In this episode, Hannah, the owner of the CatmanJohn social media account, talks about her journey to becoming a full-time social media influencer and the impact of her famous cat, Russell. She shares insights into managing a multi-cat household and providing enrichment for her cats. Hannah also discusses her content creation process and the challenges and rewards of being a social media superstar. In this part of the conversation, Hannah and Kristiina discuss the drama associated with pets using speech buttons and the negative comments they receive. They also talk about the unexpected reactions from fans and the importance of having a supportive online community. Hannah shares her advice for creating a social media presence for pets, emphasizing the need for consistency and engagement. They also discuss how the use of speech buttons has improved their relationships with their cats. Finally, they touch on the limitations and challenges of using speech buttons. In this conversation, Hannah discusses her experience teaching her cats to press buttons and communicate with her. She shares how she taught her cats words like 'litter' and 'clean' and how they use these buttons to communicate their needs. She provides an update on Winnie's health and shares how she manages living with a clean freak cat like Russell. The conversation concludes with a discussion on setting boundaries with the cats using the 'no' button.
Takeaways
In this episode, Hannah, the owner of the CatmanJohn social media account, talks about her journey to becoming a full-time social media influencer and the impact of her famous cat, Russell. She shares insights into managing a multi-cat household and providing enrichment for her cats. Hannah also discusses her content creation process and the challenges and rewards of being a social media superstar. In this part of the conversation, Hannah and Kristiina discuss the drama associated with pets using speech buttons and the negative comments they receive. They also talk about the unexpected reactions from fans and the importance of having a supportive online community. Hannah shares her advice for creating a social media presence for pets, emphasizing the need for consistency and engagement. They also discuss how the use of speech buttons has improved their relationships with their cats. Finally, they touch on the limitations and challenges of using speech buttons. In this conversation, Hannah discusses her experience teaching her cats to press buttons and communicate with her. She shares how she taught her cats words like 'litter' and 'clean' and how they use these buttons to communicate their needs. She provides an update on Winnie's health and shares how she manages living with a clean freak cat like Russell. The conversation concludes with a discussion on setting boundaries with the cats using the 'no' button.
Takeaways
Kristiina (00:33)
Welcome to His and Tell. I'm your host, Kristiina And today we're speaking to my very good friend, Hannah, who is the owner of the account, CatmanJohn. She has a talking cat, Russell, and she's here to talk to us today about being a social media superstar, having a famous cat, and being able to quit her job and pursue social media full-time, as well as talking to us about cats using speech buttons and what all of that means. So welcome, Hannah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (01:02)
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
Kristiina (01:05)
You're so welcome. Welcome to this. Whatever this, whatever this is. Oh, oh Russell! Hi! You hate me!
Hannah (catmanjohn) (01:08)
Thank you. I'm fighting off cats all around me, but here he is, the man himself.
You smelled that one time. Your sneakers had too many smells. It was overwhelming.
Kristiina (01:22)
So, to start off, do you want to just give a little intro for people who may or may not know you? Like, who are you? What's your background? Tell us all your cat's names and ages and all of your social media handles. Although I think all of yours are very well done because they're all the same. Unlike mine.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (01:21)
Ugh.
I'm sorry.
Well, thank you. My name is Hannah. I'm very happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me. We have four kitties, Russell, who was our famous button presser, his brother, Teen. They're brothers from the same litter. They're five and a half turning six. And then we have Winnie and Libby, who are seven and a half turning eight. Everybody's birthdays are in May. We just kind of kept it simple. But they were adopted two years apart. Winnie and Libby are from Florida.
Russell and Tina from New Hampshire. And I like to say that we had Winnie and Libby on purpose and Russell and Tina were a foster fail. So we didn't really intend to have four cats, but I think it's worked out. Like most people in COVID, we downloaded TikTok. And I remember seeing speech buttons being used when I was in grad school with dogs. And it was around the time that we got Russell and I was like, oh my gosh, he's so smart. I'm sure he could figure this out. And you know, flash forward a few years later and we got our first pack of buttons and I taught him.
how to press the button and then ever since it's just been kind of a fun journey. So a little bit of personal background. I went to undergrad and grad school for athletic training. So for the last 10 plus years I worked in sports medicine and since 2020 I was working on building a side business of social media and just was able to work my way to quit that as my full-time job and pursue social media full-time, which has been really, really rewarding and wonderful.
I am very, very aware of how privileged I am, but how lucky I am. And I don't want to diminish anything because it is a lot of work, definitely a full-time job. It was a lot of stress doing those both at the same time, but that's what we're doing now.
Kristiina (03:15)
you like...
I remember it was so much, I mean, you work so hard and you're so good at social media that I have always been in awe of you.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (03:24)
Well, maybe I should introduce how we met and how we know each other because, um, so like I said, I downloaded TikTok in 2020 and I remember seeing Billy Speaks. She's still button pressing and Kendra is her mom. We connected on social media and I was obsessed with her page. Anytime she would post a video, I was like instantly watching it 700 times. I was just really interested in how to actually teach Russell and I was
Kristiina (03:27)
Oh sure, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (03:51)
At the same time trying to teach all four cats because I was like, I don't know, is our all four cats supposed to do this? And then I saw your video on my Tik Tok and I saw Mr. Steve with his little buttons and lots of other cats. And I was, I remember commenting, this is, I finally found a multi cat button household and, um, you know, that's kind of how we connected. So it went from Tik Tok over to Instagram and then, you know, we became friends in real life and.
Kristiina (04:02)
Hehehehe
Hannah (catmanjohn) (04:18)
Turns out your parents live close to where I live. So, you know, I'm very grateful that TikTok brought us together because you have been so wonderful and helpful, especially, you know, I always like to give this disclaimer that I'm not an animal behaviorist. I'm not a veterinarian. I'm not a cat trainer. I am just kind of going off on a whim here. Definitely not claiming that Russell can speak human English language or anything like that, but.
Kristiina (04:24)
Me too.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (04:43)
It's just been really nice to have you in my corner as well. When people come for me about the science stuff, I'm like, oh, let me bring in my expert.
Kristiina (04:49)
Well, I'm always, always happy to help and I'm so glad that you got to meet Steve and have your night of romance with him before he passed. I'm really glad that you got to have that.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (04:51)
Thank you.
like just like slept in the crook of my elbow. I- I remember you asking like did you get a picture and I was so comfortable and asleep and relaxed with Mr. Steve. I was like I didn't even think to take a picture.
