We've been working with a cat almost since the beginning of having her. About a year in now. She's playing with some buttons; simple stuff. She really likes to practically lay on the Play & Toy buttons until she gets what she wants haha. If one of the humans is gone she'll press the mom or dad button over and over and you'll have to tell her that mom is bye bye. Home later. Every now and then you're surprised by a Dad Love You. But mostly she just lays over a bunch of buttons simultaneously and you really almost have to look at her to see what her face is closest to catch which button she meant. She'll usually almost nose rub on it as she lays there and it becomes a lot more obvious what button was intended when you see it. Anyway, it's really interesting that through working with cats you can really begin to understand some of their thoughts, interests, the length of their memory, and so much more. I had no idea that a cat would be pondering a lost friend from two years ago! That's really neat to see and brings some emotion to the surface for me because my favorite cat I've ever owned also passed about two years ago. That kitty's favorite little trick is this thing where I'd say "get your whiskers" and she'd lean in on one side of her face and I'd kinda rub the side she presented, then I'd say "get your other whiskers" and she'd lean in the other way and I'd rub there on that side of the face. Then I'd say "get my whiskers" and she'd put a paw up to my face. Man I loved that cat!
That’s so sweet! It’s so difficult to lose our fur-friends and it makes me sad that they’re sad too, but it’s also kinda nice to know we’re not alone in missing them. By the way Roscoe also lays on the buttons alllll the time! It seems to be common with cats. Some people have found work arounds but I haven’t found one for Roscoe yet. He will carefully try to not activate the buttons when he lays though, but rarely succeeds lol.
@@roscoesqueaks My cat knows the difference between alive and dead... When he brought a dead mouse to the front door to bring it in to play with it I told him to leave it out side. When he brought the live one to my room and dropped it at the foot of my bed I told him to kill the F@#$ING THING....... he knows. If the issue is the limited artificial voice boxes has anyone ever tried to use syllables instead of full words? Long pauses would be a major issue but it might be amazing for someone to try.
Do you use Bye Bye when people come and go? If you use it to mean temporary goodbye, then he may not understand that Rocky has gone permanently and may be asking to go to where Rocky is so that he can see him. The permanence of death is difficult to express, especially for the first time.
That's a really good point. I use it often when I, or others, leave for work or wherever. I heard someone say that they used "all done", so I might try that since it seems more permanent.
"I still miss Rocky. Am... am I gonna 'go bye-bye' soon, too?" 😭😭😭 He may not understand Rocky is dead, but he's figured out that he won't see Rocky again, and he's afraid whatever made Rocky leave might make him leave, too. EDIT: i just watched "belly ouch" and the one where you said he asks for Rocky after seeing the vet. Maybe he does understand, after all.
This broke my heart 💔. How do you explain to him, a cat, what happened to Rocky when we as human beings have a hard time dealing and understanding the meaning of death of our loved ones. Poor kitty, he is confused, so sad. 😿.
That's so sad. Last night I saw a video by an author and RUclipsr I've never heard of. It came up in my feed because it involves a cat he adopted from a shelter and called Watson. He talked about how Watson was his best buddy, and how much he cared about him. Then after some years together he was preparing to move, and left Watson with his grandparents. But Watson escaped and didn't return. The man looked, called shelters, posted bulletins all over town, but finally had to give up. He didn't even live in the town any more. After a few years he adopted another cat. He still thought about Watson, of course, still mourned the loss, and always wondered what became of him. Then he got a phone call from a veterinarian 6 years after Watson ran away. That vet had scanned for a microchip and all the information was still there. It turned out that Watson had shown up on an older woman's doorstep in rough shape, and she had nursed him back to health. She was in the next town over from where Watson had run away, so she hadn't seen the posters. Besides, it was 9 months after the man had given up looking. Somehow Watson had traveled all that way, and suffered hunger and injuries. I don't know why they lady hadn't taken him to a vet, but she didn't. She just took him in as her own and named him Sebastian. Sebastian was happy with her and bonded with her. By the time a veterinarian scanned him for a chip, he was a senior. The man did go to see him at the woman's home, but he didn't know if Watson/Sebastian would remember him. I thought, "Of _course_ he remembers! There's no way the cat spent all those years being bonded with the man and doesn't remember him!" But Sebastian had to be coaxed outside to meet the man, his former bonded buddy, and he was hesitant with him. The woman said Sebastian recognized the man because he runs from strangers, and goes into hiding. That was unlike his behavior when he was known as Watson, so I think something horrible must have happened to him during those months when he was in his own trying to survive and find his human. I'm sure that's what he was doing, and I think he had lost hope, and was mourning that man all these years, despite having bonded with the woman. The man said Watson/Sebastian kept looking between the woman and him, seemingly confused. It took a while for him to accept pets, and eventually he rubbed his head on the man's hand, but he wasn't the same. He wasn't eager to show affection as he used to. The man decided it was better to let Sebastian continue to live the life he's been familiar with for more than 5 years now. The man wondered if Watson thought he had abandoned him, but reassured himself that animals only live in the present, and barely remember the past. I don't blame him for thinking that, and maybe he has to think that in order to be able to let go, but my instinct is that Watson absolutely felt abandoned when he was left with the grandparents, no matter how good they were to him. I think he ran off in search of the man, and somehow made it as far as the next town, suffering so much in that time, and then giving up hope. And I think he mourned his loss this whole time. Cats form extremely close relationships, and they bond for life, and beyond. As Sebastian, he probably did feel sorrow when the man left again, but he is bonded to the woman now, and would mourn her if he were separated from her now. All of this to say that, yes, Roscoe remembers Rocky, and is mourning him deeply. Poor Roscoe.
