This Award Show Is Honouring How Animals Really Behave, And It's Extra Cute

Pets tend to do some of their funniest things when they think no one is watching. Because some of their cutest moments (and best moves) happen when you’re not around, Google Nest decided to host Grruffs, a competition that recognises the best leaps and bounds caught on Google Nest Cams. Using Nest Cam’s built-in animal detection technology, pet parents far and wide submitted clips that showed off the pets’ flexibility, balance, flips, and spins — and they were all caught on camera whilst their parents were looking elsewhere. Read on to see which animals took home the “gold” in the “Suburban Triathlon,” “Rhythmic Cul-de-sac,” and “Living Room Agility” categories.

Mr. Donut, a 2-year-old Siberian Forest cat, took home the Suburban Triathlon title with his triple-threat performance. Motivated to find his treats, he first conquers the bookshelf in one effortless leap — four shelves high in fact!. Next, the fearless feline shows immense grace and agility during the “balance box” event where he mounts a cardboard box beautifully. Though the box nearly collapses under his weight, his four paws remain unphased. And for his final performance, floorwork, we see him partaking in a bit of “self-care.”

In this segment, we catch 10-year-old fox Brenda delivering a unique performance in what judges are calling the Rhythmic Cul-de-sac. The wild card of the bunch, this sly fox peed into a shoe in an unsuspecting person’s driveway, then scampered off into the night. Though Brenda was unavailable after her act to give her thoughts on the moment, she still secured the coveted award. With Nest Cam’s intelligent alerts*, the homeowners caught this delightful footage — because, with the Nest Cam, you can get both human, animal, and vehicle alerts so you know what you’re capturing in the night. Lucky for us, Brenda likes an audience from time to time.

Hailing from West Hampstead, 1-year-old Cocker Spaniel Nala is the prodigy that fans have been waiting for. Her impressive routine was caught during what the judges titled Living Room Agility, where they witnessed her skill and stature. In the middle of the floor, the chocolate-coloured pup jumped to the air to perform two perfect spins before leaping onto the sofa with an expert dismount. Owner Makayla boasts that she knew her sweet Nala always had the talent and she couldn’t be prouder.

If your pet is as talented as these winners, you’ll want to catch all their best angles with the Nest Cam, both inside and outside of your home. With the smartest security cameras capturing all these exciting moments, we may have new challengers taking on these winners in next year’s Grruffs.

*Some features, including mobile notifications, remote control, video streaming, and video recording, require working Internet and Wi-Fi.