Kristiina (05:01)
Yeah.
fine. You don't, it doesn't matter, but that's how he was. He really did just like make everybody super relaxed and chill and like, I'm very glad that you got to hang out with
What prompted you to end up with like all the cats that you have? Like, how did you guys decide to become a multi-cat household?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (05:25)
So I graduated from college in 2016 and I didn't immediately have an athletic training job after that. So I was just nannying for a little bit and then I ended up working as a pharmacy tech while I was studying for my boards exam. And Dylan was working evenings like an hour away. So he would go to work at like 12 and then not get home until 1 a.m. And so I was 21 and I just graduated college and we're like living on our own and I was just like lonely. So I was like, I think we really need to.
look into adopting a pet. And so I was like, I don't think we should get just one cat. I think we should get a pair. You know, it was just something I've always wanted since I was little. So we went on the different like adoption shelters that they had in the New Hampshire area. And we came across a picture of Winnie and her name was Winnie. And we were like, oh my gosh, like Winnie the Psockie, Winnie, this all makes sense, of course. So we got up like early the next morning, we drove and there was Winnie and Libby in the, you know, in the little.
glass cage and they had a sister named Foxy
I felt like we just needed more life. So, you know, we went and we met Winnie and Libby and within five minutes, Libby was like belly up, Dylan was petting her. They were like this big. They were so little as kittens. And Winnie just hid in the box and hissed. And, you know, that was kind of a turning point for us because I looked at Dylan and I was like, I think that we can give Winnie the life that she needs because if she's like scared and hissing, like we can be patient with her. I don't think.
a family with young kids would be a good fit for her, whatever. So I was feeling really strongly that Winnie belonged in our family. And so of course, then we adopted them and they've been in our family since. Winnie has definitely burned through like three of her nine lives, but she's still going, so that's good. And then we moved to Florida so that I could start my grad program. And we went to Petco to get probably food and litter, you know, and in the front case, there were, you know,
Kristiina (07:10)
No.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (07:26)
Kittens on display and Dylan, I think Dylan had that moment with Russell that I had with Winnie where Dylan was like, Russell belongs in our family. Like, I don't know what's like, you know, making this so we couldn't leave until I called and fostered. And then of course, the rest is history. They're still with us. So I feel extremely lucky to have all four cats. They all get along really well. And I think they're just like a really nice family.
Kristiina (07:31)
Hmm.
Mhmm.
I love that. And I know the answer to this question, but for all of our listeners, I keep wanting to say viewers, but it's really listeners. How do you provide enrichment and stimulation for all of them since you do have a multi-cat household?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (08:01)
I feel like this is like the number one goal of mine is I don't ever want my cats to be bored. So I feel like I am constantly scouring, you know, videos or articles for like different types of cat enrichment. It can be seasonally themed. In the fall we went and we bought a bunch of leaves and put them all on the balcony with catnip and treats. You know, we just got this new toy that hangs in the doorway that all the cats love. And I think that's the other part of it too that I've learned along the way is
It doesn't necessarily need to be buying a bunch of toys, buying expensive toys. You can reuse your toys in different ways. You throw a sheet over it and all of a sudden it's brand new. Ice cubes are also something that just come out of my dispense out of my refrigerator for Russell. So for those working on a budget, you know, I tend to try to post things that are inclusive of all types of budgets, whether it's toys that are completely free or toys that are, you know, purchasable.
Kristiina (08:31)
Right
Yes.
Yeah.
No.
I totally agree. I've noticed that things that you purchase often cats ignore. Things that you find outside or that just you know like a box with paper are their favorite things, right? So I love giving an activity box, which I know you and I have discussed a little bit, which is just a cardboard box filled with paper and maybe some leaves or a stick or just different things that are different olfactory stimulation that they're not used to in the house with some catnip and then some treats and maybe a couple toys and you just switch that out.
every few days because like you said, you need to rotate things because cats really get bored of stuff. And that is such great enrichment that like I like to do in our house and our cats are always so excited about like, what's going in the box now? And they'll often even like uncle dad sleeps in there. So it's, they love an enrichment box. So I think that's great that you're doing that kind of stuff. And how do you handle the litter box for the four cats?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (09:46)
Definitely.
So let me speak on my experience in Florida, because we really had a scoopable litter box when we were in Florida. We actually ended up buying furniture that housed litter boxes because we had four cats and if you have four cats, you need like eight litter boxes, but we didn't have the space for that. We lived in a one-bedroom apartment. So every single day we rotated. I had a piece of paper that I flipped that was like Hannah's day, Dylan's day, and we would scoop the litter boxes and it was just so much and it was so hard to keep up with.
Kristiina (09:57)
Yes.
Right.
Hehehe
Hannah (catmanjohn) (10:20)
We ended up moving to Virginia and having a bigger space. And right when we moved here, Dylan was like, I think I want to buy this robot litter box. And it was at the time, you know, $350, whatever. And I laughed in his face and I was like, you buy it then. It's your money, da da. Yeah, best investment ever. We did the payment plan when we first bought it. And I just can't recommend it highly enough. I totally understand that there's certain cats that are not going to be happy using.
Kristiina (10:30)
Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (10:48)
that type of litter box, but we have two litter robot fours, and we will never go back to scooping ever.
Kristiina (10:54)
Now, I totally agree. And we have, well, we have 11 cats, right? So we have four, four litter robots. And then we have one, two, three, four, five regular boxes. And so we do have to still do quite a lot of scooping. But the litter robots are such a lifesaver. And, you know, as I showed in like old videos on Steve's channel.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (11:09)
Thank you.
Kristiina (11:19)
Several years ago when we still lived in a condo in the city. We only had
Boxes and Ali my wife actually really hurt her back and had to go to PT From scooping the boxes so much because they were like under the stairs in our apartment And so she just was like hunched over multiple times a day Scooping the boxes and it was just such I we just both hated it It was horrible and the litter robots have been so helpful I'm I keep meaning to run my litter box study again in the house now that we have more space
Hannah (catmanjohn) (11:52)
Oh
Kristiina (11:52)
and just different toileting areas to see if the stats have changed at all. Because when I did run that study, you know, it showed that all the cats use the litter robots, but they still preferred the boxes. The regular box was just because they're a little, I think because they're a little bit bigger, the cats have a little more room to turn around and they're the litter.
be a little bit deeper, but everyone still use the robot so I don't think it's a reason to not get them unless you know you have like an old arthritic cat that can't climb in or like a super giant cat who's like just it's not big enough right but I am curious to see what would happen if I ran it again so maybe if I get bored enough I'll do that and annoy
Hannah (catmanjohn) (12:23)
can't fit.
