We have 2 cats at the moment:
1 solid-black domestic shorthair, [name]Grue[/name], short for Gruesome and a reference to the videogame Zork.
1 solid white domestic shorthair, Nimbus, for the cloud, as he looks pretty much like a self-centered, sulky white cloud. He’s much fluffier and chubbier than [name]Grue[/name], who is a skinny scarecrow thing.
Great, but everyone acts like these are bafflingly difficult names and now that we have my husband’s [name]Nan[/name] living with us (she needs full-time care) she just CAN’T remember their names, and calls them… “Blackie” and “Snowy.”
I cannot BELIEVE I have cats called Blackie and Snowy, lol. So not me. I guess I should be glad its not Fluffy and Whiskers, but really?
I’m joking with my husband we should just give up - name the next tabby [name]Tiger[/name], a calico Patch, and call a dog Fido.
I’m starting to think that, with pets, there’s an argument for basic, tried-and-true names. WDYT? At least in terms of [name]Rex[/name] and Fido, I don’t think I even meet many pets named those in real life - mostly [name]Bailey[/name] and [name]Max[/name].
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 [name]Peter[/name], [name]Augustus[/name], [name]Alonzo[/name] or [name]James[/name],
Such as [name]Victor[/name] or [name]Jonathan[/name], [name]George[/name] or [name]Bill[/name] [name]Bailey[/name]–
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 [name]Plato[/name], Admetus, [name]Electra[/name], [name]Demeter[/name]–
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,
[name]Else[/name] 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 [name]CAT[/name] 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.
Redwoodfey - that is awesome! I think I heard it before many years ago, but completely forgot about it. I had a cat named [name]Rupert[/name], but he was also known as Miaoczyslaw Czarnobielski. Btw - my grandmother was [name]Leokadia[/name] and it is one of my favorite names!
Miaoczyslaw Czarnobielski is fantastic! This is probably one of my favorite poems, from one of my favorite writers T.S. [name]Eliot[/name]. And yay for [name]Leokadia[/name]! My boyfriend and I are loving it right now. Did your gran go by a nickname or did people call her [name]Leokadia[/name]? We’re unsure if it’s suitable for a modern girl, and have it in the middle for now, but we’re both interested in using it as a first name. It just seems like a lot of name, but we aren’t crazy about [name]Leo[/name] on a girl or [name]Kadi[/name]/a. I wonder if [name]Kit[/name] would work? I find [name]Kit[/name] quite cute. Hmm…
[name]Leokadia[/name] is an awesome name. I just wrote something in praise of [name]Leocadia[/name] not that long ago. Feminine but rollingly powerful.