Poor Watson!! I think about things like that all the time! Roscoe and Rocky are/were both rescued from different shelters. Roscoe was surrendered by his owner, while Rocky was a stray. They were 5 and 6 when I adopted them, and I always wonder about their old lives and how they ended up with me. I could never give up my furbabies, it makes me so sad that they had to go through that.
I thought he was asking for him and saying he misses him. It could be if they have discussed their previous homes maybe he imagines another home? It’s so hard. Please update! I just came across your channel. Really interesting! (Also which camera?) Thanks 🙏
@@Anisky123 the cameras that gave me trouble with sound were the Wyze V3 and one random one from Amazon. I recently got a Nest and Eufy which are both good in my opinion. I’m still trying to figure out how to talk about Rocky with Roscoe. It’s difficult, but very interesting that people have to think about this conversation with their pets now!
@@roscoesqueaks Thanks so much for answering! Its so awful for us to lose them. For them to lose each other, and as rescues is pretty much unimaginable. Maybe show him videos of his buddy also so he ca see and hear him? I saw a video of a cat watching his human who passed, it was super sweet. 🤷♀️
Started watching these button videos recently on other channels, but this one is so sad, wondering where his friend went and if he will go too. My family has had several dogs over the years, the recent death being only 2 years ago, so I actually cried watching this and reading the comments. About 3 years ago we got a cat. My mom and sister used to help out and work at a horse barn too, and long story short the barn was shut down and demolished, so about a year ago we took in the barn cats, but sadly one of them went missing before we could take him home. We now have 1 dog and 3 cats, (2 barn + our original one) i wonder if they miss their old friends too.
I have a lot of videos of Roscoe talking about Rocky. I haven’t posted them yet, because it’s still difficult for me. I plan on gathering them and making a video on it soon though. Maybe it might help us, and others, dealing with pet grief. ❤️
Roscoe, a gray kitty. I was remarking to my own gray kitty how rare and special his gray coat is - I'm guessing his age now at about 7. He looks much the same as Roscoe, even down to his bulk and fur length. He is a most expressive and loving cat and lives with me along with five others, three of whom wandered here in the summer of '17. This capture of Roscoe's life of recall is further evidence to me that cats are much keener to life than I'd ever imagined. Thank you for posting this story, it almost brings tears to my eyes.
Sad that he's still missing his friend 2 years later. 💔😢 Wouldn't you trip if Roscoe passed away soon after and he was actually trying to tell you he was joining his friend Rocky soon?! 😳👻
Yes, how do you teach "Rainbow Bridge". We always allowed our animals to have time with their deceased "siblings". I think that helps some. Animals do grieve and it's heartbreaking.
Someone suggested adding a “de@d” button and modeling it if there’s like a deceased bug or something. I’m still trying to figure out the best way for Roscoe to understand. When Rocky passed, we tried to get him to inspect his body, but he panicked and hid (I think because there was too much commotion with us being upset and the vet being there). I regret not trying harder, or making it a bigger priority to make sure he really understood. I thought he hid because he got it, but now I think he hid because he’s a little skittish around commotion.
Tell him his friend had to go home. He didn’t feel well. He went to visit his mama and get better. He’s sorry he had to leave. You will see him again. The most important thing to stress is he had to go home. And you will see him again. I’m a pet communicator and you will see a light in their eyes when they get it. Tell him many times if you have to. Eventually you will see he understands. Make sure he knows his friend is very happy being with his mama, brothers, sisters and whole family. He feels so good now.