Kristiina (12:33)
again with me watching cats go to the bathroom every night and like putting it in a spreadsheet doing that but
Hannah (catmanjohn) (12:39)
I mean, no, that would be really interesting. I actually just had a friend who, she has three cats, had two cats for a really long time and just added a third cat and she had one litter robot and her kitten, he's a boy, he's orange, he's very handsome. His name's Merlin and Merlin was going to the bathroom, peeing outside of the litter robot. And she was like, oh, like, what do I do? She actually bought a second litter robot and has no issues. So, you know, obviously some cats just prefer to go and different boxes poop pee and.
Kristiina (12:42)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
They do, that was one interesting thing, like anecdotal thing that I found when I ran the study the first time, because I had video pointing at all of the toileting areas was that, and what I've noticed even now, because I still every night like look at, I have cameras pointing at all the bathrooms just so that I can look every night to see if anybody, like they're all going appropriately. Nobody's blocked because we have a few cats who do have tendency to get urinary blockages. So I wanna make sure that everyone's going to the bathroom.
times nobody's like straining whatever so that's my fun night time routine when I'm in bed is like my phone it's just making sure everyone's gone in the bathroom but now I've lost my train of thought what the heck oh yes no this is for age 46 one thing I have really noticed and that the study showed is that the cats will often go into one box go to the bathroom and then come out and go to a different box and go to the bathroom right so I think
Hannah (catmanjohn) (13:50)
Don't even worry about it, I'll be all the time.
Kristiina (14:06)
in one box, coming out and defecating in another box and then leave. And it's a behavior that most of the cats have. So I think they're just like, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom and get it all done and then not have to come back to this area for a while. So that makes sense to me even with the litter robots because I see it in my own house that they'll go to a litter robot, do something, come out, go to a regular box, do something else or even go to another litter robot.
So moving on to your social media use, what inspired you to start sharing Russell's adventures on social media?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (14:31)
totally.
say I would take it back to undergrad and when I was an undergrad I was hiking all the time and I go to hike all of the 4,000 foot mountains in New Hampshire we're over halfway so we're gonna you know take on that as our life goes on and I was just posting a lot on social media I was connecting with different accounts in New Hampshire we did an ad for Eastern Mountain sports and my personal Instagram was just growing and growing and growing and
Kristiina (14:41)
Mm-hmm.
Amazing!
Hannah (catmanjohn) (15:05)
I just found it to be really easy. I was like, I like this. I know what people are looking for. I just feel like I was kind of falling into a hiking niche with photography in that way that I was just really enjoying. And then I went to grad school and I just was too busy. It was just not, I just did not have enough time to keep up with like my personal Instagram in that way and my master's degree and working. So truthfully, I felt like it all kind of fell into place. Like when COVID rolled around and
Kristiina (15:16)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (15:35)
TikTok started, we were like, let's just be a cat centered page. So I think the first video that we posted on TikTok, if I can remember correctly, is just an intro video where it's like, this is Russell, this is Libby. You know, this is Teen, this is Winnie. And then the second video that we posted went viral and it was a video of Teen catching little like, I call them puffies, but little pom poms. When I was throwing for him and I was like, Oh, okay. I think we could do this. And you know, I,
Kristiina (15:56)
puppies. Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (16:04)
I feel like I just need that little bit of like inspiration, but that kind of kept us moving forward. We posted a Russell specific video, I think was our third video, with an audio from Scatman John. And so that was where the Catman John username came from, because Dylan was like, why don't we just be Catman John? So...
Kristiina (16:09)
Mm-hmm.
Yes, so that was one of the questions that a lot of Steve's people had for you was where'd you get the name? Because your name's not John and none of your cat's names are John and Dillon's name is not John. So who's John? What's what's up with John? Yeah?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (16:35)
Everybody always asks, who's John? I'm just gonna name our next cat John and then it's like, oh, that's why Yeah but So I felt like the tik-tok was successful and then I do remember it in January 2021. I created the same profile on Instagram and I was just reposting everything and I'd my Instagram is flu. It was like
Kristiina (16:43)
Yeah. Okay. That is funny.
Mm-hmm.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (17:02)
right when they introduced Reel. So I was posting all these Reels all the time and it was really getting big. And then I was like, okay, let's do this on YouTube. So did the same thing on YouTube. And then, you know, it took me long enough but I eventually joined Facebook. So for those wondering, my usernames are the same on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, CatManJohn And on Facebook, we're actually Russell the Talking Cat because I had a CatManJohn page and then somebody.
Kristiina (17:03)
Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (17:27)
claimed to own it. It was a whole thing and I just
Kristiina (17:30)
Do you want to tell people about your recent, the amazing YouTube goal that you hit?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (17:36)
Oh, we just hit 200,000 subscribers on YouTube. I opened the YouTube studio app yesterday when I was having breakfast and I was drinking a sip of water and I, it was a movie, it was a spit take. I was like, oh my gosh, we did it! And Dylan was right there with me and I jumped up and, you know, we got big hugs. Oh, a kitty!
Kristiina (17:50)
Heheheheheheh!
It's Babby. She's our unhinged child, so I'm not sure what she's gonna do. Bye bye.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (18:01)
and Russell right behind the camera here. Maybe they'll both uh, they're just both sleeping.
Kristiina (18:07)
Yeah, fair, fair. It is really high time for cat naps right now. So fair enough. Um, so there's a lot of questions about like how has your cat's popularity on social media impacted your life? I mean, we know that you've been able to quit your job, but
Hannah (catmanjohn) (18:11)
Mm, mm-hmm.
You know?
I feel so lucky for that. Like I just, you know, working really hard and still every single day I still have to continue to reach out to brands and continue to post. Like if I stopped, I will stop making money and have to find a different job. So it's, you know, obviously what I'm working forward with. You know, the other good part of it is it's not really me on camera. So I don't really have to be like, I feel a little anonymous and I like that. I'm happy to be on camera at certain times and do things like this. It's so much fun.
Kristiina (18:24)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Great.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (18:51)
I feel like the center of the page has always truly been the cats and I'd rather us just be side characters and Russell and the cats be the main focus. So that's been really nice.
Kristiina (18:55)
Right.
I totally understand that. So what does a typical day look like for you in terms of what you're doing with all of your social media accounts?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (19:04)
Thanks.
So I start by waking up to either Russell or Teen stepping on my face every morning.
