Rod Ponton, the Texas attorney who appeared as a cat in a Zoom court hearing, wants to turn his viral moment into cold, hard cash ... right meow!!!
Rod tells TMZ ... he was initially embarrassed by his 15 seconds of fame, but now he's embracing the fact he's an overnight internet sensation and he wants to milk it by hawking shirts, mugs, and anything else folks will buy.
The guy's in high demand ... Ron says he's already getting tons of requests for speaking engagements about staying professional in the midst of Zoom snafus. He's certainly an expert in this arena.
As for his cat call seen 'round the world ... Ron says he was using his assistant's 10-year-old's computer and still doesn't know how or why the feline filter was activated when he joined the virtual courtroom.
Maybe he can sell enough merch to buy a better computer before his next Zoom hearing. That would be purr-fect!!!