Clementine, Dagny, Hypatia, Pandora, and Tallulah

Pet Names
1

We brought home a new fur baby last night. She’s a tiny little Birman mix kitten. We had to euthanize our Persian, [name]Leopold[/name], 6 months ago. I’ve never grieved so hard for anything, ever. In all honesty, I’m still grieving, but our other boy [name]Sebastian[/name] was starting to act out so we decided it was time to adopt a friend for him.

She’s a sweetheart. A toe biter. Curious as only a cat can be. She’s found sections of the house I never even knew existed! She hides when startled, understandably in a new house, but she comes bouncing back out seconds later, so I’m pretty sure she’s quite courageous (or perhaps just too curious). I haven’t had time yet to really observe her personality, so that’s all I’ve got at the moment. So far, she seems very much a people cat. She slept pressed so close to me last night I’m now in pain from not moving all night for fear of killing her. Hah.

I’m trying to upload a photo, but I’m not sure it’s working. If it did, please ignore my hideous couch. I hate it, but it’s a good couch and I can’t see spending money on a new one when this one is just fine. If it didn’t she’s the typical Birman colors, cream colored long fur with dark brownish points on her face and ears. I don’t think all her colors have come out yet. Her eyes are the deepest sapphire blue. She’s really quite pretty. :slight_smile:

Anywho.

We’re considering [name]Clementine[/name], [name]Dagny[/name], [name]Hypatia[/name], [name]Pandora[/name], and [name]Tallulah[/name]. Any other name suggestions? Thoughts on the names we have? Boyfriend loves [name]Dagny[/name], I love [name]Hypatia[/name], we both love all the others. We like elegant names for cats, though we tend to give them silly nicknames as well.

2

I really like [name]Dagny[/name], [name]Pandora[/name], and [name]Tallulah[/name] from your list. But I may be a bit biased about [name]Tallulah[/name], because I’ve wanted to name a cat that for ages so that I can also call her [name]Tally[/name] [name]Cat[/name] or [name]Lula[/name]!

3

Yeah, [name]Tallulah[/name] was scoring pretty high on my facebook post. Then one of my best friends said she wants that name for her baby (she’s due in a week and it’s supposed to be a boy-- but I wouldn’t do that to her. Known her since we were 5). :frowning: [name]Tallulah[/name] is out. [name]Dagny[/name] and [name]Pandora[/name] are the other names scoring high right now. Going to play with her a few more days and try both names on, as well as any others that pop into our heads.

4

I like [name]Pandora[/name]. You can call her Panda. XD

5

[name]Pandora[/name] is a guilty pleasure of mine but I would never use it for a child due to the mythological story behind it. However, I’ve always thought it would make a wonderful and magical name for a cat. The Birman breed is one of my favourite cat breeds. They’re really gorgeous. Does she have little white socks on her paws? :slight_smile: If I didn’t have allergies, I would get a Birman myself. A cat named [name]Pandora[/name] would be lovely.

6

I love your names – except [name]Dagny[/name] – and that is personal. I know someone on the Net with that screen name who has put it off it forever.

I love [name]Clementine[/name]. Please name her [name]Clementine[/name]. But I see I am the only one. If not that then [name]Pandora[/name]. I think it is adorable for a cat. I was considering it for a future cat of mine just today!

7

We’ve been calling her [name]Pandora[/name] and [name]Clementine[/name] all day. We went through a whole load of names last night. SO even suggested [name]Aurora[/name] which is adorable and fits her (I love the throaty [name]ROAR[/name] sound in the middle), but we’ve narrowed it down to [name]Pandora[/name] or [name]Clementine[/name]. Those are both names I’d love to name a future daughter, but I can’t get past the potential teasing. [name]Pandora[/name]'s “box” and My Darling [name]Clementine[/name]. I wouldn’t care if they were my names, but who knows what our daughter would think? I almost don’t want to give those names away to kitty because I keep thinking “well, what if I do want them for a daughter?” Perhaps it’s best to use them up before I’m tempted to use them on our poor innocent daughter.

[name]Mischa[/name], she has one white sock. She’s not purebred. I got her for free believe it or not. She has almost perfect Birman markings, and she’s so sweet and full of sass and adventure. And she’s so smart! I wanted to clap with excitement when she ran to the litter box all by herself last night. I’m always terrified when getting to know a new cat that it will have littler box issues, but she seems to be figuring it out. She’s too young to be away from her mother (6 weeks) but the house I adopted her from was less than ideal and the woman just wanted to get rid of her kittens. I wanted to take the whole litter and rehome them myself, but I just don’t have the room to do that. Plus I’m in a rental and I don’t think landlord would be too happy.

I keep feeling myself pulling back from falling in love because I’m still so torn up about our [name]Leo[/name]. I spent some time with his ashes today, and had a good cry. I feel better now, and this little girl is just days away from stealing my heart if she keeps crawling onto my lap and falling asleep.

Thanks for the input, everybody.

8

Thanks for sharing your story with us. I wish you the best – no the least because I am grieving for an adored cat myself, my Ysabeau. (I named her [name]Beau[/name] before I realized she was a girl.) I have fears of trying to replace her, but I am glad you did.

You will let yourself go and fall in love, but it will come on itself own time.

I’m glad you are looking at my two favorite cat names.

9

I’m sorry to hear about Ysabeau. :frowning: I’m sure you know, it’s different for everyone, and every pet loss is different as well. I’ve lost so many pets in my life. My mum rescued every bird, mouse, fawn, skunk, rabbit, cat, dog, bobcat… honestly you name it she probably tried to rescue it. Some losses hurt more than others. We lost the dog we’d had since I was a young teenager to heartworm and old age a few years back and none of us can even bring ourselves to look at his photos yet.