Kristiina (19:19)
Classic, classic cat move.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (19:21)
No, we've been trying some different things. You have the best tips. So we have seriously been trying to use them all. No playing in the bed and feeding before bedtime. And a lot of that has been really helpful. But if somebody scarves and barfs and they're hungry in the morning, cause you know, it did get to stay in. So the occasional morning is a little bit different, but normally I will wake up and immediately spend time with the cat. Sometimes that means going live. Sometimes that means just filming content. The middle of the day during nap time is usually, you know, my work.
Kristiina (19:35)
Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (19:51)
hours when I can sit down and answer emails and edit videos and get things scheduled and posted. And in the evening time when Russell wakes back up is usually playtime. That's when we'll spend the most, I'll spend the most of my day just like playing and trying out different toys and things. And something I actually didn't mention earlier that I was wanting to mention about enrichment is getting to know what each of my cats like the best has also been really rewarding because
Winnie's favorite toy of all time is her laser. And I'm only gonna say the word cause the door is shut, she's not gonna come running, but none of the other cats like it like Winnie does. So when that toy comes out, I know it's like specifically that Winnie will be really excited for it. None of the other cats like Russell's, you know, shaky mice, but that's Russell's toy. So that's also just, I wanted to make sure that I clarified that each cat has their own specific needs that we try to meet.
Kristiina (20:33)
All right.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (20:45)
And during our evening playtime, I feel like that's usually when, like, I will literally grab a bunch of mice out, grab a bunch of puffies out and be like, all right, Russell, you go that way, team, you go that way, and just start throwing them just so that everybody gets, you know, some sort of enrichment.
Kristiina (20:53)
Mhmmm.
And I think that's a great tip also for listeners that when you have cats who are young, like most of your cats are pretty on the younger side, is to play with them to exhaustion at night so that they don't bother you throughout the night, right? That's a question I get a lot of times from my clients is, you know, how do I stop my cat from bothering me at night? Or...
cats meowing. Generally, you know, you want to add a lot of intellectual stimulation, which you've already done, right? And then you want to play with them to exhaustion, which means you're playing with them until the cat does not want to play anymore.
it right because that's what they would do in nature is they would hunt and hunt and hunt and run and then they would like Stop when they can't do it anymore And so that's a good way to kind of exhaust them so that they don't bother you all night because at nighttime is when they're Going to be out hunting and that's when their brains tell them to like go So you want to tire them out so they kind of get on your schedule more which you obviously know all this but Trying to pepper some little Knowledge bits throughout the podcast for people who don't know this stuff
Hannah (catmanjohn) (21:59)
I would just like to clarify that I am... I'm nodding along because Kristiina has given me this information off camera. I do not know this without her help, so thank you, Kristiina.
Kristiina (22:01)
Thank you.
yeah yes oh
Stop, you're so welcome. So again, with all the content that you're creating,
How do you go about deciding what kind of content you're gonna post and how do you handle? Russell's button content, especially do you have a camera that's pointing at them all the time? Like how do you collect that like what's it going on?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (22:32)
So the latest that we have going on... So first I'm going to start by saying that we switched... We have three different... three or four different types of buttons right now, but the latest buttons that we have are the Fluent Pet Connect buttons that are Wi-Fi enabled that they connect... The button press will go to the Fluent Pet app in my phone. So I feel like that has already changed everything for me because...
Kristiina (22:50)
Mm-hmm.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (22:55)
if I don't actually realize that Russell's probably in the other room or I'm asleep, I there were so people used to ask me did Russell, does Russell press buttons in the middle of the night or when you're not around and I would say no because you know I didn't think that he was until I started getting alerts from the connect buttons that he was pressing them and I was like that's really weird. I don't know if you saw this video but I had a video that um it has only over three million views on Instagram. Dylan and I went into the bathroom we were doing like a deep
Kristiina (23:07)
Right.
Huh.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (23:22)
like a bleach cleaner. And Russell was in the other room and he was pressing smell, bubbles, ouch, bubbles, smell, and it was just, of course this could have been completely coincidental, but it just, it was one of those moments where it was like, huh, that's kind of the timing of all of that feels a little weird. So we switched to natural chemicals and I, or excuse me, natural products, no more chemicals. And you know, I'm just gonna listen to my cat on that one because he definitely knows better than I do.
Kristiina (23:23)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (23:49)
But so I think that has changed things. I have a camera that faces the buttons at all time. We just use like a ring indoor camera and it's motion sensor activated. So when Russell or somebody walks in front of the buttons, you know, it'll activate. But I feel like I try to post at least like three Russell reels a week, whether that be Russell using his buttons specifically, or, you know, Russell just being a cat, because that's also nice to see when the really smart animals are just themselves, it's nice to see as well.
Kristiina (24:17)
Yes.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (24:17)
And then I feel like I try to post, you know, at least one or two times a month, like a toy that we're really liking or some sort of enrichment that would be helpful for others. Even though those aren't the types of content that usually do the best, I still really want to make sure that my, the community of people that are engaged with our page are still getting something out of the content. You know, we're an entertainment page, of course, first and foremost, but I would still love to be able to pass on tips or knowledge or anything and just always love to disclaim that.
Kristiina (24:37)
Right.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (24:45)
I don't have credentials behind that. I just follow what Kristiina does. And then I say that I do them.
Kristiina (24:49)
So you don't have to have a formal education to be a good cat owner, right? And I think you're a really good cat owner and you can speak to what you know your cats enjoy and what you know work for your cats, right? So you don't have to be, I think if you were going to say, this is what science says, blah, then sure, it's great to have a disclaimer for that. But I think if you're just recommending, hey, this is what our cats like, or this is what
Hannah (catmanjohn) (24:53)
I can't.
Yeah.
Kristiina (25:18)
noticed works in our household like you don't need to be so worried about giving a disclaimer that you're not an official scientist like it's fine you just
Hannah (catmanjohn) (25:21)
I know.
I think I just don't ever, because of the sensitivity of what we're doing, I just don't want to ever come across that we're claiming to be something that we're not. At the end of the day, associative learning, not English language, we're just trying to be us.
Kristiina (25:33)
That's fair.
Right.
Well.
To that end, I was gonna wait a little bit till we get into talking about the buttons, but since we've naturally brought it up in the conversation, let's get in to all the drama associated with pets using speech buttons. I will say from my end, having had a cat, Steve, who used the buttons, and I taught him the same time that you did during COVID, because I couldn't go to my lab and I was bored and I had seen Christina Hunger and her cat, her cat, Kristiina Hunger
Hannah (catmanjohn) (26:16)
dog Stella.
