Cats sometimes have a way of bringing out our inner Grinch with their antics, which is why one man took an unusual step to keep them from getting up to mischief around the family Christmas tree.
Luckily, the extreme measure would cause no harm although it would employ the nemesis to cats and dogs alike: the household hoover.
TikTok user Jenna Taylor, who goes by @floof_life on the platform, shared a 24-second video with her 14,500 followers that showed how her husband would keep their Christmas tree safe from the felines.
The clip showed the two cats sneaking around the Christmas tree before a motion sensor was triggered by their movement and set off a nearby hoover, which scared the two felines away.
A caption on the video read: "My husband got sick of our cats messing with our Christmas tree. So this year he got creative."
The cats can then be seen jumping as if frightened for their lives, as their movement activates the hoover.
Another caption answered any possible questions about what happened when the couple went to bed and showed one of the cats sneaking around the Christmas tree before the motion sensor detected the feline and set off a sound.
It read: "Don't worry, it even works at night."
@floof__life Automation and motion sensor cameras are beautiful things #zoomies #christmastree #crazycat
♬ Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
The clip quickly went viral and has been viewed more than 3.3 million times since it was uploaded on Monday.
It also garnered some 355,300 likes and was commented on more than 2,750 occasions.
Many of those commenting praised the thought that went into the idea, but others also noted how often the hoover must have been activated.
One commented: "The vacuum coming on every half hour at night [laughing emoji face]."
Another added: "Patent that now. You have a billion-dollar product there."
A third said: "Very smart. They won't know it's you and just assume the tree is just evil."
Cats have a habit of getting themselves into unwanted and unusual places, as one man found out earlier this month.
The man, who describes himself as a "Texas real-estate investor, shared footage with his followers on TikTok of when he found a cat in a house.
As he walked through numerous rooms, he filmed a cracked mirror, some trash and a ginger cat.
He said: "They left the pet. He's obviously scared, showing the cat, which was backed right into the corner of the closet.
The clip, captioned "tenants moved out and left their cat behind," has been seen 4.5 million times.
