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A mum has captured the moment her 11-year-old cat reacted hilariously to her toddler's tantrum. Vail Shoars took to TikTok to share a video of her feline friend, Reno's facial expression.

Since it was posted two weeks ago, a staggering 9.7 million fans have viewed the clip. "His genuine level of confusion is killing me," she joked in a caption. Indeed, as the youngster could be heard wailing in the background, Vail zoomed in on Reno who stopped dead in his tracks as his pupils dilated and his head bobbed around trying to figure out what all the commotion was about.

"My cat's first time experiencing a toddler meltdown," Vail added.

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It prompted thousands of TikTok users to respond including one who wrote: "He is so confused and so concerned at the same time." To which Vail admitted: "He genuinely had me in tears."

A second person added: "My cats are traumatised. Every time they hear toddler voice they’ll be running and hiding!"

While third recalled: "My cat put himself between the air mattress and the wall at my brother’s house. He was so distraught from the crying."

And a fourth individual confessed: "I can’t wait for my cat to experience this someday so he knows how annoying it is to have another little thing make so much noise besides him."

All jokes aside, however, another TikTok user claimed: "I’ve read babies sound like kittens to cats so they get worried."

And someone else concurred: "He's looking for the crying kitten. Crying cats sound a lot like crying babies."

This is backed up by Kid Friendly Pets, who explain the science behind cats' reactions to human babies crying. "Although other signs that cats can recognise what a baby is are mainly reported by owners or occasionally observed, it has been shown that mammals recognise other mammals cries," they said.

"This includes the domesticated cats we keep in our homes. It’s an instinctive response that happens at the sound of a baby crying. Cats will inspect and sometimes rush to aid a crying and distressed baby.

"Just as humans can tell when their cat is distressed or hurt. This primal response shows that cats can recognise an infant, if only on the most basic of levels."

Kid Friendly Pets further advise: "The recognition does not stop at infants crying; it extends further into other types of distress signals and simple communication triggers.

"The levels of recognition vary depending on the pitch of the sound and the volume. Infant crying is just the easiest to recognise and is the most prominent among all mammals."