Woman Sends Pic, to Her Horror Later Realizes It Was Live Photo

New York-based pet sitter Jessica Valente was just trying to capture the perfect cat photo when she accidentally captured something else—her meows.

While pet-sitting for a client, Valente performed an impromptu operatic meow to grab the cat’s attention for a photo—an effort that worked flawlessly. The cat turned her head for a great shot, but Valente later realized, to her horror, that she had sent the live photo, complete with the dramatic meows, to the cat’s owner.

“I realized I’d sent a live photo a few minutes later when the owner responded to the text ‘awe thanks’—that’s when I noticed the circles in the top left corner that show it’s live and was like… oh dear God. Pretty mortifying,” Valente told Newsweek.

Apple introduced live photos in September 2015 with the release of the iPhone 6s. The dynamic photo feature captures 1.5 seconds of video and audio before and after you take a picture, resulting in a 3 second moving image with sound. They’re great for capturing a little bit extra when taking a photo, but Valente didn’t realize she was sending her client her meow performance.

A longtime animal lover, Valente has been pet sitting unofficially for the last decade, but only recently turned professional. She admitted she hadn’t even learned the cat’s name yet, as she was initially hired for dog-walking services. But that didn’t stop her from going above and beyond to get the perfect shot.

“As a dog mom myself, I also thought it was pretty funny the lengths we’ll go to get the best pic,” she said.

After realizing her mistake, Valente shared the hilarious live photo on TikTok, where it has been viewed 1.4 million times.

In the comments, people rushed to share their reactions. Fellow pet owners could relate to the idea of getting attention for a photo. “As a cat mom I wouldn’t care at all—the noises I make to my cats are insane,” said Chantelle. While Mxgan_17 agreed and said: “This is how I get my cat to look at me too.”

Others praised Valente’s commitment to her role. Em wrote: “You’d immediately get a raise if that were me.”

“I have not laughed this hard in a very long time,” said viewer Jlyg. While Shannon had proof that Valente’s meow was seriously impressive: “Need you to know that you apparently did SUCH a good cat impression that my dog literally WHIPPED her head around when she heard it,” she wrote.

The unexpected viral response delighted Valente, who has been enjoying reading the responses.

“It’s been so fun! The comments have me dying—I’ve been laughing a lot the last few days,” she said.

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.