[name]Leo[/name] died of old age 6 months ago. I had to take him in to be euthanized the day after I got back from vacation. I think it was being the person who had to make the decision to have it done that has made it hurt so badly. Well, and that he was such an amazing cat. I often joked he was my soul mate. When losing a pet, sometimes I think we feel pressured to not grieve like we would for a person. To rush the process, to not talk about it. To feel embarrassed that we cry in the grocery story when we walk by the pet aisle and see the pet’s favorite treats. It makes it that much harder. We can’t exactly call in sick to work and say we’re upset because our cat or dog died. Most places I’ve worked, that won’t fly. Which is, imo, a tragedy. Our pets share every moment with us. We tell them secrets we’d never tell another person; we change in front of them; play with them; give and receive comfort and love. We’re 100% responsible for them, they’re as dependent on us as a child for goodness sakes. And yet, if we talk about how much losing them hurts to the average person, they look at us like we’re crazy and need to find something real to cry about.

I knew as soon as [name]Leo[/name] was gone that I would have to get another cat, because we had [name]Sebastian[/name] at home and he would need a companion. I spent the last 6 months assuming it would be another Persian, like [name]Leopold[/name]. But every time the opportunity presented itself I’d have a meltdown and couldn’t go through with it.

On [name]Sunday[/name] my mum and I had a long talk and she suggested I get something other than a Persian. The moment she said that I felt a weight come off my shoulders, and the very next day I found our kitty. So, for me at least, it was the feeling of replacing [name]Leo[/name] I couldn’t get past. It was getting another Persian, such a distinctive breed. I just can’t do it. I may never be able to get another one, because I’ll spend every moment wishing the cat was [name]Leo[/name]. I see a Persian face (and they are all over the fricking internet) and my heart hurts so much; sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe for wanting him back so badly.

I don’t know if any of this information will help you, but I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t replace Ysabeau. Look for something new, something different. If Ysabeau was a sleek, black queen, look for a tiger stripe klutz with a weight problem.

We went with [name]Clementine[/name], by the way. And she is once again falling asleep in my lap after leaping from cushion to cushion and climbing everything she can reach. She’s not [name]Leo[/name], and she never will be. I’ll never have a [name]Leo[/name] again, he was one of a kind. But so is [name]Clementine[/name]. :slight_smile:

10

That was beautiful, redwoodfey. I agree.

[name]Every[/name] cat has her unique personality not to be replaced, and every case of grieving has its unique pain. Ysabeau was a little stray who choose me – she came to live with me at a difficult time when I was caring for dying parents. I am a dog person, and had not had a cat for decades. My parents requested I not get another dog when my [name]Lizzy[/name] died because they were afraid of falling over a dog and just had various legitimate concerns. I didn’t mean to adopt [name]Beau[/name] – she rather adopted us. And she was my soul mate through a stressful, even horrible time. Everthing about her was perfect – she was tiny, she a snubby nose, she looked like a stuffed toy, she had a soft, kitten meow, and when I threw her over my shoulder like a baby, she would extend her claws into my shoulder blades perfectly – just enough to hang on but never enough to hurt me. She woke me in the morning with kisses and by sleeping by my head, so now I miss her every time I wake and whenever I go home.

She was probably part Persian, and I might get another Persian mix cat. I’m allergic to cats, and I tolerate that type better than most. And [name]Beau[/name] is the second fluffy cat who came to live with me, the first being a who Persian named [name]Suzannah[/name] who preferred me to her owners next door. They finally said I could just keep her.

We might share a cat name – I think I too will go with [name]Clementine[/name] when the times comes. :slight_smile:

11

I hope you find your [name]Clementine[/name] someday. Or perhaps I should say, I hope she finds you!

I was a dog person all my life, until we adopted [name]Sebastian[/name] and [name]Leo[/name]. [name]Sebastian[/name] is completely bonded with my boyfriend, whereas [name]Leo[/name] bonded with me, and that was the end of that. We both became cat and dog people. Why choose when you can have it all?

Persians are a special breed. [name]Leo[/name] was a Persian mix, rather than a purebred one, but from what I’ve read, he had the Persian personality. They love their human fiercely; how can we not love them back just as madly? It sounds like Persians find you, so hopefully another Persian finds its way to you before too long.

Good luck and thanks for sharing. The animals who go through the worst of times with us are the hardest to lose. I’ll think of you from time to time when [name]Clem[/name] is being especially sweet and send happy thoughts your way.

12

I saw this on the Net and thought of you:
“There is a cycle of love and death that shapes the lives of those who choose to travel in the company of animals. It is a cycle unlike any other. To those who have never lived through its turnings and walked its rocky path, our willingness to give our hearts with full knowledge that they will be broken seems incomprehensible. Only we know how small a price we pay for what we receive; our grief, no matter how powerful it may be, is an insufficient measure of the joy we have been given.” ~[name]Suzanne[/name] Clothier

13

I’d never read it, and I love it. [name]How[/name] true. Thank you. :slight_smile:

14

You have some great names. Honestly i think naming pets is harder then children! (if your serious about finding the ‘right’(perfect) choice.) I have a few girl names but my boy names for dogs and cats is so meagre… i have a question on this forum posted today. it would be great if you could answer it?

15

[name]Pandora[/name] just seems to fit her!!

I’m so sorry for your loss. It is very hard to lose a pet. :(. [name]Hope[/name] this new spunky kitty will heal your heart!