How did you come up with a name for your pets. I got my cat Monster from the vets. I went in and

[applegrove]

asked if they had any pets and they said no. Then they said we do have one. He was found on the side of a highway and his name was South Park. I met him and he seemed very shy but sweet. He was two years old and they had just fixed him so he got a long dose of the alpha male hormones. As I was leaving the vets they said "oh, by the way don't touch him on his behind and if you can't keep him we'll take him back". I got him home and he was sweet for a week. He loved to curl up in bed and purr and purr. Then he got mad one night and attacked and tried to bite me hard (he is missing one of his fangs so he couldn't draw blood). He just would get angry for some reason and get mad and not be able to control himself. He's stare at my shoulder and I knew that meant he had to attack. But he was so sweet. I had PTSD and would occasionally get upset too. So I kept him. But I named him Monster. And he had calmed down quite a bit since those early days. Now he attacks less than once a month.

[TZ]

1. LOL- nothing nearly that interesting

The friend who found my cats as feral kittens in his yard had just had a grandchild with a name I had always loved...Sophie...Her sister was another gray cat and I wanted a similar sounding name..so Smokie. I think Sophie and Smokie has some flow...

[applegrove]

2. It does flow.

[HopeHoops]

3. Well, my current one was easy - Gandalf. The cat before was also easy.

I had a dog named Odi. I opened the door one day and an orange cat is sitting outside with a "where's the lasagne" look on his face. Hmm. Garfeeld. I like alternative spellings.

And for the record, he did like lasagne.

[Archae]

4. Lucky has quite the story.

I stopped a pack of wild dogs from attacking her, and while checking her for any injuries, (she had none,) I saw she was declawed.

I brought her home, said "You sure are lucky I found you."
Hence the name Lucky.

Charlotte had that name when I first got her from a lady who's daughter was horribly allergic, they found out.



Most cats though will name themselves, if you think about it.
Lucky, your Monster, etc.

[erinlough]

5. I have a cat like that.

I think it is because his mother was abusive! I kid you not she would hold that kitten down and clean him until we had to remove him from her, screeching all the way. Well, he decided to live with us, instead of next door where he was born, and we named him Monkey Butt, because he got some kind of infection at one point where he looked like he was going to have to be put to sleep. I took him in to have it done and after $359 and a week stay he came home. His butt needed to be shaved and it was bright red and looked like a baboon. He is now 14 years old and more mellow, but he still spazzes out every now and then when I forget and pet him anywhere else than his head or give him more than three pats.

[thirtiesgirl]

6. Well...

Over 10 years ago, I got suckered into going over to a former co-worker's house just to LOOK at the kittens her neighbor's cat had. I ended up going home with a little all black boy kitten who I fell in love with from the first moment I saw him. Because he was all black, my first thought was to name him after the black panther, Bagheera, in Walt Disney's Jungle Book movie. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that I always tend to shorten my pet's names and give them cute, goofy nicknames. Meaning, if I named my kitten "Bagheera," I'd most likely shorten it and end up calling him "Baggy." I didn't think that was such a cute name for a cat. I wanted him to have kind of an exotic name, since, after all, he *is* a black cat. But Bagheera wasn't it.

So, as I was driving away from my co-worker's house, kitten in tow, I happened to drive past a Thai restaurant called Thai Momo. I thought that was a cute name. It was kind of exotic, and it was short enough that I wouldn't need to shorten it any further to turn it into a nickname... so Momo he became.

It wasn't until a few months later that I remembered Robert DeNiro's character in the movie Casino, referring to 'stupid' Mormon gamblers as "momos," as in "you fuckin' momo!" So I started saying that to my cat for a while whenever he'd do something bad...and sometimes even when he wouldn't. "You fuckin' momo!" Yeah. :eyes: A few months later, a Japanese neighbor told me that "momo" means "peach" in Japanese, and I eventually grew out of the "you fuckin' momo!" thing.

