WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Shakespeare wrote: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

I don't know about the smell, but no matter what name we call our kitties by, they are certainly just as sweet. I have always been intrigued by how and why people name their cats the things they do. Some are obvious: Sugar, Spice, seasons, colors, dispositions, where they were found/adopted, etc.

And then you have the ones that are head-scratchers: CowBoy, Blizzard, Calliope, Jupiter, Tater, Diesel, Stuffing, Slappy, Black Bear Junior.  

There are also the ones that make you go: awwwwww! For example, Purrl, Pretty Girl, Moustache Mike, Precious, Tulip, and Beau.

My husband always says that picking a name for a cat we've adopted is more complicated and fraught with arguments than the Paris Peace Talks. There are usually three different very strong opinions (there being three of us in the family). It's more a battle of attrition than a reaching of an accord. One or more of us usually just gives up and lets the other(s) have their way.

The last several cats we've adopted have been named after Greek/Roman gods or other characters from mythology, the Bible, or some foreign dynasty. One was (full name) Thor Caesar Rinaldo the Thunder Kitty, one was Leda (look it up), Ming, and Micah (whom we mostly called Squishy (because she was).  

I would love to know what you've named your kitties and why. It's interesting to see how many of you just keep the name the cat had when they were in the shelter or rescue. 

We all know that cats don't really care what you call them, "as long as you call them in time for dinner" (as my sainted grandmother used to say. They stubbornly refuse to come when called, mostly ignore you when you mention their names, and couldn't care less what their original names were before you adopted them.

That's what we love about them, though, isn't it? Their individuality, their eccentricities, their indifference, their occasional affection, and their nonchalance. It's a challenge to win their hearts, to get their attention, and to see which of the humans in the family becomes their "favorite". 

Drop me a comment and let me know what your kitties' names are, why you named them what you did, and which of you in the family are the "favorites". If you are enjoying my blog posts, please share them, and please follow Kitty Konversations. We're all about the felines.