Explain your cat's name

AmandaRox

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As much as I would love to adopt from a shelter, that place makes me sick to my stomach. No way could I go there and pick 1-2 knowing the rest are at risk of being put down. Thank goodness there are plenty of barns near me that have tons of kittens living in them. I atleast can save some from even going to that place. Out of all the animals my husband and I have had over the last 23 years, we've only paid for one. Don't find many Alaskan Malamutes in shelters so we had to go the breeder route but made sure it wasn't a backyard breeder type situation.
It is so hard not to take them all home. The ones that aren't weened are vulnerable but they wont euthanize them yet. I think the ones who are weened but not yet old enough for vacc and neuter are the most at risk. (5-8 weeks?) I had to choose from 4 😥 and if I didnt live in a trailer I would have taken them all
 

Whenallhellbreakslose

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As much as I would love to adopt from a shelter, that place makes me sick to my stomach. No way could I go there and pick 1-2 knowing the rest are at risk of being put down. Thank goodness there are plenty of barns near me that have tons of kittens living in them. I atleast can save some from even going to that place. Out of all the animals my husband and I have had over the last 23 years, we've only paid for one. Don't find many Alaskan Malamutes in shelters so we had to go the breeder route but made sure it wasn't a backyard breeder type situation.
I am the same way. I would feel so sick and even guilt ridden for not "busting" the rest out of the shelter. I feel in love with ever cat and dog in the last shelter I visited. I almost couldn't leave the place.

I haven't owned a dog in a long time, but I love Huskies and Alaskan Malmutes. Gorgeous dogs. It would have been a tall order finding a A.M. at a shelter, Huskies possibly, but not A.Ms. TG you found a good breeder. I love my kitties, but really love to have some dogs as well. Perhaps one day.😊
 

DownTheLane

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Luci- I wanted a name that would be very different when shortened. Her full name is Lucifer, because she's a little devil at times, who I love dearly.

Pandora- She got this name because of where she was found. The shelter where I got her from had posted pictures of her before, she was found in a small box, taped shut. They didn't know how long she had been in there when she was found.
 

Mr. Meow

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Callisto - I'm a space nerd, so Callisto is the 3rd largest moon in the solar system, 2nd largest around Jupiter, black and white color...well kitty Callisto is black and white and her whole litter at 6wks of age was too large to stay with the other kittens.
Sophie - didn't change it when she was adopted from the shelter
Buffalo - orange and white, had a leg amputated (his buffalo wing with ranch)
Echo - had both eyes removed as a kitten when a dog fractured her skull, so her biggest way to get around is sound
Captain Jack - someone tried to kill his whole litter, they tried to crush his skull and he lost an eye and teeth on the same side of his head, and has permanent brain damage which makes him walk drunk...so he's my one-eyed, teeth missing, drunk walking pirate cat
 

kat003

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Desa. Her previous owners surrendered her and one of her owners name happened to be Nesa. I'm assuming when we got her that's why her name was Desa and I didn't bother changing it because she responded very well to it.
 

skygem

Guardian of a little old grandpa named Rayleigh
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My baby boy came to me with the name Scar Jackson.

Jackson was the name given to him by the owners who had surrendered him to my city's animal services.

Scar was the name given to him by the fosters who had lovingly taken care of him for the two months before he found his home with me, because he had come to them with big awful scars all over his cheek and neck.

In my mind, both names had negative connotations, because they stemmed from a time in his life that obviously left a painful mark on him.

So to give him a completely fresh start in life, I gave him the name Rayleigh. Not only because I think it's a lovely name, but also because I'm a weeb and it's the name of one of my favourite anime characters 😂 I'll leave you guys to guess, but as a hint: the guy he's named after is old, strong, and has a scar over one of his eyes.
 

doomsdave

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Oh, yeah, forgot about The Tar Baby.

The OC shelter had these volunteers who socialized the kitties to keep them from getting freaky in those little cages all the time, and one of them was an African American lady, who was a lit student at Cal State Fullerton, who was holding the kitty in her lap, and I asked about the cat and she said "better get her now because someone will really fast" and she mentioned she called the kitty "Tar Baby" after the pale character in Toni Morrison's novel Sula (the official name was like "Honey Bun" or something) and she stuffed her back in the cage and the kitty reached out at me and meowed, take me take me.