I've still continued to give him nicknames over the years. Apparently that tendency just doesn't go away. After I saw the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha," in which there's a character called Hatsumomo, I started calling him "CATsumomo." I've also given an ethnic twist to his nicknames: Momuleh (after the Yiddish "bubbuleh"); Momito (like the Latin name Paquito); and Shmomo (again, after the Yiddish name Shlomo). Lately, I've given him a completely unrelated nickname, Shmooperbooboo, and I have no idea where I got it. I sometimes shorten it to "Shmoopsie." :blush: What can I say? He's the love of my life and we sometimes do stupid shit for the ones we love.

A few months after I adopted Momo, I decided to adopt a playmate for him and brought home another little black kitty from a local cat adoption. She'd been found abandoned as a kitten and had been fostered by a family who have so many cats in their home that they name all of them after the 50 states to help keep track of them all. Her name was Tennessee. I didn't think that name really suited her, though, so I named her after one of my favorite jazz vocalists, Ella Fitzgerald, and also after one of my favorite Cocteau Twins songs, "Ella Megalast Burls Forever." So, yeah, I named her Ella.

She's earned her share of nicknames over the years, too, the main one being Princess EllaBell, or Princess EllaBella. I often call her Principesa (Italian for 'princess'), Princess Kitty, Miss Kitty (usually when she's being kind of snotty and standoffish), Bella (usually when she's being chatty, since she tends to bell when she meows - as in, a high, meowing cry), Miss Pussycat (when she's being a sweetheart, as she often is), and Fuzzy Muffin... because when she sits down with her legs tucked underneath her, her haunches kind of remind me of a fuzzy chocolate muffin.

...Yes, you now know the embarrassing truth, that I'm a complete goober when it comes to my cats. Now onto some kitty pics.

The gruesome twosome: Momo and Ella (no nicknames).



Momo in his younger years. ...Separated at birth?



Ella, basking in the sun with her basilisk stare.



Momo where he shouldn't be: in the shoe basket.



Oy. Crazy cat lady? Me? Never! :D

[applegrove]

8. Momo is a great name. Happens to be my favourite food. Tibetan momo recipe:

http://www.yowangdu.com/tibet/tibetan-food-recipes/tibetan-dumplings.html

[Bertha Venation]

7. No one wants to hear how we named 11 cats. TL;DR

Do you have any pictures of Monster?

[applegrove]

10. Here he is Bertha. Monster is the big one. Twilight the kitten.

[thirtiesgirl]

31. SQUEEEEE!!!

I love a black kitten! Twilight reminds me so much of my babies when they were kittens. Adorable!

[Bertha Venation]

39. Ooh, they're both beautiful.

But I just love Monster. Thank you. :)

[madinmaryland]

9. Here is the background on our three cats names:

1.) Roosevelt - I got to name him and chose a democratic icon. I was going to name him Clinton, which may actually have fit better, but you all can fill in the blank on that one. :evilgrin:

2.) Panda - He is a black and white cat that has panda-like splotches.

3.) Sonia - That is the name that Flaxbee (DU'er) gave her before we adopted her. She has not explained that to me.

:hi:

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. Well, the two I have had since I was married had a mother named "Pepper." I was making

pretzels when hubby brought them home, so the orange guy became "Pretzel" and his sis was "Pickles" to keep with the P food names. LOL (And also because I loved the book "Pickles the Fire Cat")

[Lisa0825]

12. The rescue I work with has a strict rule.... no silly pet names.

No Fluffy or Spot or Lucky. All residents are named with "people names"

So half of mine came named already, probably with names of their rescuers or their family members. The other half are from a momma cat I rescued right before she gave birth, and I named them (all girls) after famous women I admire...

The ones I have named include:
Molly (Ivins - adopted)
Maggie (Margaret Sanger - adopted)
Ann (Richards - adopted)
Shirley (Chisholm)
Sylvia (Earle (Ocean explorer))

The daughter of a former volunteer once asked me how we named them all (we have about 300 cats at the sanctuary) and I told her how I named mine. She replied excitedly, "So I can name a kitty after Condoleezza?! Cool!!"

