Flounder Cat

Flounder Cat Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Flounder Cat, Pet service, Hilton Head Island, SC.

Bonding with pets through training and enrichment

Flounder is participating in a research study through UCSD to help us understand better how animals are able to communicate and use language.

06/18/2026

Ok, so I don't believe in ghosts, but I didn't believe in buttons either so now I try to keep an open mind about things. With that being said, I'm not saying this was Fiki's ghost and Fiki liked a lot of things that had buttons on the board, not just Tube Ride.

Also worthy to note: I have been having some tech issues with the buttons recently, but I have 2 bases (speakers) and all of my issues have been with the buttons linked to the second base. This is the only weird thing that has ever happened with any buttons linked to the first base.

I never would have known about this press if Cat Dad didn't hear it and tell me about it. It happened early in the morning when Cat Dad and Fiki typically had the house to themselves, and Cat Dad was alone when this happened as well.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions because I will always remain an open minded skeptic, but it is fun to think that Fiki could be starting to communicate to us through the buttons.

06/18/2026

OMG. Flounder and these cards. You may have seen her cards during our live for Fiki's birthday, where she insisted that I show everyone her cards. For those of you who missed it: one of Flo's loving fans sent her a pack of Pocahontas cards complete with fish case.

No-one was expecting her to love them THIS much. She wants to show everyone her cards. I have also learned (because she's not resource guard-y) over her cards, that they are a great way to model "share"!

So enjoy this ridiculously adorable demonstration of Flounder sharing her beautiful cards with Mouse Toy.

06/17/2026

This interaction shouldn't surprise anyone. I know I wasn't surprised at all.

Now that Flo has an "alligator" button, it's much easier for her to make demands for them. If she needs a hug to swim, and sharks have hugs inside their bellies to help them swim, obviously water strangers (I can't call them alligators anymore. It doesn't feel right) need hugs to swim too.

If you need to find me, I'll be the one chasing water strangers around the moat to put water hugs on them and also chasing sharks to put them in Pocahontas hugs.

06/17/2026

To newbies: Hello! (Wingapo, as Flounder prefers) Preface you need for this one - Flounder calls herself a fish. And she watches Pocahontas on repeat every day.

To everyone: I do NOT think she is asking me if fish take showers. I don't think this because she didn't use any of her interrogatory words (why, where, etc.), and also given her confidence and the fact that she just saw fish taking a shower, she KNOWS fish take showers. Also, she's a fish and she takes showers so there's no question here.

It seems the goal of this conversation is to get me to take her to a waterfall on the paddleboard. Right. And don't get me wrong - I would LOVE to do that, however coastal South Carolina is depleted of waterfall situations. I also can't figure out a good way to hang a sprinkler from any body of water big enough to have a paddleboard in/on it, so we're at a bit of a standstill.

As Flounder's requests become more complex, I keep feeling like I'm less and less prepared for her when I wake up in the morning. What happened to "Outside Ballet School" requests? Simple requests that I could handle. The teenage years are hitting me so hard over here in FlounderLand.

Since we're putting our travel requests into the world - I would really like to stay in an over-the-water bungalow in Fiji with a lot of mom water if anyone cares.

06/16/2026

This doesn't typically happen in FlounderLand as she's usually a lot more direct, but when it does happen, my brain can't handle it!

It took me SO many guesses to try to figure out what she wanted. It was only after I put the ice cubes in her water fountain (not her bowl) that she was happy with me.

Link to water fountain in comments if anyone is interested.

06/16/2026

*Link in comments to donate.

In February 2026, something incredible happened.

For the first time ever, two button-trained cats (well, one cat and a fish)—Flounder and Elsie—met in person for what became known as FlounsieLand. What started as a fun meetup quickly turned into a real-world cat communication experiment.

Our goal was simple: could language help make cat introductions smoother?

Both Flounder and Elsie have learned to communicate using soundboards, and we wanted to see whether their ability to express themselves could help reduce stress, improve understanding, and create a more positive introduction experience. We were also curious whether they would recognize and use each other's buttons to communicate in a shared environment.

Like any experiment, we learned a lot.

Some things went exactly as planned. Other things... definitely didn't. We made mistakes, encountered unexpected challenges, and discovered countless ways we could improve the experience for the cats. But every success and setback gave us valuable information that will help shape the next chapter.

That's why we're planning FlounsieLand 2027.

This time, we'll be returning to the same rental property—a neutral territory where neither cat has a home-field advantage. Even better, both Flounder and Elsie have already spent time there, giving them equal familiarity with the environment before the reunion begins.

Our goal is to create an even better experience for both cats while continuing to explore fascinating questions about animal communication:

Can language help cats navigate social introductions?
Will Flounder and Elsie use their buttons to communicate about each other?
What can we learn when animals have a way to express their wants, feelings, and observations?
How can these insights help improve relationships between cats and their humans?

The funds raised will help cover:

Rental costs for the neutral meeting location
Travel expenses
Supplies and enrichment for the cats
Filming and documentation of the experiment
Food
Unexpected costs that arise while coordinating a full week cat meetup

FlounsieLand has always been about curiosity, learning, and giving animals a voice. Whether you've followed Flounder, Elsie, or simply love the idea of better understanding the animals we share our lives with, your support helps make this unique project possible.

Thank you for believing in these remarkable cats and in the future of animal communication.
We can't wait to see what Flounder and Elsie have to say next.

06/15/2026

Unlike most jobs, "Flounder's Mom" is a title that comes with bad pay and 0 sick days. I don't get sick enough to be "down and out" often, but when I do Flounder gets very upset about it.

I try to hide it as best I can because I know how concerned she gets, so even when I'm feeling absolutely terrible, I try to be happy and bubbly like normal around her so she doesn't get upset. This, however, leads to a very not sympathetic bean.

My favorite thing about this time was that she started putting together how she's going to take care of herself while I'm sick. Very resourceful little one.

06/15/2026

For our new followers: Welcome to FlounderLand! Enjoy the ride!

06/15/2026

As a content creator and also (and more importantly) as someone who has been carefully documenting Mouse Toy's conversations, I'm finding it to be difficult to get a camera angle that can clearly see everything that is going on when Mouse Toy is talking.

The hamster ball blocks a lot of views, so I'm giving the aerial soundboard view a try. I do feel like it's easier to see what Mouse Toy is pressing and it's more clear but you don't get to see Flo's facial expressions quite as well. Give me your thoughts in the comments!

06/14/2026

When Flounder misses Fiki, I've noticed it seems to help her to just talk about him. She will just start telling me random things about Fiki.

I suppose it's a lot like us talking about loved ones who have passed - keeping memories alive?

So in honor of keeping Fiki's memory alive, we just want to share with you that he was not a fish. He was for sure a cat. And he was/is loved.

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Hilton Head Island, SC
29928

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