Owner feared the worst when her cat repeatedly pressed ‘stranger outside’ at night—then she saw what he was warning her about

A pet owner would have never guessed that years of teaching her cat to use speech buttons would leave her in an unnerving situation. Sarah Baker trained her pet cat to communicate using the buttons so she could better understand his needs during the day. But it was mostly at night, when her cat put his skills to the test, forcing the owner to solve a mysterious riddle. In a viral Instagram video, the cat named Justin Bieber (@justinbieberthecat) is seen hammering the button for “stranger” to alarm his owner about an intruder. It took her more than a few “stranger” beeps before Baker put two and two together. 

The 33-year-old woman was proud of her intelligent cat, who had learned to use 41 speech buttons since they began their learning curve in 2021. However, she might have had qualms about the button for “stranger.” Suddenly, Bieber the cat would press the coveted button at any given time of the day and night and stare out the window, sending chills down her spine. In the clip, the owner hinted at the ominous situation she had been dealing with for months. “Creepiest things Justin has said,” the post was titled. The brown fluffy cat was seen stepping on a mat of buttons, only to press the one for “stranger.” 

Baker, who lives in Los Angeles, scolded, “That’s really creepy!” He proceeded to stare intently at the window, indicating that there might be someone outside. On another occasion, Bieber pawed the same button at 1 a.m. as captured by the owner’s security camera. Later, he began to pair words with “stranger," such as “outside” or “smell,” which freaked Baker out enough to investigate. The owner stepped out to look, but found “nobody” outside the window. In the caption, she marked it as Bieber’s “stranger era.” The post received 5.4 million views. 

The pet's bizarre habit made the owner’s “hair stand on end” with fright, especially when the calls occurred late in the evening or night. “He hadn't used it much in my old apartment, so, when he started saying 'stranger' all the time after my partner and I moved to a house, it started to creep me out,” Baker told Newsweek. She was confident that her cat was describing something outside, but was not completely sure if it was an actual intruder. Interestingly, her three other cats never reported anything similar. Eventually, Bieber began adding safer words like “squirrel” or “dog” with “stranger” to the owner’s relief. 

All his life, Bieber had lived in apartments and was not accustomed to having wildlife around. When the owner moved houses, they encountered coyotes, skunks, and opossums from a nearby park. Finally, Baker was able to solve the mystery. Once, when the cat pressed “stranger squirrel”, she caught a skunk digging into her yard and a “stranger dog” for a coyote. It was a reassurance for the cat owner as it became “less creepy” following the wild discovery. Now, Bieber is used to occasional visitors popping in and out of their backyard, while his personal vocabulary has reached a respectable number. 

You can follow @justinbieberthecat on Instagram for more videos.