[applegrove]

13. Poor cat to be named condoleezza LOL!

[MiddleFingerMom]

14. I never named my cats.

.
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.
Oh... when I had TWO cats, I named them Blackcat and Graycat, just so
folks would know who I was talking about.
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And my last cat (who I lost just over a year ago and still can't keep
from tearing up when I think of her --- DAMMIT harrumph).
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People kept pestering me to name her, so I finally gave in.
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NoName.
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.
Except pronounced faux Native American style.
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.
No-nah-m'HAY.
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.
DAMMITDAMMITDAMMIT harrumph.
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.

[MiddleFingerMom]

15. I'm better already. I got MYSELF to laughin' by remembering another pet name.

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Not a pet's name, but my German ex-wife's pet name for a certain body part of mine.
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Fido.
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When she first came up with the name, I thought "That's really weird. Cute, but really WEIRD".
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I finally couldn't stand not knowing anymore and asked her flat out, "Why FIDO?"
.
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.
.
She had read "The Godfather" and was really impressed with one of the character's Sicilian description
of an orgasm as "the little death".
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.
The character's name (perfectly pronounced as "Fido" by someone with a German accent)?
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Vito.
.
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
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.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. Milo is named Milo just because it sort of fit.

Pixie is kind of pixie-ish. And Jeoffry is named after the cat in the poem Jubilate Agno by the 18th-century poet Christopher Smart. He wrote the poem while incarcerated in a lunatic asylum.

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his Way.
For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer
...

For when his day's work is done his business more properly begins.
For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary.
For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.
For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.

For he is of the Tribe of Tiger.
For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.
For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.
For he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.
For he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he’s a good Cat.
For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.
For every house is incompleat without him and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.

I'm not religious, but I love this poem.

[sakabatou]

17. OK

My dog was named after the fictional character, "Hank the Cowdog." He died a few years ago.

My current cat is named after the the fictional character, Yoruichi Shihouin.

[OrwellwasRight]

18. Character from the Pink Panther movies with Peter Sellers

I had previously had a cat named Clousseau (Peter Sellers' character). My current cat is named after Clousseau's butler and sparring partner Kato.

[Flaxbee]

19. We had a Kato! He was a gray tabby

and he was fierce. Love Peter Sellers.

[OrwellwasRight]

20. I always get asked if she is named after Kato Kaelin.

I HATE that.

[pokerfan]

21. I use Greek philosophers

Archimedes, Zeno, Democritus, Protagorus, Pythagoras, Epicurus... Of course, the longer names tend to wind up getting shortened in use.

[Crystal Clarity]

22. Ah, cute story.

And funny because ironically I call my SO 'Monster'. But for an entirely different reason. lol!

My 18 yr old cat 'Lydia' became 'Mouse' very early on. I consider 'Lydia' her Christian name :crazy: but Mouse is what everyone goes by. For one thing, she is almost entirely grey except for her little white 'bib' and 'mittens'. Plus she used to have a bit of a wild streak in her and would run about w/hugely dilated pupils giving her a bit of a 'Mousy' look... in an endearing way of course!

And my 10 yr old german shepherd 'James' (HIS Christian name btw... lol)- is called all sorts of things. Some of the nicer ones are Jim, Jimmy, Jimmy Dog, Jimmy D, Stinker, Stinkpot, Pig-Dog, Piglet, Piggy D, Poop Dog, Poopy D, and 'Oh-That's-Disgusting'
:rofl:

I probably ought to stop here because the rest may not sound all that kind, but we still love him dearly! Really we do! :-)

[applegrove]

23. Yes. And I forgot to say that I was the third person Monster had been

adopted to. The 3rd and last.

