Can Cats Use Buttons To ‘Talk’?

The rise of “talking” pets on social media has sparked a new frontier in animal communication studies. Cats and dogs demonstrate their ability to use sound buttons to convey their desires and emotions. Could this phenomenon reshape how humans understand and interact with their pets in the future?

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The Rise of Talking Animals

Among the viral stars of this trend was Billi the Talking Cat, who captivated social media with her use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) buttons. These recordable buttons allow animals to “speak” by pressing them to request food, attention, or even express emotions. Billi, a 14-year-old tortoiseshell cat, was well-known for using these buttons to make demands, with her favorite word being “mad” when she didn’t get what she wanted. Sadly, Billi passed away in June of 2024, but her legacy continues to inspire others to explore the potential of interspecies communication.

Billi’s owner, Kendra Baker, had spent years training her cat to use the buttons, following the success of Christina Hunger, a speech-language pathologist who introduced AAC to her dog, Stella, in 2019. Stella became the first dog to use this form of communication, inspiring pet owners worldwide to try it with their animals.

Billi’s Journey with Buttons

The idea of teaching Billi to use the buttons took off during the COVID-19 lockdown, as Baker spent more time at home. Baker introduced the first button — “food” — knowing that Billi, like most cats, loved food. It took about three weeks for Billi to understand that pressing the button would get her a treat. However, this led to Billi becoming a little too obsessed with food, so Baker had to manage her expectations.

Next came “pets,” a button for when Billi wanted affection. But the most notable button that Billi gravitated toward was the word “mad.” Baker humorously noted that Billi quickly mastered this button, using it to express her displeasure when things weren’t going her way. In fact, it only took Billi three examples before she was regularly pressing the “mad” button, usually when she was not getting what she wanted.

Abstract Concepts and the Limits of Understanding

One of the more intriguing questions in this research is whether animals like Billi truly understood abstract concepts like “I love you” or whether they associate it with affection. Baker admits it’s difficult to gauge whether Billi understood the full depth of the word “love” in the human sense. Still, Billi’s use of the button was consistent and contextually appropriate over 80% of the time.

However, there is still room for ambiguity, as Billi would sometimes press buttons incongruently, such as pressing “catnip,” only to refuse the offered catnip later. However, this could be simply due to her cat nature.

Citizen Science and the Quest to Understand Animal Language

With the rise of “talking” pets like Billi and Stella, scientists are now exploring whether animals can use these buttons to communicate in ways beyond basic requests. Leo Trottier, who founded FluentPet, has been collaborating with researchers to study whether pets like Billi are not just pushing buttons to get things but using language to express thoughts and emotions.

Trottier and other researchers are investigating whether animals can form simple sentences by combining multiple words. For instance, Bunny, a sheepadoodle, has combined words to refer to ambulances as “squeaky cars,” showing the potential for these pets to use the buttons creatively. The next phase of this research will focus on how animals combine words into more complex sentences, similar to how human toddlers form sentences once they know around 50 words.

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The Big Question: Do Pets Understand the Words They Use?

A major question that remains to be answered is whether animals genuinely understand the words they press or if they are using buttons to elicit a desired response. Researchers are particularly interested in whether these animals can understand concepts like “help,” “pain,” or “where,” which indicate not just basic needs but also emotions and awareness.

Trottier and other researchers hope this citizen science project will provide new insights into the cognitive abilities of cats and dogs. With many pets now able to communicate more effectively using these buttons, it’s becoming increasingly clear that animals may have more complex cognitive abilities than we ever realized.

Photo Credit: Fluent.pet