Kristiina (26:18)
Wow, wow, wow me. All animals are not cats. Her very smart dog using them. And I thought, wow, this is so cool. You know, and I brought it up with my PI at school. We're in my master's program and I was like, look, you know, animals are talking. And she was like, girl, you know, like they're not talking. This is this is what's going on. And you know, really.
educated me about associative concept training, all the history behind it, all the history behind people trying to communicate, whether it's through hex signs or through sign language or other mediums with animals and how that has gone and really what people think.
the speech buttons are. And again, the science is still out, the jury is still out. Nobody can say with certainty what this is or is not. In my mind, it is associative concept learning. Again, that is what I was kind of vehemently taught that this is. Which just means that the cat is associating a certain stimulus or reward with the button push and it's not learning language because learning language is so complicated even for us as humans, right?
noticed also when I was doing it with Steve, we would get lots of kind of hate comments on his page as I'm sure you got as well for people just being like, this cat isn't talking, like this is yours, this is garbage and blah, blah.
And it was it was kind of interesting to see how people got so argumentative over something that was supposed to just be entertainment. And so I just want to talk a little bit about what do you think is going on? How have you handled that kind of stuff? Has that calmed down a little bit as the frenzy that I think was during COVID over button uses chilled out a little bit?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (28:05)
Oh my goodness. So I think one of the most important things that happened was I met you so early in the button process and you were able to kind of explain to me the same thing that your PI explained to you. Like, you know, the jury's still out. But, you know, this is a really, really sensitive, complex thing. And, you know, we just don't know. Like, are humans even smart enough to know? We don't know. So for me...
Kristiina (28:07)
Sorry, so much!
Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (28:35)
Personally, it's a lot of fun and it's really helpful. Russell's anxiety has gone down. All of the cat's anxiety has gone down. He can request needs. He can alert me to the litter box being full. He's usually right about the laundry. There's a number of things that Russell uses the buttons for that seem appropriate in context. So while I would love to say like, yes, I believe everything he says and he knows exactly what he's doing. I don't think that's really the reality of the situation. Like sometimes they'll just go and
randomly press now and then walk away. And I'm like, now what? Like, you know, but you didn't have anything to say. So, you know, a lot of the time, Russell gets my attention when he uses the button. So is that what he's really going for anyway? But, you know, there's just the small part of me that just really holds onto the hope that like, maybe Russell is, you know, understanding more than we think that they can understand. But there's no part of me that thinks that Russell can speak English.
Kristiina (29:17)
Right.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (29:33)
And I definitely used to get comments like that. Yeah, it's usually a viral video. You're reaching broader audiences. Definitely when this first thing got started, I definitely feel bad for Alexis Devine and what about Bunny? I know that she definitely gets like the brunt of the hate when it comes to that kind of stuff, especially because Bunny's famous existential crisis. And I definitely feel bad about that, but.
Kristiina (29:48)
Oh, yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (29:57)
What I'm really grateful for, and if members of my audience are watching this, I'm speaking directly to you, usually I have people that have my back. And if somebody comments something negative, my, you know, crew of people will jump in there and stand up for me. And I'm really, really grateful for that. And it's taken a long time to have, you know, that kind of community and that kind of trust, but I'm very grateful for that. And if I really, really need the expert, I just I know who to who to tag. So I'm thankful for you as well, Kristiina, because you have definitely helped.
with certain rude comments, especially on TikTok.
Kristiina (30:30)
I mean, people are nuts, you know, what can you do? But I do have to say that like having the communities that I know we both have on social media is so impactful and...
I have just been blown away, especially through Steve's illness and his passing, how kind and helpful and amazing these communities of people are, like people that we don't know in real life for the most part, and how just generous and loving and supportive internet communities can be, right? And I think it's sort of the opposite of what we think when we think about going online.
found so much support and so much love and kindness. And I just like you said, I could not be more grateful and more overwhelmed at the support that is out there in Steve's little community. And so I'm so glad that you feel the same way. I think.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (31:26)
lucky. I just, all we try to do, and I'm sure from your perspective as well, is I am just trying to put positivity out and be the person that's just a lighthearted video that you're going to see on the internet. If you're having a bad day, you could just watch a Russell video and it'll probably make you feel better.
Kristiina (31:44)
can you tell me about any funny or unexpected reactions you've received from fans of your cat? Like, can you think of anything off the top of your head?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (31:53)
Well, this is kind of a plug for my page, so I hope you don't mind. But one of the things that I started doing recently is interviewing people that have visited Russell, seen him pressing his buttons in real time and what the experience was. But one person that really stands out is Dylan's dad was here and definitely was skeptical and, you know, I don't really know what this means. And we had gone to the pet store. I think I should have grabbed pet food.
Kristiina (31:56)
Mmm, no.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (32:21)
I was like, oh, let's get him a new toy. Like, that'll be so fun for you guys to bring home to them. And his dad's name is Dave. Dave was playing with Russell with the feather toy. We sat down at the table to play a card game and Russell went over to the buttons and pressed no play feather toy. And Dave was just floored. He was like. We just bought this toy like, yeah, it has a feather on it. But like, how is he supposed to know? You know, so it was it was a very cool moment where again, the buttons were like contextually appropriate and.
Kristiina (32:36)
Mmm.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (32:47)
It was really funny to see his reaction because he, for someone that was like a total non-believer to be like, he just pressed that? And I'm like, yeah, this is, I live here every day. This is my reality. Like, you know, it's hard not to just talk to him like a person because he talks back like a person.
Kristiina (32:56)
Right. Mm-hmm.
Sure. Yeah. Well, how many buttons does he have now?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (33:08)
The board has 51 buttons, but the board could have probably 10, because those are the buttons that he uses regularly. But there's no way that I could give him a word and then take it back. So the button board has continued to grow and grow and grow, because there's just no part of me that's like, here, I'm going to teach you this word, and then never give it to you again. So the number of buttons does not.
Kristiina (33:16)
Right.
short.
Yeah, that's fair.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (33:34)
correlate to how smart the learner is or the teacher or anything along those lines. I feel like for us specifically, it's just because we've been doing this for almost four years.
Kristiina (33:42)
Yeah, and what are those 10 words that you feel like he uses the most?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (33:46)
play, inside, outside, kibbles, birdie, let's think. And then he'll usually press like contextually appropriate. He will use names, you know, from what I've seen on, you know, in person, you know, on camera even too sometimes, but he loves his mama button and I do too. Let's think. And then mousy, feather toy. It's a lot of toys.
Kristiina (34:01)
Mm-hmm. Right.