It may be a bit extreme, but perhaps a demo would help. Kill a cockroach or something and declare it all done. Later, use the same words about Rocky. The only other thing I can think of would be to remove the Rocky button, which would express finality, but would prevent him from being able to talk about him, so that may not be the best choice. Maybe a photo in place of the button?
I’ve heard of other people using dead animals as a way to explain it, but Roscoe is still not very comfortable with being outdoors so we don’t run into that sort of thing together. But I never thought about using a dead bug! We definitely get those! That’s a really good idea!
@@roscoesqueaksNew to your channel…do you have “animal”? A de@d bug + “animal all done” might work? As long as the bug wasn’t squished!!! Excited to meet you and Roscoe and watch another button journey!
I don’t think so (and I really hope not!). I think it’s more like he’s wondering if Rocky went away, could it happen to him too? Plus they were both rescues so he’s permanently left his family before. 😢
Probably asking whether he will join Rocky. I remember being very afraid of dying when I was a little child. My parents showed me a sheep to distract me. ^ ^
@@roscoesqueaks It worked somewhat, but not fully. It just took me a while to calm down and go back to bed (I had already been to bed and either could not sleep, spiralling into fear of death, or I had woken up after a nightmare - not certain anymore). Showing something nice definitely did not hurt, though. But beforehand my parents assured me that, no, I was not going to die. But with a little child wrapped up in irrational fears a logical approach was not very useful. It just needed some time for it to pass. Personally I would choose the explanation approach for your kitty, if you feel like you have the words for that. If that does not work, you can still show him a sheep. ^ ^
This was sad, these buttons are showing more clearly how cats grief too, much sad that he's still missing after 2 years.
😢I agree💔❤️🩹
We've been working with a cat almost since the beginning of having her. About a year in now. She's playing with some buttons; simple stuff. She really likes to practically lay on the Play & Toy buttons until she gets what she wants haha. If one of the humans is gone she'll press the mom or dad button over and over and you'll have to tell her that mom is bye bye. Home later. Every now and then you're surprised by a Dad Love You. But mostly she just lays over a bunch of buttons simultaneously and you really almost have to look at her to see what her face is closest to catch which button she meant. She'll usually almost nose rub on it as she lays there and it becomes a lot more obvious what button was intended when you see it.
Anyway, it's really interesting that through working with cats you can really begin to understand some of their thoughts, interests, the length of their memory, and so much more. I had no idea that a cat would be pondering a lost friend from two years ago! That's really neat to see and brings some emotion to the surface for me because my favorite cat I've ever owned also passed about two years ago. That kitty's favorite little trick is this thing where I'd say "get your whiskers" and she'd lean in on one side of her face and I'd kinda rub the side she presented, then I'd say "get your other whiskers" and she'd lean in the other way and I'd rub there on that side of the face. Then I'd say "get my whiskers" and she'd put a paw up to my face. Man I loved that cat!
That’s so sweet! It’s so difficult to lose our fur-friends and it makes me sad that they’re sad too, but it’s also kinda nice to know we’re not alone in missing them.
By the way Roscoe also lays on the buttons alllll the time! It seems to be common with cats. Some people have found work arounds but I haven’t found one for Roscoe yet. He will carefully try to not activate the buttons when he lays though, but rarely succeeds lol.
@@roscoesqueaks My cat knows the difference between alive and dead... When he brought a dead mouse to the front door to bring it in to play with it I told him to leave it out side.
When he brought the live one to my room and dropped it at the foot of my bed I told him to kill the F@#$ING THING....... he knows.
If the issue is the limited artificial voice boxes has anyone ever tried to use syllables instead of full words? Long pauses would be a major issue but it might be amazing for someone to try.
Do you use Bye Bye when people come and go? If you use it to mean temporary goodbye, then he may not understand that Rocky has gone permanently and may be asking to go to where Rocky is so that he can see him. The permanence of death is difficult to express, especially for the first time.
That's a really good point. I use it often when I, or others, leave for work or wherever. I heard someone say that they used "all done", so I might try that since it seems more permanent.
"I still miss Rocky. Am... am I gonna 'go bye-bye' soon, too?"
😭😭😭
He may not understand Rocky is dead, but he's figured out that he won't see Rocky again, and he's afraid whatever made Rocky leave might make him leave, too.
EDIT: i just watched "belly ouch" and the one where you said he asks for Rocky after seeing the vet. Maybe he does understand, after all.
