Explain your cat's name

Talien

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Callie, Fresca, and Alana were the names they had when I adopted them and I didn't really see a reason to change them. Patch was missing her right eye when I rescued her, and I like descriptive names.
 

MissClouseau

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I named Hima after (Hi)gh (Ma)intenance but later learned it is a word in some languages like in Armenian it means Now, in Japanese it means leisure time.
:purr:

Before I accepted she has already adopted me and I adopted her back, she was a street cat I take care of in my yard. I guess she would be considered an outdoor cat as she was there every day and I did her everything. Back then I called her Kedicim which translates to like My Cattie. When I officially adopted her I wanted a different name both because other cats looked at me when I said Kedi, and also because Kedicim reminded me of sad things like she was a street cat for a while and I could have offered her more sooner.
 

SueJenn

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My new kitty is named Charlie. I was feeding him at a store near my home ( we have brought him inside now however ) and couldn’t tell if he was a male or female. We figured Charlie could be used for either one !!!
 

vince

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Meep's name is onomatopoetic. She made a loud noise like that from the time I found her under my car. Gradually, she lost the Meep, but still has a raucous, kvetchy meow.

Sir-Eats-A-Lot was named "Norman" at the shelter. It didn't work for him, and he was pretty lazy, so I called him "Captain Marvel." He turned out to just be sick (had a URI). Once that was fixed, he just wanted to eat, so I called him "Feed Me." Some contractors were working around the house and started calling him "Sir-Eats-A-Lot," which stuck.

Chesterfield was just "Chester" at the shelter. That name worked okay for him, but since his companion was a knight of the realm, I decided he needed a little more class, hence "Chesterfield."
 

NY cat man

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Our cats were feral street cats that we adopted,turning them into indoor-only cats
Burdock- a clinger, and we had already used Velcro on a tuxedo that had crossed the bridge
Prancer- our little queen bee that doesn't walk, but instead prances wherever she goes
Digger- she would come under our back fence to feed, and every few feet would stop, sit, and dig behind her ears. Also, when she used Michele's flower beds as a bathroom, she excavated a hole large enough for a small child
Stretch- same as Digger, only he would stretch to his full length. Also, he is long and lanky
Bashful- she was, and is, bashful. She was the last of her littermates- Digger and Stretch- to allow us to touch or pet her
Miss Eleanor- she was named by our late neighbor, who died of cancer, so we kept the name in her honor
 

Joan M

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I got my first cat ever when my sons were still home. I walked into a Petco never having owned a cat and walked out with an orange tabby from a rescue who had decided I was his. The boys named him Reuben after the character in Oceans Eleven. Several years later I got a black cat from the SPCA to keep him company and named her Belladonna, shortened to Bella. When Bella and then Reuben died, I was never going to get another cat. Then there was this feral outside, who kept coming around to be fed. I had to stand guard over her and her food to keep a big tom at bay which another neighbor was feeding so she could eat what I put out. Somehow she needed the name Mia, so I started calling her that. She came whenever I called. I brought her in and she is currently transitioning from feral to indoor cat, chilling in my basement, greeting me when I bring her food down or go down to visit, and coming upstairs after the dog and I have gone into my room for the night.


Bella and Reuben.jpg Mia relaxing (2).jpg
 

doomsdave

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Tar Baby aka Girl Friend and Honeybun was named by a lady at the shelter (an African American lady, a grad student of literature) who called her that after a character in the novel Sula. I'd read the book, too. One of the characters was an African American boarding house owner who had a boarder who was a blond white guy she called Tar Baby.

Best part is that, once Tar Baby decides she likes you, she'll sit on or near you, talking so sweetly and lovably. I have to say, she's probably my favorite kitty, heaven help me. For now, I can have six, maybe more . . . .

Here, she's helping me with my taxes.
tar baby taxes curly toes.jpg


Here, she's a glorious sun goddess.
tar baby sun goddess.jpeg


Here, she's keeping my bed warm for me.

tar Baby.jpg
 

NY cat man

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Tar Baby aka Girl Friend and Honeybun was named by a lady at the shelter (an African American lady, a grad student of literature) who called her that after a character in the novel Sula. I'd read the book, too. One of the characters was an African American boarding house owner who had a boarder who was a blond white guy she called Tar Baby.

Best part is that, once Tar Baby decides she likes you, she'll sit on or near you, talking so sweetly and lovably. I have to say, she's probably my favorite kitty, heaven help me. For now, I can have six, maybe more . . . .

Here, she's helping me with my taxes.
View attachment 324835

Here, she's a glorious sun goddess.
View attachment 324836

Here, she's keeping my bed warm for me.

