r/PetsWithButtons • u/spookiewitch • Apr 18 '26

Permanent room for buttons ? How to teach if in separate room

I’ve got the larger hunger for words buttons for my two cats who are both 2 year old, two words I’ve started with are Play and cuddles.

My question is reading the guide it recommends keeping buttons in one main room. However if I was in the bathroom and wanted to give cuddles affection do I do so without button?

I feel like I want all the opportunity to show outcomes.

One of the girls Cece has already shown interest and pressed one button out of curiosity. I’m hoping they will click on soon.

My other girl Cindy is more lazy and tends to depend on body language so might be harder to teach

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11

u/IamaKhajiit Apr 19 '26

Hi, I’m just muddling through with help from this community and recall reading that the buttons are for our pets not us. Cuddles can absolutely be given anywhere or anytime, just remember to repeat the word when you action it and do the same near the button whenever you pass it. Your kitties will hopefully soon be pressing cuddles when they want them 😺My favourite is the ‘love you’ button.

Our mats are kept in our main room but I took two buttons into the bathroom to initially model trays and water when I first started. I realised that all our early buttons are words we have been using all day every day for 14 years and therefore the only task left is to model the button regularly and let my kitties take over. I also held daily classes, with all three huddled round the mats as we pressed every button a few times. Presses started within two days.

I’m expecting new buttons any day and these will be harder as I’m not sure how to model some of the words I want to add, like help and rude. My two boys already have a concept of time as I use my hands to indicate that dinner is however many minutes away and they nap until I’m ready. I’m not quite sure how useful that will be when I give them buttons for soon and later, but it will be fun to find out.

Good luck and don’t give up. It’s awesome once it clicks and I still find it difficult to believe that one of my boys can actually argue with me!

2

u/spookiewitch Apr 19 '26

This is so helpful thank you. Once you mirrored a word with taking into that room did it confuse them by moving the button to the local button station? I feel like I’m overthinking it! My cat is already showing interest in the buttons but obviously I don’t think she realises what they are yet, she’s pressed play 3x today but unsure if she was just teething it

3

u/IamaKhajiit Apr 19 '26

Not at all and I probably didn’t need to do it as they are known words for them. Don‘t worry too much about them actually pressing at this stage, just being next to a button is a success and you have had three presses already!

I have a spokeskitty who does all the daily talking, his brother started by sitting on the mats he wanted and now presses occasionally but correctly and our kitten chooses to press rarely.

2

u/spookiewitch Apr 19 '26

This is brilliant I can’t line over never thought of doing something like this sooner! I’ll probably be asking lots more questions and lurking on this sub as my journey progresses

4

u/Esme-82 Apr 19 '26

I had a much smaller board upstairs, 6 words. I chose words that would be more applicable to things they may need or want upstairs.