The Naming of Cats

[annwfyn]

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.

There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.

But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?

Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.

But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.

When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:

His ineffable effable

Effanineffable

Deep and inscrutable singular Name.


That nice lady with the kittens has said that if I want to pick out names for the kittens I've got my eye on, then she'll start calling them with those names and she'll send me more pics tomorrow. I really need to not get too attached to this idea, but it's all so tempting! It might actually all be coming together.

Anyway, I am now sitting here and pondering names for cats. As a FYI, Cornish Rex cats look mostly like curly Siamese. Their father looks like this:



I think that my kittens are likely to grow up to look something like that. They are from an odd long legged breed, with sharp goblin faces and a tendancy to bounce around a lot, I believe. Ryan refers to them as 'pubic cats' but then, Ryan's mostly a nasty man who will end up in hell*.

So. What kind of thing does one call a pair of pale furred goblin cats?


*I say this with the greatest fondness for the boy. But he's still a bad man who is going to hell. *nods firmly*

Comments

[castorlion.livejournal.com]

Call one of them Gobbolino!

This will of course mean nothing to you if you haven't read the children's book I was brought up on, but it's still a good suggestion. *nods*

[wildrogue.livejournal.com]

Gobbolino the witches cat. I'd forgotten about it.
The other one should be named after the cat in Worst Witch, though the name escapes me at present.

[cleosilver.livejournal.com]

I think it was simply called Tabby.

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

But... surely that only works if one of them is black with white paws and blue eyes?

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought. I loved the Gobbolino books, but I'm not sure you're allowed to give white cats such names.

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

It took me two weeks to come up with names for the Fluffs. Naming cats is the hardest thing ever.

Call one of them Jareth :)

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

Jareth, Oberon, Titania... cats are royalty, they should rule the goblins.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

You know, I do quite like that suggestion.

[felinefaerie.livejournal.com]

Yes, Jareth, oberon and titania.... yes.

i dreamed of you last night, and oddly - Twicedead. how strange is that, i dreamed of someone i don't know....

[cleosilver.livejournal.com]

Definitely Jareth.

[christabelle9.livejournal.com]

are they boys/girls/or one of each?

I adore the name Abby... (short for abigail of course)

Abigail Moxycutt Brewer

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

They are both boys. One is cream, and the other is seal point siamese colour. So, two boy names for cats!

[christabelle9.livejournal.com]

Alonzo Moxycott Brewer

*pokes fun at Matt and his 'Labels'*

[christabelle9.livejournal.com]

Alonzo Moxycott Brewer

orr.. if one is REALLY gay, you could name it MattMatt Moxcott...

Two Boys?

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

Then there are rules. Twin boys growing up together must conform to these rules. One will be good, the other bad. Maybe not evil, but certainly bad.

Oberon and Jareth. Or you could use Seroster as well, as a kingly catlike name...

Wrecks, I gypped us some

And if you haven't read "The Cats of Seroster" then shame on you.

[christabelle9.livejournal.com]

Samson.. I like the name Samson.

Or, I've known pets to be named after favorite places that you've been.

just an example. "Oxford" Ox for short.

[rweishaar.livejournal.com]

Merkin and Johnson!!

Or...

umm..

Merkin and Jizz!!

Its like Jez, but differenter!

[commlal.livejournal.com]

I quite like the idea of Arthur and Merylin or some other variation (Lancealot the Cat)

Mine are named after cartoon/scifi character:- Ivy was born on Christmas day, Neo did matrix style kung fu jumps, Stark (from Farscape) is quite bonkers as is the kitten, Jools. Naming cats is hard. They need to settle in for a bit before they find their name.

EEP!

[vilenspotens.livejournal.com]

That is a truly scary, evil looking cat. How about Asmodeus?

[bringeroflight.livejournal.com]

In ancient Egypt, cats were worshipped as gods.

Cats have never forgotten this.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

So Allah, Jehovah or Yahweh then?

Rules of Cat naming (101)

[greebotrill.livejournal.com]

Do not name your cat anything evil or problematic (asmodeus, lucifer, loki, etc.) This will often go poorly.

Do not name them after trendy things. It's kinda like a trendy tattoo, rarely a good thing.

Hmm... As to names. Names should be unique or fitting (like Greebo, our small gray cat - his name is both appropriate (gray) and funny (because he's a big old wimp). Also not everyone immediately recognizes where it came from (Disc World Series).

Now, having said all that.. names..... Also name them two distinct sounding names so that when you yell at them, the correct knows to ignore you.

Personality is also important in the naming process. My old Siamese Chumley was dumb, loving and very doglike (and chummy, which was what he was often called affectionately). Two syllable names are easier to yell (I have broken this rule with Trillian and Claudius respectively).

Think of what nicknames they will gain....

So far, no names are coming to me. Look at them and watch them. They will give you their name.

You could name them after Roman Emperors?

Re: Rules of Cat naming (101)

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

It is very hard naming kittens when you don't really know them. At the moment they are still with their mother, but the nice lady who bred them suggested that if I pick out names, she'll start calling the kittens by that name so that they get used to them. This does mean that I rather feel like I'm wandering blind.

I think I like the idea of the goblin/fairy theme - I think goblins are very cool and they do have this weird pointy faces. I'm tempted to root through my Brian Froud book of goblins and see if there any any names from there.

White Cats

[melsner.livejournal.com]

They're white cats. So you could name them Doug & Picanzi.

Or Roshem and Roshem's Evil Minion.