[KT2000]

24. Fiona - Secret of Roan Inish

the little girl in that movie, named Fiona, was no-nonsense, take care of business, and make things better.
My cat was a stray who was a working gal with a wild rabbit for a friend. They worked together on a scam where they ran off other cats who were fed outside so they could eat their food.
Nowm she leaves the house in the morning, stakes out her positions for mole and mouse catching, comes in for dinner and sacks out.

[amerikat]

25. Mose. because all tabby cats have a big fat "M" on their heads

I wanted an M name and then Mose Allison came on the radio.
Mose it was. Almost no one that doesn't know him can pronounce it.

Moose, Moses.........no it's just Mose. He knows who he is and knows his name too!

[murielm99]

26. My cat is named Claudia, after Anne Rice's baby vampire.

The first year we had her, she would stay out all night and come in the house in the morning, where she would sleep all day, just like a vampire. Also, she bit. We have mostly cured her of the biting. After that first year, she decided to become a complete house cat. She stopped asking to go outdoors. I was relieved. I think that is why she has lived to be fourteen years old. It is dangerous for cats outdoors.

My dog is named Kinsey, after Kinsey Millhone, my favorite female fictional detective.

[csziggy]

27. One time when the Humane Society had a pet booth at one of the malls

I stopped to look at the kitties. One Siamese kitten caught my eye and I picked him up. He immediately climbed up onto my shoulder, then on top of my head. I ended up naming him Tenzing for Tenzing Norgay that climbed Everest with Hillary.

Later I had a calico that I named Hillary, my hubby had a Siamese cross named Edmund, and my current kitty, another Siamese cross, is named Tashi, for Tenzing's son. None of them were/are climbers like the first of the series.

Another cat I had was named The One and Only Vanilla Ice Cream Caramel Cat because when he curled into sleeping position, he looked like a bowl of vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce drizzled over it. He was called "Nillacat" for short. When I adopted an identically marked female kitty, her name was Nillagan.

[thirtiesgirl]

32. re: cats named after food

The first cat I had when I moved to LA, a stray that had been left behind by previous tenants in the apartment building I lived in, I named Cookie Puss, after the cookie/ice cream treat (like a whoopie pie, except with ice cream instead of cream). He was a big, fluffy orange tabby, like Morris the cat from the old 9 Lives commercials. I should have named him Twinkletoes, though, because whenever he'd finish taking a good dump in the litter box, he skitter out to the living room and do this hilarious sideways dance, kind of like a crab walk, but on his tiptoes. He was a damn funny cat.

[charlie]

28. Had a cat named Squeezit

First thing I thought of doing when I met her.

[BillStein]

29. my dog would chase any male dog she saw

whether she was in heat or not, and even after she was fixed. I took her to the dog park and she would try to -uh- get it on with any male.

So I named her Sydney Biddle Barrow

[rbnyc]

30. Jones - after cat in Alien, and...

...Elliot and Beverly after twin gynecologists in Dear Ringers. But Elliot died a few years ago.

[thirtiesgirl]

33. must be seen

For cat lovers, click this link. One of the best talking cat vids I've seen. Seriously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc79iJnwvJ4

[meow2u3]

34. Background on my cats' names (very pic heavy: dial-up warning)

Ruby - I found her, or should I say, she found me, when she was an abandoned kitten. She spotted me and started purring on my lap every time she saw me. I wasn't allowed to have pets in the house I rented, so 2 weeks after she adopted me, I relented and took sneaked her in the house. I already had had a cat named Diamond, plus a diamond-and-ruby ring I got the previous Christmas, so I named her Ruby after the gems on my ring. A side note: Diamond had to be put to sleep 8 months later because she had jumped out from a 2nd-floor window and injuring herself.

Max - He's Ruby's not-so-little kitten. I couldn't get Ruby spayed because there were no low-cost spay-neuter clinics where I used to live. I was kicked out of the house in which I was staying (temporary arrangement) after I terminated the lease on the house I rented 2 months prior. Ruby escaped the house because she was in heat, hooked up with a big tom who lived in the cellar (the tom was named Hercules and was left behind by the previous occupants who moved out of state), and ended up pregnant with three kittens born Feb. 26, 2008: one male and two females, in that order.

