Rescue Cat Gets Forever Home After Being 'Caught in the Act' Watching TV

A shelter cat's endearing TV habit has helped get him a forever home, after his adorable behavior was shared online.

Winston is a three-year-old ginger cat who came to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, Florida, as a stray. In a series of adorable photographs on its Facebook page, the shelter shared how Winston was "caught in the act" watching chickens on the TV in the office, even pawing at it as he investigated.

"We wanted to share the fun and funny side of kitties and the animals that are in the shelter during their time waiting for a home," Regan Blessinger from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay told Newsweek.

It isn't uncommon for cats to take an interest in screens, though. Research shows it's particularly common for cats that are more active hunters to show interest in moving on-screen images.

In 2008, a study by the School of Psychology at Queen's University Belfast explored how indoor shelter cats responded to visual stimulation.

Working with 125 cats in a rescue shelter, the cats were exposed to five conditions, including no visual stimulation and various types of televised images, for three hours a day for three days.

Cats paid little attention to the TV screens—only looking at them around 6 percent of the time—but those exposed to images of animate and inanimate movement looked at the screens more than those showing moving humans or a blank screen.

Those exposed to more animate movement spent less time sleeping and more time resting and in the exercise area, suggesting some potential for visual stimulation as enrichment in rescue shelters. However, they noted that cats may not benefit from stimulation on screens as much as species with more advanced visual abilities.

People were obsessed with Winston's hilarious TV antics, sharing their reactions in the comments on the shelter's Facebook page.

"Orange boy doing orange things," joked one commenter, while another said: "I hope he gets adopted very soon! Such a sweet cat."

In fact, Winston's sweet TV-watching habit ended up being the reason he found his forever home.

"Winston was at HSTB for two weeks before he found his forever family," said Blessinger. "His adopters saw the post on Facebook and came in to adopt him."

Another cat who loves the TV recently gained viral attention for his reaction to his favorite TV show. Every time Bengal munchkin cat Ringo hears the theme tune for his favorite YouTube video, he has a hilarious reaction, rushing to the screen to watch.

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.