Training two cats to come by name

hennends

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We pick up our two kittens in a few weeks.

We plan to do some basic behavior training, including being able to call them by name.

How different do the names need to be for the cats to be able to discern them? For example, we're considering the names Nicolette and Cosette, but also wonder if the sound of them are too close together for the cats to be able to discern.

Any thoughts? Thanks.
 

vince

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The two names have a long "O" and an "-ette" at the end. I would try to choose names with a different strong vowel and ending. Perhaps trying to limit the name to a single syllable or two might be better, too.

Now, that being said, I didn't apply any of the rules to the naming of my cats. They sometimes answer to "kitty," but that's hit or miss. The only word that reliably brings them in is "hungry."
 

Morpheus1967

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Those are pretty darn close together, especially since the Ni part of Nicolette is "soft", and then you hit the hard C. So they really could be hearing Colette and Cosette. I would even have a hard time discerning between the two.
 
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hennends

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Yes, our previous cat (Miette) was most often referred to as "Kitty" or "Kitty Cat".
 
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