Hehehehe
Hannah (catmanjohn) (34:16)
But he'll use laundry and litter when it's contextually appropriate. Snuggle, he'll use to like, he knows that snuggle, I don't even know what he thinks snuggle means, but he just he knows that means mom is going to be so happy and willing to do anything. Yeah, I mean, I totally lost track of how many buttons I just said, but yeah, just for the purposes of what we're getting across here, it's just not, Russell's not over there like...
Kristiina (34:18)
Mm-hmm.
It doesn't matter. It's okay.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (34:44)
Yes, mom, I would like to eat dinner at 7 p.m. Like, it's not what's happening. Russ will randomly walk up and press kibbles, and then I'm like, Russ, you have kibbles. Calm down, so.
Kristiina (34:45)
Yes.
Sure.
I think we all know that cats really don't like a bowl that's not completely full of especially of dry food which we call Crunchies in the house. We have munchies and crunchies in our house and they definitely don't like it if the crunchy volume is too low So I maybe he just feels that you need more kibbles. Oh, excuse me Hi, there's Mimi. It's Mimi. Yeah. Hi
Hannah (catmanjohn) (35:03)
Okay. Love.
Oh, Mimi? Oh, Mimi. Hi, beautiful lady. Thank you. Oh, I love Mimi.
Kristiina (35:21)
and she just had to She had to pass through and show everyone her beautiful butthole.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (35:25)
I love it. I actually remember seeing on TikTok, somebody was like print out a picture of the kibbles and tape it to the bottom of the bowl. I mean, I'd love to know what you think about that, if that's like cruel or if that's a good idea.
Kristiina (35:33)
Yes,
I don't think it's cruel. I do know that cats don't have amazing vision, especially when it comes to being up close. So I...
I don't know that they're going to see that and think, oh, those are more kibbles. However, if you're using a bowl that is a different color from the kibbles slash crunchies, I guess it could just blend in with the color. So if you're using like a stainless steel bowl and the crunchies are brown, it could make them think, who is that? Is that Kitchen Man? Somebody's yelling. Anyway, it could make them think that the bowl isn't empty if they don't see that space
but I don't think they're gonna see it and be like, oh, those are additional crunchies. Let me, you know, but maybe that's something for you to try and know how it goes.
Is there anything of Russell that like you won't share or of your cats like moments that you don't want to share with people like I know of course you wanna keep everything positive but is there stuff that's off limits to you like how do you go about deciding what to share and what not to share?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (36:44)
So I think I have just like recently come to the realization that I would love to put this giant disclaimer on anyone that really wants to get invested with their cat using buttons. That it has become very clear to me that Russell is almost like a child. Like it feels like for the last four years I've had like a two-year-old. He interrupts me on the phone and he'll interrupt me during Zoom meetings and stuff. So...
As I would never take them away and I would never take back doing the buttons, I think I would be really wary about starting this journey with another cat in the future or, you know, anything like that because it's time consuming, it's life consuming. I obviously quit my job to do this, It's not all rainbows and sunshine and happiness because it's a lot of...
requests a lot of times. Sometimes I just want to relax and sometimes he doesn't want to relax either and you know we don't match up. In those moments I actually... me me... in those moments I do actually love to like set up an enrichment toy where he can do something himself and stay entertained just because I just need a break sometimes. So I think that when it comes to like posting on social media and stuff too though I try to be extremely honest. So...
Kristiina (37:32)
Mm-hmm.
Hehehe
Of course!
Hannah (catmanjohn) (37:58)
I don't cut clips. I try to have it all one fluid thing. I'll do a disclaimer with the fast forward button on there just because I want people to understand that this isn't just like me clipping. It could of course be very easy to clip together what it looks like Russell would be saying, but that's not something that I feel comfortable with. I don't want anybody to feel like they're being duped when they come and watch my videos. So
Kristiina (38:15)
Yeah.
Sure, of course, that's great.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (38:23)
In terms of what I don't post also, sometimes, again like I said earlier, Russell will just post the now button and walk away. Who would find that interesting? I'm not going to post it if people don't find it interesting. So, you know, at the end of the day I'm trying to grow my channel. I'm trying to get people to engage with my videos and my photos and things like that. So I'm going to post highly engaging content to the best of my ability.
Kristiina (38:29)
Yeah. Right.
Right, so that leads into another thing that like I could speak to this with Steve's button use as is how much of Russell's button pressing does result in something that is coherent versus how much of it is just him, like you said, wanting attention.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (38:57)
So I really want to try to like really think and give an honest answer because
I want to say that maybe 75% of the time it's context really appropriate, it makes sense. There's an action, he asked for something specific, kibbles, wet food, play, feather toy, whatever. But sometimes he'll go over and it's just, yeah, I would say about a quarter of the time he just goes over with what seems like no intention but maybe he's frustrated, maybe he wants something that he doesn't have a button for.
Kristiina (39:17)
Right.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (39:33)
Or maybe he's just full of energy and doesn't know what to do with it. So, you know, I think that, uh, I think that I would probably say about like 75 25 for appropriate contextually appropriate slash kind of random. So
Kristiina (39:33)
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
and I think I would say probably with Steve and his button use, it was probably about the same. And a lot of times when he was having hissy fits, he would run over his buttons and like mash them and it didn't mean anything. He was just like super pumped and he wanted to like add into him running around being crazy, some like noise, or just get our attention to be like, look what I'm doing, blah, you know, but generally he only walked over to them
Hannah (catmanjohn) (40:07)
Yes.
Kristiina (40:14)
them if there was a purpose but he had so many less than most button users do. So it's not like he had like a huge choice of stuff he could just hit you know he only had like nine buttons so on.
So do you have any advice for people who wanna create a social media slash like online presence for their pets?
But do you have any advice for people who may want to get into doing this?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (40:42)
I would say first piece of advice is know what you're getting into and know how much work it is because it's really not just like, oh, I'll throw up a video like once every couple weeks or something and then that'll just make my page grow. This is like a daily checking in, being really engaging with your page and following and stuff so first off, just make sure that you know what you're getting yourself into. My second piece of advice would be like you've committed, you're in, you really want to do it.
possibly can. I, you know, my broader niche is cats, but I get really niched down into cats that use buttons. So people that are really interested in cats that are using buttons. I could even say use cats that use buttons in a multi cat household is like the as how I found you, obviously. So just really trying to make sure that you're finding an audience that is going to be engaged with your content and then sticking with it. Don't niche down and post button videos and then randomly do a get ready with me and do your hair in the mirror. Like it's, I mean, maybe
today, four years later, my followers would be interested, but I guarantee they wouldn't because they don't follow me for beauty tips. Um, oh, I don't know how to do my hair. Geez, can you tell? I'm just letting it air dry. And let's think. So
Kristiina (41:43)
Do it! I want to see it!