That’s exactly what I was thinking
Awww, he still remembers & misses his friend😢. I love that the buttons allow pets to communicate with us.
This broke my heart 💔. How do you explain to him, a cat, what happened to Rocky when we as human beings have a hard time dealing and understanding the meaning of death of our loved ones. Poor kitty, he is confused, so sad. 😿.
It’s very difficult to process myself. But I’m trying different ways, and I’ll keep sharing as I learn. ❤️
That's so sad. Last night I saw a video by an author and RUclipsr I've never heard of. It came up in my feed because it involves a cat he adopted from a shelter and called Watson. He talked about how Watson was his best buddy, and how much he cared about him. Then after some years together he was preparing to move, and left Watson with his grandparents. But Watson escaped and didn't return. The man looked, called shelters, posted bulletins all over town, but finally had to give up. He didn't even live in the town any more. After a few years he adopted another cat. He still thought about Watson, of course, still mourned the loss, and always wondered what became of him. Then he got a phone call from a veterinarian 6 years after Watson ran away. That vet had scanned for a microchip and all the information was still there. It turned out that Watson had shown up on an older woman's doorstep in rough shape, and she had nursed him back to health. She was in the next town over from where Watson had run away, so she hadn't seen the posters. Besides, it was 9 months after the man had given up looking. Somehow Watson had traveled all that way, and suffered hunger and injuries. I don't know why they lady hadn't taken him to a vet, but she didn't. She just took him in as her own and named him Sebastian. Sebastian was happy with her and bonded with her. By the time a veterinarian scanned him for a chip, he was a senior. The man did go to see him at the woman's home, but he didn't know if Watson/Sebastian would remember him. I thought, "Of _course_ he remembers! There's no way the cat spent all those years being bonded with the man and doesn't remember him!" But Sebastian had to be coaxed outside to meet the man, his former bonded buddy, and he was hesitant with him. The woman said Sebastian recognized the man because he runs from strangers, and goes into hiding. That was unlike his behavior when he was known as Watson, so I think something horrible must have happened to him during those months when he was in his own trying to survive and find his human. I'm sure that's what he was doing, and I think he had lost hope, and was mourning that man all these years, despite having bonded with the woman. The man said Watson/Sebastian kept looking between the woman and him, seemingly confused. It took a while for him to accept pets, and eventually he rubbed his head on the man's hand, but he wasn't the same. He wasn't eager to show affection as he used to. The man decided it was better to let Sebastian continue to live the life he's been familiar with for more than 5 years now. The man wondered if Watson thought he had abandoned him, but reassured himself that animals only live in the present, and barely remember the past. I don't blame him for thinking that, and maybe he has to think that in order to be able to let go, but my instinct is that Watson absolutely felt abandoned when he was left with the grandparents, no matter how good they were to him. I think he ran off in search of the man, and somehow made it as far as the next town, suffering so much in that time, and then giving up hope. And I think he mourned his loss this whole time. Cats form extremely close relationships, and they bond for life, and beyond. As Sebastian, he probably did feel sorrow when the man left again, but he is bonded to the woman now, and would mourn her if he were separated from her now. All of this to say that, yes, Roscoe remembers Rocky, and is mourning him deeply. Poor Roscoe.
Poor Watson!! I think about things like that all the time! Roscoe and Rocky are/were both rescued from different shelters. Roscoe was surrendered by his owner, while Rocky was a stray. They were 5 and 6 when I adopted them, and I always wonder about their old lives and how they ended up with me. I could never give up my furbabies, it makes me so sad that they had to go through that.
Aww how sad 😿 RIP Rocky 🌈
So frustrating not to have a clear record of those button presses! It looks as though Roscoe was doing some thinking aloud...
Yes I was so upset! I have new cameras now so future presses will be clearer. But I’m so sad I didn’t have good footage of this one!
I thought he was asking for him and saying he misses him. It could be if they have discussed their previous homes maybe he imagines another home? It’s so hard. Please update! I just came across your channel. Really interesting! (Also which camera?) Thanks 🙏
@@Anisky123 the cameras that gave me trouble with sound were the Wyze V3 and one random one from Amazon. I recently got a Nest and Eufy which are both good in my opinion.
I’m still trying to figure out how to talk about Rocky with Roscoe. It’s difficult, but very interesting that people have to think about this conversation with their pets now!