Of course I did. Don't regret a New York Nanosecond, either! (Neither, apparently, does she.)

tar baby finger candy.jpg
tar baby taxes curly toes.jpg
tar baby sun goddess.jpeg
 

doomsdave

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Callisto - I'm a space nerd, so Callisto is the 3rd largest moon in the solar system, 2nd largest around Jupiter, black and white color...well kitty Callisto is black and white and her whole litter at 6wks of age was too large to stay with the other kittens.
Sophie - didn't change it when she was adopted from the shelter
Buffalo - orange and white, had a leg amputated (his buffalo wing with ranch)
Echo - had both eyes removed as a kitten when a dog fractured her skull, so her biggest way to get around is sound
Captain Jack - someone tried to kill his whole litter, they tried to crush his skull and he lost an eye and teeth on the same side of his head, and has permanent brain damage which makes him walk drunk...so he's my one-eyed, teeth missing, drunk walking pirate cat
Get yourself a full blooded Maine Coon, call him Titan, after that other moon (Saturn, I think).

Bless your heart as to the others! :catrub:
 

JulietteTruong

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As a baby kitten at the MSPCA, she was Teak, according to her papers. At 9 weeks old or so, she got adopted and her first owner renamed her “Snickers.” She remained “Snickers” for about a year, until she was rehomed. Her second owner renamed her “Juliette.”

About a year later, at age 2, Juliette was once again rehomed, and adopted by yours truly 🤗. I kept the name, since she felt like a Juliette! She turns 8 this year, and it’s til death do us part with me, that’s for sure.
 

JulietteTruong

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Oh, yeah, forgot about The Tar Baby.

The OC shelter had these volunteers who socialized the kitties to keep them from getting freaky in those little cages all the time, and one of them was an African American lady, who was a lit student at Cal State Fullerton, who was holding the kitty in her lap, and I asked about the cat and she said "better get her now because someone will really fast" and she mentioned she called the kitty "Tar Baby" after the pale character in Toni Morrison's novel Sula (the official name was like "Honey Bun" or something) and she stuffed her back in the cage and the kitty reached out at me and meowed, take me take me.

Of course I did. Don't regret a New York Nanosecond, either! (Neither, apparently, does she.)

View attachment 379763View attachment 379764View attachment 379765
Toni Morrison is my favorite author! Loves her name 🥰
 

enendawson

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My 8 year old cat is named Suzi, but I often call her Susan. I named her, and I tend to like "human" names for non-human animals. I think it fits her.

We just adopted a tiny, feral kitten we found in our garage a couple of weeks ago. My husband chose the name Wit first because of a character in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive books and second because she was very bite-y when we finally caught her, and thus had a "sharp mouth."

The character from the books is a man, and we just found out today that the kitten is actually a girl, but we're still calling her Wit. My husband pointed out that Wit was a title in the books, not the character's actual name. He always comes up with the more creative names.
 

Cat McCannon

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Lady Silver Belle The Destroyer, of Clan Grey Tiger, also known as Blackfoot Thunderpaws, Terror of Tiger Country.

Born with all the nobility of a barbarian aristocat, silver grey in her fur and a trill as musical as a bell, Lady Silver Belle suited her perfectly. Wrecking her toys in spectacular ways earned her the title "The Destroyer". She bears the ancient marks of Clan Grey Tiger and has claimed our dining room as her own hunting grounds, now known as Tiger Country. Unwary travelers passing through Tiger Country are in danger of being ambushed, having their ankles swatted until they pay a toll in pets or treats or are forced into servitude operating the Feathered Wand.

When the whimsey strikes her, she rips through Tiger Country and the surrounding provinces, her black feet shaking the floor like rolling thunder to remind us that while she may be a small cat, she is a large part of our lives.

 
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misty8723

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All my cats, current and RB, just kept their shelter names because they seemed to suit.

Austin was named by the woman who fostered him, she likes people names. He was adopted prior to my adopting him and they changed his name to Beethovan. They took him back to the shelter and their loss was my gain. He went back to being Austin.

Cricket was named by the woman who fostered her for a while after she made her way into the house through the doggie door with her sister was Sasha. Someone suggested the name may have come about because she has a certain purr that sounds a bit like a cricket.

RB Kitties, I don't know who named them, but their names were perfect.
Swanie, Cynthia, and Darcy
 

Heart For Cats

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I love to know why people choose the names they do for their cats, whether they are based on personalities, appearances, namesakes, or something else. Post pictures of them if you can.

The last cat I had was a brown and white spotted tabby. The minute I saw her picture on Petfinder, I knew she had to be a Bella. Aurora is hard to pronounce so it made sense to call her something else. She is beautiful in her own special way.
 

Katie M

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Charlie is named after Charlie Chaplin, my favorite filmmaker. He's "dressed" all in black, is endearing in his own weird way, and was found as a kitten wandering around alone outside-a little tramp.
charliedignified.jpeg


Selene is named after the ancient Greek personification of the moon. I'm interested in Greek mythology, and Selene's fur has different shades of grey in it, like the moon.
20210518_170708.jpg
 
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