Hannah (catmanjohn) (41:50)
try to think of like another good piece of advice for... okay so I think the third thing that I would say is just being like really consistent. So if you want to post every single week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday the algorithm is gonna like that because you're consistent for Monday, Wednesday, Friday but don't post Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday for the rest of the year alternating... I mean if you alternate weeks maybe it would work but...
I think just being really consistent is what's really important and just making sure that you are not posting and ghosting. Don't just jump on social media and post and then never look at it, never interact with people. Make sure to engage with your audience and answer questions and pin comments and pin a question and answer with a new video if you have a question. So I think those are the three major things that I can think of to be really helpful.
Kristiina (42:43)
Mm-hmm.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (42:44)
DMs are always open if people ever have any questions. I'm always happy to answer on Instagram.
Kristiina (42:48)
I do think that's a big part of how you've grown so quickly is being so personable, I can talk. But also like really engaging with people on that personal level, right? And letting people know who you are authentically and getting back to people. And you're so good at also connecting with other creators, right? Not only that like are we friends, but you are friends with so many other creators and so many other people
animal button use world and like in the other animal just general animal world and I think that's something also that you could speak to maybe a little bit
Hannah (catmanjohn) (43:22)
a very, very important piece of advice that I got when I was first starting out as a creator is collaboration, not competition. There is enough money in this world. Everybody can get a slice of the pie. I have gotten brand deals because other creators have previously worked with them. They recommended me. I have, I'm pretty sure actually, was I the one that connected you to Litter-Robot? I think I vaguely remember sending a coupon, but I mean, so.
Kristiina (43:28)
There you go. Yes.
Yes, I think you did. Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (43:50)
Collaboration is everything. Work together on trends, collaborate on Instagram posts. I think that like something that personally matters to me so much is community and staying connected with like my friends and family is something that matters a lot. Especially now that I work from home and I am literally the definition of a cat lady. I just stay at home with my cats all day long. But I think that's also what's been really fun and important too and has helped me create really awesome friendships. So, you know, obviously.
For those of you guys that are watching, Kristiina and I have become good friends over the last few years and I have a friend who filmed our wedding and then I just visited her in Canada. So I just, you know, connecting with really awesome people has been a really interesting corner of the internet that I never thought that I would say like, I meet strangers on the internet sometimes. But...
Kristiina (44:27)
Yes.
I know.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (44:41)
you know, after years of making sure these people are legit and meeting in public places for the first time and so on and so forth. So you did. Now that I've heard about that, you literally...
Kristiina (44:44)
Yes.
I think I just came to your house. I don't think we even met in a public place. I just came to your house and was like, hey.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (44:58)
But you and I both show so much of our interior space on social media that I think it was like, okay, you know what, I can, you know, I know where she lives. She knows where I live. You know, I think, but I'm pretty sure I met other people like in neutral.
Kristiina (45:03)
That's true, yeah.
Yes.
No, and that's a smart thing to do. I could have been whoever.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (45:15)
Jeez Louise. Thanks for not being whoever. Thanks for being normal and not murdering me and my cats.
Kristiina (45:22)
I mean, normal is who knows, but the jury's still out on that one, but...
Hannah (catmanjohn) (45:25)
Yeah, I don't know if nothing's normal.
Kristiina (45:27)
how has the use of speech buttons impacted your relationship with Russell? Like have you noticed it has improved your relationship which is kind of something I would assume. Like can you speak a little bit to that?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (45:37)
would love to. Our relationship has just vastly improved. I feel so close to him. I feel like, you know, even if it wasn't the buttons, if Russell and I did anything together like that, if I was training him to do tricks, if I was... It has definitely brought me closer to him and I feel very grateful for that but it's also brought me closer to all the other cats because as I realize like Russell has specific needs and wants, I'm like...
all of the other cats have specific needs and wants. So it's been really interesting and I'm so grateful for the buttons because his life is so much better with them than it was without them. And obviously I'm the driver of giving him those buttons. So I've got myself on the back, but I think that he is definitely living an enriched, happy life and that's all that I could ask for. And I think that's translating to the other cats as well, which is just so wonderful.
Kristiina (46:31)
Yeah. And I think it's important to remember that above all things like cats, they need to be intellectually and environmentally stimulated, but they also really need attention from us. And I think people often think like, Oh, cats are solitary. You know, they're not like dogs. They don't need a lot of attention from us, but they really do. They really need attention and love and support and care. And, and I think the buttons are a great way. Even if, if you want to say, I don't believe it all the buttons, that's totally fine. I think there are.
great way for people to spend more time with their cats, for people to pay more attention to their cats, to their cats' wants and needs, right? And then the buttons led you to be able to be a stay at home cat mom, which is even better for your cats, right? I'm sure your cats are even happier now that you're not at work for most of the day, that you're at home working, and that leads them to become even more enriched and happier. So I think, like look at everything that the buttons have provided.
regardless of if people want to believe them, believe in them or not, I think they've really provided a lot of stimulation and just kind of general overall well-being for your whole family.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (47:45)
Mm-hmm. I definitely think that, like, sometimes I want to say that the buttons have improved, like, my communication and Dylan's communication just because, you know, Russell speaks his needs and I'm like, maybe we should all listen to Russell. Maybe we should all speak our needs. Maybe we should let somebody know when something's bothering us if the smell is too smelly or the TV's too loud. Russell loves to press his noise button when the TV is too loud and that's...
Kristiina (47:54)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (48:12)
an adjustment that I've made for him because I'm like why is it blasting? I don't need it to be blasting here. So I think that the buttons have significantly helped. Russell will also press buttons on behalf of the other cats. He will press the LASER button for Winnie and she will come out for it. He will press the brush button and she will come out for it. He will press the puffy button and all of a sudden teens right there. So that's been really interesting as well to see their the other cats reactions to obviously the association.
Kristiina (48:13)
Sure.
Yeah.
Mmm. Oh.
Right, so they all understand the words. They're just not pressing the buttons, which is something that happened in our house with Steve is that everyone in our house understood the meanings. Like if I pushed, I'm not gonna say it either, P-L-A-Y, everyone would come running.
even though Steve had pushed it because they knew that association, right? Even to the point where now I can't say it because they'll all be like, oh, we're gonna, we're gonna do it, right? Um, so is that, that's what's happening in your house? Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (49:08)
Totally. It's like kids. Like I remember, you know, 12 years older than my youngest brother. So I remember a lot of parenting going on in my house. And the spelling of words is definitely like, just, it feels so similar. Cause I'm like, oh my gosh, we have kids here. It's what it feels like sometimes, but then, oh my God, it's a million times easier than kids. So.
