A 27-year-old mother from southeast England named Rosie Pearce initially felt immense pride when she noticed regular activity in her three-year-old son Alfie’s potty. She and her husband Nathan showered the boy with enthusiastic praise, believing he had independently mastered this important milestone. They clapped, cheered, and rewarded him with stickers whenever the potty showed signs of use. Alfie sometimes responded with a big smile, which only reinforced their excitement about his progress.
Over time, however, small inconsistencies began to appear that puzzled the parents. On several occasions, Alfie looked genuinely confused when asked about it and insisted he had not used the potty. The couple initially dismissed these denials as typical toddler imagination or forgetfulness. “We would laugh and think: ‘Well, it must have been you,’” Rosie later explained.
As the pattern continued, Rosie and Nathan grew suspicious and started paying closer attention to the bathroom area. Their family cat Bruno soon became the prime suspect. One day Rosie decided to record the scene on her phone, and the footage captured the surprising truth. The video clearly showed Bruno calmly climbing onto the small child’s potty and using it with remarkable composure.
The parents stood frozen in disbelief at the sight. “It was a moment where you just stand there and wonder: ‘Is this reality?’ We were simultaneously impressed and completely baffled,” Rosie recalled. They had never tried to train the cat to do anything like this. Bruno appeared to have learned the behavior simply by watching the family.
Rosie uploaded the clip to TikTok, where it quickly gained traction and surpassed 200,000 views. Viewers flooded the comments with laughter and their own stories of pets taking credit for human accomplishments. One parent shared, “My child is picky with food, so we give him breaded chicken to encourage him to eat. I thought for a long time that he was eating it all himself, and then I caught him and the cat working as a team—my son would eat only the breaded part, and give the meat to the cat.”
The family has kept their approach to Alfie’s actual potty training relaxed and pressure-free. They introduced the concept gently, offered encouragement, and avoided any rush. Rosie noted that most three-year-olds progress at their own pace, and forcing the issue often backfires. The unexpected interference from Bruno has turned into a lighthearted family anecdote rather than a setback.
@roseannamae This household has lost all structure #cattok #chaos #funnypets #fyp #pottytrainningfail ♬ Here Comes The Boy with Harp – Kristan💕 | HarpistKT
Alfie himself finds the whole situation amusing and shows no signs of confusion or delay because of it. Rosie and Nathan continue to support him patiently while occasionally joking about Bruno stealing the spotlight. The incident has brought extra laughter to their home without disrupting the boy’s natural development.
Cats are highly observant animals capable of learning complex behaviors through imitation alone. Domestic felines possess strong instincts for cleanliness and often choose specific spots for elimination. Some owners successfully toilet-train cats using gradual methods and special kits that transition them from litter boxes to human toilets. While rare, cases of cats adopting toddler potties have appeared in viral videos over the years.
Potty training children typically begins between 24 and 36 months, with many reaching consistency by age four. Experts emphasize positive reinforcement, consistency, and patience as the most effective strategies. Individual readiness varies widely, and setbacks are common. Pets in the household can sometimes add unexpected complications or comic relief to the process.
Do you have a funny story about a pet unexpectedly mimicking a child’s milestone or causing a household mix-up? Share your experience in the comments.