@@roscoesqueaks Thanks so much for answering! Its so awful for us to lose them. For them to lose each other, and as rescues is pretty much unimaginable. Maybe show him videos of his buddy also so he ca see and hear him? I saw a video of a cat watching his human who passed, it was super sweet. 🤷♀️
Started watching these button videos recently on other channels, but this one is so sad, wondering where his friend went and if he will go too.
My family has had several dogs over the years, the recent death being only 2 years ago, so I actually cried watching this and reading the comments. About 3 years ago we got a cat. My mom and sister used to help out and work at a horse barn too, and long story short the barn was shut down and demolished, so about a year ago we took in the barn cats, but sadly one of them went missing before we could take him home. We now have 1 dog and 3 cats, (2 barn + our original one) i wonder if they miss their old friends too.
I have a lot of videos of Roscoe talking about Rocky. I haven’t posted them yet, because it’s still difficult for me. I plan on gathering them and making a video on it soon though. Maybe it might help us, and others, dealing with pet grief. ❤️
This is so touching
Roscoe, a gray kitty. I was remarking to my own gray kitty how rare and special his gray coat is - I'm guessing his age now at about 7. He looks much the same as Roscoe, even down to his bulk and fur length. He is a most expressive and loving cat and lives with me along with five others, three of whom wandered here in the summer of '17. This capture of Roscoe's life of recall is further evidence to me that cats are much keener to life than I'd ever imagined. Thank you for posting this story, it almost brings tears to my eyes.
Sad that he's still missing his friend 2 years later. 💔😢 Wouldn't you trip if Roscoe passed away soon after and he was actually trying to tell you he was joining his friend Rocky soon?! 😳👻
😢 Omg. My fricking heart
My first thought was Roscoe may be ill or senses his own death and wants to tell you?
This is really difficult. 😥
AWWW, POOR CAT IS SO SAD AND MOURNS THE OTHER CAT
Yes, how do you teach "Rainbow Bridge". We always allowed our animals to have time with their deceased "siblings". I think that helps some. Animals do grieve and it's heartbreaking.
Someone suggested adding a “de@d” button and modeling it if there’s like a deceased bug or something. I’m still trying to figure out the best way for Roscoe to understand.
When Rocky passed, we tried to get him to inspect his body, but he panicked and hid (I think because there was too much commotion with us being upset and the vet being there). I regret not trying harder, or making it a bigger priority to make sure he really understood. I thought he hid because he got it, but now I think he hid because he’s a little skittish around commotion.
Tell him his friend had to go home. He didn’t feel well. He went to visit his mama and get better. He’s sorry he had to leave. You will see him again. The most important thing to stress is he had to go home. And you will see him again. I’m a pet communicator and you will see a light in their eyes when they get it. Tell him many times if you have to. Eventually you will see he understands. Make sure he knows his friend is very happy being with his mama, brothers, sisters and whole family. He feels so good now.
It may be a bit extreme, but perhaps a demo would help. Kill a cockroach or something and declare it all done. Later, use the same words about Rocky.
The only other thing I can think of would be to remove the Rocky button, which would express finality, but would prevent him from being able to talk about him, so that may not be the best choice. Maybe a photo in place of the button?
I’ve heard of other people using dead animals as a way to explain it, but Roscoe is still not very comfortable with being outdoors so we don’t run into that sort of thing together. But I never thought about using a dead bug! We definitely get those! That’s a really good idea!
@@roscoesqueaksNew to your channel…do you have “animal”? A de@d bug + “animal all done” might work? As long as the bug wasn’t squished!!!
Excited to meet you and Roscoe and watch another button journey!
Is he saying he's going to join him soon?
It could be that he's worried that if Rocky went bye bye, maybe it could happen to him too.
I don’t think so (and I really hope not!). I think it’s more like he’s wondering if Rocky went away, could it happen to him too? Plus they were both rescues so he’s permanently left his family before. 😢
Probably asking whether he will join Rocky.
I remember being very afraid of dying when I was a little child. My parents showed me a sheep to distract me. ^ ^
@@johannageisel5390 did that work for you? I wonder if distraction is better than trying to explain it to him
@@roscoesqueaks It worked somewhat, but not fully. It just took me a while to calm down and go back to bed (I had already been to bed and either could not sleep, spiralling into fear of death, or I had woken up after a nightmare - not certain anymore).
Showing something nice definitely did not hurt, though. But beforehand my parents assured me that, no, I was not going to die. But with a little child wrapped up in irrational fears a logical approach was not very useful. It just needed some time for it to pass.
Personally I would choose the explanation approach for your kitty, if you feel like you have the words for that. If that does not work, you can still show him a sheep. ^ ^