Kristiina (49:22)
Yes.
Yeah, fair, fair. somebody wanted to know if there are any limitations or challenges in using speech buttons with Russell.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (49:33)
Um, you know, the biggest challenge was just teaching him how to physically press the button. And then as soon as he figured it out, he was like, oh, I know what I'm doing. He was like, this gets me things, you know, I'm going to be good with this. Adding new buttons, I have noticed also has the window of time for him to like kind of understand it has definitely closed and shortened. And he basically, if I put a button down and give him whatever it says on the button instantly, that's it for him. He's like, okay, I know what I can
Kristiina (49:37)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Sure.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (50:00)
It seems like it just happens really quickly now.
Kristiina (50:02)
Yeah.
Sure, I think that's normal that after the first button, like, and you, it can take quite a while for some learners to learn that first button. But then when you see it, you see that moment where they make the association between the button and getting something. And then I feel like subsequent buttons are so much faster, I think generally among all users, because now they've made that association that, oh, the button gets me some type of reward, whether it's going outside or food or
are also going to get me a thing that it represents. But that's also why most people advise to not start with a food word, right? Because then cats may associate all further buttons with food. So what was the first word that you guys started with? I don't remember.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (50:44)
If you watch back to like the original day one teaching my cat to press buttons that I have, the word is pets because I was like I can physically pet him. He can understand what this is. I wasn't really sure how to like I just it was like Russell loves to get pet. This is perfect. And then like I think three or four days in I was like why don't we try play and then that was how he learned. He was like yes I totally understand this. Yes I want to play.
Kristiina (50:51)
Mm-hmm. Oh, yes. Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (51:11)
I remember looking up on YouTube, like, teaching a cat to press a button and I just, I had to go all the way down to find it. It was this niche video of this woman teaching a little cat with a clicker how to, you know, press the button. And that's all I, that's all I needed. I was like, okay, got it. I can do this. And then, you know, I did the same thing with Russell and it was like really cool. And it was like, it was fun for me to watch the connection and the light bulbs happen because you know, I would, Russell would look at the button and then I would click.
Kristiina (51:20)
Mm-hmm.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (51:37)
and then Russell would be like, okay, something about that button. And then he would go over and smell the button and then I click and then he would press the button, like touch the button. And as see him using his brain and I could see the wheels are always spinning and him and Wynn are very smart. I could always see them. But we always say Wynn's just like doing research and like, you know, she's got a long thesis coming up
He just came jogging in. Come here. Let's say hi.
Kristiina (51:58)
Oh.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (51:59)
Wait, don't squirm. Yay. Oh, you love her smells, babe. She's got really nice, like, shoes and you love them. So handsome. Thanks, love. Yeah, oh, he came running in here. I think he was like, it has been an hour.
Kristiina (52:02)
Hi, it's me! You don't like me!
Hi buddy, you're so cute. Hello. He's like, I've got stuff to do. I don't wanna be on this podcast. Yeah, excuse me. Okay, I just have two more questions from followers. They wanna know how you taught words like litter and clean.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (52:25)
Please.
Okay, litter was one of like, I feel like one of the earlier buttons. So I'll start with that one. Litter. I, what I tried to help Russell associate litter with was like us going to the room that the litter box was in. And then I would just continuously verbalize like litter as I'm cleaning up the litter box as I'm sweeping it up as I'm emptying it out and spinning it. So I was just, I have literally no idea what Russell thinks litter means. But when he presses the litter button.
Kristiina (52:57)
Right.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (52:59)
I still get up and go to check on the litter boxes. So trying...
Kristiina (53:02)
Right.
So it could be the room, it could be the, who knows? Yeah, yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (53:09)
Who knows? This is what I mean when I say like it's contextually appropriate because the litter box is full, but I don't know what he means by that. And then clean up is just, you know, for those that don't know Russell was, Russell and Teen were saved from a hoarder's home as kittens and connected through a local shelter to Petco and then that's how we adopted them. But you know, cats are just very clean in general and Russell tends to get really stressed if the space is messy.
Kristiina (53:16)
Yeah.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (53:37)
Russell would just get really bothered and he would get stressed and he would meow a lot. Like, like clearly some way to follow him. He would lead me to maybe a hairball or a spot of throw up or something. And I was like, why don't I just give him a cleanup button? And so I gave him the cleanup button and I'd be like, Russell, can you lead me to what you're talking about? He'd lead me to.
He led me to the back door. One time that was a really interesting one because I didn't realize somebody had thrown up on or pooped on a mat outside of the litter box. I think it was throw up and Dylan had put it outside before work because he just didn't have the time to take care of it. So Russell was like, clean up, clean up incessantly and led me to the back door. And I was like, oh, yeah, there's a mat outside that's not supposed to be there with throw up on it. So, you know, again, I don't know what clean up means to him. What I've tried to teach him is just.
Kristiina (54:03)
Mm-hmm.
Mm.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (54:21)
I am physically removing something that shouldn't be. But at the end of the day, I'm not in his brain.
Kristiina (54:25)
Right.
Yeah. And then also, how do you feel about having a clean freak cat? And what all does he harass you to clean?
Hannah (catmanjohn) (54:37)
People are asking me all the time, they're like, is Russell a Virgo, da da? And I'm like, Russell's not, but I am. So I like cleanliness and I like to be clean and it doesn't really bother me because I'm like, you're right, it should be cleaner in here. And you know, it's just, it's obviously if I just wanna sit on the couch and not clean up the, I wanna let the throw up dry because it's so much easier to clean up dry. You know, I just have to kind of talk them through and just be like, Russ, I'm just gonna leave that for a little bit and let it be, so.
Kristiina (54:40)
Bye.
Yeah.
Right.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (55:06)
I feel like I have worked my way into boundaries, giving Russell the no button was a big part of setting up boundaries because I was like, I don't need to be answering all of these requests all the time at the drop of a hat. Or later, later helps too, but Russell now uses it against me for, you know, if I'm on a call for too long or if we're watching something, I will sit down to eat and Russell will say later and then he'll say play something. I'm like, Russ, I know you want me to eat later, but I'm going to eat right now.
Kristiina (55:13)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Mm-mm.
So we can wrap up and I wanna thank you again, Hannah, so much for being my guest on His and Tell and thank Russell for popping in a couple times to show us his handsome face.
Hannah (catmanjohn) (55:47)
Thank you so much for having