I named the females Xena (she had that tough-girl temperament) and Elsie (she was white with gray spots); and the boy I babysat/was a nanny to named the male Max, after the Nick, Jr. Max and Ruby cartoon. From the outset, I decided to keep Max (who I renamed Kittenus Maximus), give the girls new homes, get Ruby spayed, and get Max neutered.

The little kitten is now a big (17½ lbs.), friendly, outgoing cat who'se going to be 3 in a couple of months. Kittenus Maximus really does live up to his name. Ruby is now 4 and herself a chunky 10 pounds.


Max and his littermates - 1 wk. old


Max - 3 wks old


7 wks old


Maximus - 10 wks. old


Max @ 5 mos. and Ruby @ age 3


Maximus @ 8 mos.


Maximus at age 2


Ruby - 3 mos.


Ruby - 1 yr. old


Ruby @ age 2


Ruby @ age 3

[NV Whino]

35. Millie and Grayson

Millie was found on Milton road (her brother was named Milton), and Grayson was, well, the gray son. I think these are the only two cats I left with the names they came with.


Other names have included: Boston Blackie, shortened to Boston (yep, black); 2 cats with pinkish fur were Pinkus Catterman, shortened to Pinkus (after Pincus Zuckerman) and Pink Floyd, shortened to Floyd (after...); Continuing in the musical vein at the time was Kiri TeCatawa (she sang). Earlier there was Spook because he was spooked all the time, Spike because he was a tough guy. An the best cat of all time, Ana de Mendosa, named after a 16th century, one-eyed, Spanish beauty made famous by Verdi in the Opera Don Carlos. Ms Ana had only one eye and lived to a ripe old age loving everyone indiscriminately.

[cherish44]

36. My old kitty is Elmer because he bellowed like a cow when he was a baby

Saffron McMew - She went throught a lot of names with no permenant one so I finally wrote a bunch of names on pieces of paper threw them in the air and the first one Elmer attacked was her name. So really Elmer named her. The last name..she was LeMew (after Pepe Le Pew cartoons) but we changed it to the Irish/Scottish version because she's a ginger.

Charlie McMew - My daughter named him after her student drama coach. Oh how brave he was taking on 8th graders for a drama project...Charlie, you deserve a medal.

Sandy McMew - She's a sand colored beauty like a pristine beach

Opie McMew - Couldn't decide on a name for him and just came up with Opie (he's another ginge)

Tweety McMew - (who was adopted to a loving family big THANKS to the nice people who gave him such a loving new home) as named because he chirped like a bird a lot :)

Saffie, Charlie and Sandy are still up for adoption and they are the most awesome kitties ever so if you're looking for one, let me know!


Elmer


Saffron McMew


Charlie McMew


Sandy McMew


Opie McMew (with Sandy)

[old mark]

37. Both our dog and our cat already had their names when we got them...nt

[Arkansas Granny]

38. I named my dog Sapphire because she has the most beautiful blue eyes.

While I was thinking of a name for the little feral kitten I just called her Tootsie. Nine years later, I haven't thought of anything else, so the name has stuck.

[Moondog]

40. I wait until they name themselves.

Usually an event, or a trait of behavior, drives it.

[InvisibleTouch]

41. I usually ask them.

And if I'm open to listening, they'll eventually tell me. It just comes to me like a light switch turning on, and I usually laugh out loud in delight because the answer seems totally obvious at that point.

Granted, sometimes I have "pre-conceived" names for pets. Names I've kept in reserve for years until the right pet comes along. Sometimes those work out too, but sometimes the animal won't accept that name. They don't like to be named after an animal who has already been with me before, and sometimes they won't accept even a new pre-conceived name. It just doesn't "stick." And if I'm open to their signals and not being obstinate about it, their real name will eventually come to me.

All you really have to do is ask - and listen.