A new parent hoping to unwind with a bath after days in the hospital was joined by an unexpected presence this week.
Reddit user u/Cumbandicoot shared a picture of their cat, Clementine, perched on the toilet seat to the r/OneOrangeBraincell subreddit, a community dedicated to “derpy” [foolish or stupid] orange cats.
“I just got back from the hospital after about three days running on four hours of sleep and just wanting to take a well-deserved break more than anything else,” the owner told Newsweek.
u/Cumbandicoot
The anonymous Reddit user, who lives in the Pacific Northwest with their wife and newborn son, said that the unexpected bath-time surveillance came after an exhausting hospital stay.
Reddit users also spotted a TV mounted in the bathroom, playing the mob drama The Sopranos—a setup that sparked intrigue in the comments.
The original poster assured them that their home was far more put-together than the state of their personal bathroom—which had been put on the back burner in favor of more important renovations, including a hand-painted “Bob Ross-style” mural in their newborn’s nursery.
The couple had just welcomed their almost 9-pound, 23-inch baby boy into the world two days prior. Despite the newborn’s size, the poster was pleased to report that everyone is “healthy and happy, and the delivery went smoothly.”
While Clementine stole the show, many Reddit users couldn’t help but wonder why there is a TV in the bathroom.
The poster told Newsweek that being in the bath is their happy place and helps them relax. But there was also a more specific reason—one that involved their feline friend.
“[She] knocked my tablet into the bath when she was a kitten and broke it and I just don’t ever want that to happen again,” the poster said. Rather than risk another expensive mishap, they opted for a cheap Goodwill TV, which could be replaced for $15 to $20 instead of hundreds of dollars.
The poster’s wife, however, is not a fan. “[She] absolutely hates it, but it’s usually the first thing she shows people when we give a tour of our house because she loves to shame me for it.”
As for Clementine the cat, she is both the “sweetest” and “dumbest” feline the couple have ever had.
u/Cumbandicoot
“She actually has gotten a lot of attention online because she likes to pee in the toilet with her legs in the toilet bowl. Also, her favorite place to poop is in the bathtub so she’s only allowed in bathrooms when she’s supervised and she will only poop in a litterbox if there’s no litter in it,” the poster said.
Despite her odd habits, Clementine is the most affectionate of their pets, allowing guests to pet and play with her. “She’s also the one who will hop in our laps when we work from home and spend all day there,” the poster added.
Clementine has also been the most curious about the baby, constantly trying to sneak into the nursery.
But as for Clementine’s newfound love of staring at her owner in the bath, the poster told Newsweek that this behavior wasn’t entirely normal. “Sometimes, she’ll come in for a few minutes, but I don’t think she’s ever stared straight at me for that long before.”