he said.
When it comes to getting your cat used to a harness, Broadhurst also had some advice: "If you are patient and your cat is willing, you can achieve it," he said. But he suggested getting your cat used to it slowly, putting it on for five minutes at a time at first.
Mandee later shared the footage on TikTok to offer a real look at life with pets, where amassed more than 700,000 views since being shared a few days ago.
"You're a helicopter mom who yells at her husband via the house cam from many states away," the on-screen text said.
While the caption confirmed "crisis averted," Mandee decided to disable comments after facing a flood of online opinions.
"You can only put so much context in a video description," she said. "Ultimately, Fifi is and always will be safe, and we are currently shopping for a more secure harness."
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.**
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