Cats are known for their fickle nature, but one TikToker experienced this maddening unpredictability on a whole 'nother level!

It's safe to assume Sophie Scherg's TikTok video was supposed to capture a sweet encounter with a friendly neighborhood cat while she was out on a run.

The clip shows her approaching an adorably plump orange cat that looks like it's very interested in some cuddles. There's a lot of rubbing up against legs and appreciative meows – until the whole situation turns 180 degrees!

Suddenly, the friendly feline turns ferocious and decides to use the unsuspecting jogger as a scratching post. Biting, scratching, it's all there, with seemingly no provocation whatsoever. Sophie can only yelp in pain and eventually escapes, ending the video with a disbelieving "Get away from me!"

Animals Reddit users totally baffled by strange fluffy animal – what is that?

The TikToker aptly captioned the clip: "A catastrophe occurred on my morning trot."

Make that a viral catastrophe, as the video's wild success would soon prove.

A staggering 26.6 million views and 5.6 million likes later, Sophie has herself a real hit on her hands.

On top of that, there are nearly 59,000 comments from users, each with their own hot take on the incident.

"It’s always the ginger cats i swear," one noted.

Animals Beluga whale hilariously steals the show during romantic proposal!

Others appreciated Sophie's remarkable patience and gentleness with the animal, despite the somewhat alarming twist: "Thank u for being so gentle with him despite the love bites!"

Ultimately, many people agreed that this kind of freak-out isn't exactly out of character for our baffling feline friends.

One user summed it up neatly: "The most cat thing I’ve seen a cat do."