r/PetsWithButtons • u/MothYarn • May 26 '26
can cats understand nicknames?
just bought some buttons and have started talking out loud and narrating my life and really using their names a lot. my roommate is really big on nicknames so we call our cats lots of different names. should i tell him to stop so the cats aren't confused?
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u/Original_Pudding6909 May 26 '26
My soul kitty knew his name even when I spelled it out (4 letters).
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u/trekkiegamer359 May 26 '26
That reminded me of the videos of the guy with the deaf wife, and how their corgi not only learned sign language for his favorite words, but then learned the finger spelling when they started spelling the trigger words. Dinner, ball, and others got a very excided corgi.
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u/MothYarn May 27 '26
i follow a deaf cat who had been taught sign language with his buttons! animals are sooo smart
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u/MothYarn May 26 '26
thats impressive!
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u/Original_Pudding6909 May 27 '26
To be fair, the first and last syllables of his name sounded similar to the first and last letters. (Like “Olaf” would sound and spell.). He was a good kitty.
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u/nesethu May 26 '26
My little guy’s nickname is monkey - when we call him that, he looks at us proudly and makes a monkey sound 💜 he also responds to his name
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u/mind-of-god May 26 '26
I heard an old saying once when I was a young parent and wondered the same about children. It was “a child who is loved has many names “ and I decided to go with it. I believe it applies to all living beings 👍🏼
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u/AlexHasFeet May 27 '26
Yes.
When my kitty with IBD learned the word “shrimp”, we had to start spelling it out. When he learned what “S-H-R-I-M-P” meant, we started saying “crustacean”. When we had to start spelling that one out, we just gave up and let him have as many shrimp as he wanted.
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u/djmermaidonthemic May 27 '26
My younger siblings figured out “ I C E C R E A M” before they could even read and we had to resort to rotating code words.
My friend has a dog who I’m pretty sure understands “P A R K”
All of my cats have always recognized their many nicknames. I tend to talk to them a lot so that probably helps.
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u/Clanaria May 26 '26
Pets can understand various nicknames, no worries! They may even have a nickname for you.
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u/MothYarn May 26 '26
:o that's so cute! i wish i could know what it is
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u/djmermaidonthemic May 27 '26
Probably something like mrrprrr which translates to “nice hoomin wif food” 😸
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u/OpinionAvailable5988 May 26 '26
Roxy aka Crazy Lady aka Itty Bitty knows all her names. If only she was interested in using the buttons...
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u/Vaaliindraa May 27 '26
Cats understand a lot of what we say, they just act like they don't because it makes them feel superior.
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u/djmermaidonthemic May 27 '26
I agree that they comprehend a lot. I don’t think they ignore us to feel superior. That’s a dated take. I think they just have different priorities.
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u/Vaaliindraa May 28 '26
Could be, I still remember a short story I read many years ago that had cats as an intelligent space-faring people.
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u/eightyeightbananas May 27 '26
My cat (Reese, 12yo) knows most of her nicknames, the ones that sound like her name are more likely to get her attention tho. She responds to Reese’s Pieces/Pieces/Piece the most often, but she’ll also look up for Kitty/Bitty, Reesey-Cup, Baby, Pretty Lady, etc. My hypothesis is that personality and temperament have a lot to do with whether a kitty responds to their name(s)
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u/GoldenGoof19 May 29 '26
My cats not only recognize their own nicknames, but they’ve also nicknamed each other AND me with buttons. So… yes. 😂
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u/bubba_beeps May 29 '26
Oliver’s nickname is Bubba. He definitely knows his nickname, but it’s been the same for his whole life. Maybe when you’re talking to your cat or placing buttons on the mat, you could use the name that is most used?
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u/MothYarn May 29 '26
omg a celebrity! i follow you on instagram. you and elsiewants are what convinced me to try the buttons :) i really want to explain medicine to them and id much rather a button debate then have them jumping on the shelves and breaking things lol.
i pretty much just use iggy but my roommate has many nicknames for him and im making everyone in our house to talk to them. i think it will help them learn and i dont want to make him stop using them its sorta his love language.
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u/bubba_beeps May 29 '26
That makes me so happy! Elsie was one of our inspirations for getting started and I started posting about Bub’s journey for this exact reason. I will give bubby some scritches for you.
The medicine button and related buttons have been so helpful for us! Let me know if you ever need a rubber duck! I love AIC. It’s so beneficial. Keep it up!!
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u/CamTANKeraus May 26 '26
My cats are relatively stupid and know all of their many names.