View attachment 324837
I don't know about you, but I first encountered 'tar baby' in the Uncle Remus tales about B'rer Fox and B'rer Bear and B'rer Rabbit
 

Jemima Lucca

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Bynx was once Batman (in the shelter) but as much as I love comic characters, I just didn't want to keep it. I also found he has too much personality and almost human qualities so I wanted a more "human" name. So when I remembered the character from Hocus Pocus (a human cursed to be a cat forever) Binx, a black cat...it just fit.
View attachment 324464
Lily, was formerly Lila at the shelter. And although it was a pretty name, I felt she needed something not quite as "mature" sounding. She's a pretty, tiny, delicate little fuzzball and needed an equally fitting name. One of my favorite flowers is Lily of the valley, and so that is where the name Lily was born.
View attachment 324465
Chester was formerly Atticus at the shelter. I had zero attachment to that name, and it just didn't fit for us. Our late cat Hank, was named Chester at the shelter we got him, and we did love the name, but my husband SO wanted to call him Hank, and I loved that for him as well, but we loved the name Chester and said we would use it the next time we got a cat that it suited. So when "Atticus" chose us at the shelter, we both looked at him and said at the same time, "he would be a great Chester", so the rest is history, and we had to bring him home. Chester is on the right, (Lily on the left).
View attachment 324466


This is our Hank (RIP)
View attachment 324469
You have a female ginger cat? Amazing 😉
 

neely

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The shelter had named "Carleton." :creampersian: We were going to change his name but couldn't think of anything we liked better so we kept it and it fits him to a T. Some people think he's named after the doorman in the sitcom Rhoda.:lol:

IMG_0387.jpeg
 

ArchyCat

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I currently have two cats. Both rescues off the yard.

The first is Mamie, a small, classic torte. I live near Houston, Tx. Hurricane Ike came onshore near me, and the state government urged people to evacuate. And many people did. The last of Ike cleared out on a Sunday. The electricity was out. Monday morning, I heard a single, loud scream at 6 am. I went out side to find the source. My neighbors had found a young cat that had sought refuge from the wind and rain hiding in the suspension of a car. The scream had been my neighbor pulling the cat from behind the car wheel. The neighbor's wife was allergic to cats and she was already flushed and sneezing. So I adopted the cat. And Mamie was the nickname for Ike (president)'s wife.

My second cat is Walker, a very well marked tuxedo. He was a neighborhood stray. And when the women in the neighborhood walked their small dogs, Walker would walk with them. Many of us fed him. One day, a neighbor told me that Walker had been attacked and injured by a Rotweller dog. So I picked him, up and took him to the vet. After he was healed, I brought him home and now he is an inside cat. He is a very affectionate cat. Sleeps with me, proximity depending on the air temperature.

Apologies for the long explanations.
 

Jemima Lucca

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The shelter had named "Carleton." :creampersian: We were going to change his name but couldn't think of anything we liked better so we kept it and it fits him to a T. Some people think he's named after the doorman in the sitcom Rhoda.:lol:

View attachment 324861
I completely agree that your cat sporting the gentleman’s name “Carleton” should be his! He’s a very handsome fellow :hearthrob::creampersian:
 

NY cat man

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I currently have two cats. Both rescues off the yard.

The first is Mamie, a small, classic torte. I live near Houston, Tx. Hurricane Ike came onshore near me, and the state government urged people to evacuate. And many people did. The last of Ike cleared out on a Sunday. The electricity was out. Monday morning, I heard a single, loud scream at 6 am. I went out side to find the source. My neighbors had found a young cat that had sought refuge from the wind and rain hiding in the suspension of a car. The scream had been my neighbor pulling the cat from behind the car wheel. The neighbor's wife was allergic to cats and she was already flushed and sneezing. So I adopted the cat. And Mamie was the nickname for Ike (president)'s wife.

My second cat is Walker, a very well marked tuxedo. He was a neighborhood stray. And when the women in the neighborhood walked their small dogs, Walker would walk with them. Many of us fed him. One day, a neighbor told me that Walker had been attacked and injured by a Rotweller dog. So I picked him, up and took him to the vet. After he was healed, I brought him home and now he is an inside cat. He is a very affectionate cat. Sleeps with me, proximity depending on the air temperature.

Apologies for the long explanations.
None needed.
 

Krienze

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Jemima Lucca Jemima Lucca , in case you haven't seen them previously, here are our ginger female babies:
PrancerView attachment 324892Miss EleanorView attachment 324894BashfulView attachment 324895
Oh my! They are all gorgeous! Bashful's eyes are absolutely stunning! Makes me miss my orange cat! He was my best buddy! His name was Oliver (he passed away years ago! But man, I loved that cat!)

Oliver's name came from the movie Oliver and Company. I had just seen it the night before we adopted him, lol. And I was like, 8 or something. He passed away when I turned 20. I still miss him today! He was an awesome cat.

Your kitties are so pretty though! I'm still in awe of Bashful's eyes.

This is my Oliver!
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