BS: what did you name your cat

Subject: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Apr 17 - 07:15 PM

There are actually a couple of old Mudcat threads about the names of Mudcatters' pet cats. The threads have some delightful posts.

They are also closed.

Shall we begin anew?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Stanron
Date: 04 Apr 17 - 07:22 PM

Please not if you've named it 'UK Labour Party discussion II'

I was amused with 'Flearoy'

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 04 Apr 17 - 07:34 PM

when I got my cat way back in the 70s she was 2 years old & named Persephone aka Seffie.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 04 Apr 17 - 07:36 PM

We do not currently have any cats, but we've had a bunch of them over the years. We gave them various names, but could have saved time and energy by just naming them all "Coyote Food", which is what they all wound up being anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 03:32 AM

Oh no Bee, really? That's dreadful. We had a fox that came often to our large garden in the last house. He was a huge orange chap, and I was worried he might try to take one of our cats. But he never did. (Not sure if a fox is a match for a cat)

Right. Some of the names I can remember (long life, many cats!):-

Binky, Ginger, Sooty, Snowy, Simpson-Sam, AndyPandy, Gussie, Solo, Misty, Minty, Simon, Murphy, Smokey.

There are loads more, but this selection shows just how unimaginative I am when making up cat names.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 04:35 AM

Two funny ones sprint to mind.

Cefor and Trex.

Why do you call your cat Trex? because every time it does something wrong someone says 'That cooking fat!'

:D tG

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 04:43 AM

They actually spring to mind but they did do it very quickly...

:D tG

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Murpholly
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 04:52 AM

We took in rother and sister cats from the Cats Protection League who had been inbred. The male had six toes on each foot so we had to call him O'Sé. His sister looked permanently startled to it was obvious that she should be called O'Socht. Sadly she died at about six but he is still going strong at 11.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Rob Naylor
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 05:37 AM

Only had two. Our previous one was called Kattegat. Our current one (named by our younger daughter a few years ago) is Nick Newton Jonah Meowington (AKA Nick). Named partly after one of our freelance Supervisors.

My wife was due to take some documents to him at the airport from where he was flying out to a job so we had a photo of him stuck to the fridge so she'd recognise him. Our new mainly black kitten had a little white patch on its chin that looked just like Nick's beard, so YD insisted that we call him after the Supervisor. She added the other names "just to embarrass you when the vet calls out his name in the clinic". Didn't work, the veterinary nurse always just says "Nick please"!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jos
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 05:54 AM

Polydactyl cats:

http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/polydactyl-cats-the-felines-with-extra-toes

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jos
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 06:27 AM

A neighbour used to have a big Maine Coon cat that would escape from his cage now and then, and come and visit me. My son said he was an 'Alpha male'. It turned out his name was Alfie, which seemed spot on.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 08:00 AM

Kevetch, Boris& Natasha, Rocky ( would stalk and hold deer frozen in their tracks)

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Gallus Moll
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 08:26 AM

had a fair few cats over the years, won't list them all - J has been taken to naming them after his long-deceased great aunts and uncles!
Before that there was an Oedipus ( I think all the neighbours heard it as 'Eedapuss'?) and if I had had an overlapping female she would have been Jocatsa (OK I do know the correct name is Jocasta!)

Later we had a ginger tom we named Kilkenny who was keen on rough and tumble ('fighting like Kilkenny cats')

thread drift -- my current group of chickens are:

Speckle, Blanche, Velvet, Greysmoke. Yellowlegs, Spice, Bessie and Peter
Previous ones included Boris and Sybil,Splotch, Austin and Harry (!)Ginger, Tufty. All of whom variously succumbed over the years to Mink / Pine Marten(s) / fox and someone's Husky that slipped the lead.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 09:24 AM

We have had three cats in our lifetime - Tess, who was named after the Thomas Hardy heroine, Polly, whose first action was to climb on my shoulder and perch there like a parrot and Betsy - after Ewan MacColl's mother who befriended me when I first moved to London
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: leeneia
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 10:41 AM

Bella - so pretty
Valentine- so affectionate
Peridot - had green eyes

Re coyotes and foxes. Keep your cat inside the house, both for its health and for the sake of wild birds. Many small pets who have been supposedly killed by coyotes have actually been taken by great horned owls, which are increasing in American suburbs.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 11:06 AM

Kattegat, great name!

Mittens (not my idea), Max (also), then I started naming them - Garlic, Sebastianne (because all litters have a Sebastian in them) who was called Basta, Pheobe and Sophia (light and wisdom), Galya (after my granny, pr. Gaia), and Fudge (aka Little Puss). Don't know what happened to Mittens, Garlic and Basta died on the highway, Pheobe and Sophia ran away, Galya and Fudge died old, we haven't gotten a new cat yet. I'm a dog person without the time for a dog.

Right now I have inherited a giant tiger skin I was looking for a name for, thinking something Kzinti. How will a cat like that, I wonder?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 11:06 AM

Also, if a bird can take a cat, more power to the bird.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Mooh
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 11:19 AM

Current cat is George. Previous cat was Beatrice. Before that, Boots.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Mitch the Bass
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 01:18 PM

Mikka - Northern English for "My Cat".

Mitch

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 01:59 PM

I once saw a cat jump six feet high with 3 full rotations to snag a   bird in midflight.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 03:07 PM

My kid hath dubbed the tiger skin Hobbes. Now I'm really afraid of it. Decoy tuna fish sandwiches, I think.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: DMcG
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 03:20 PM

My wife has always had two cats. The first to were named Koshka (which i was told is russian for cat), The other was called Trotsky. So we often stood at the back door shouting "Trotsky!"

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: ranger1
Date: 05 Apr 17 - 06:01 PM

My previous cat was named Caitlin. Someone dumped her in the campground at the previous state park I was working at. She was all skin and bones (which should have been my first clue she was mentally defective, the campground was swarming with slow-moving, fat, simple-minded rodents) and had recently given birth. We never found the kittens, I suspect they were probably still-born due to how emaciated she was. She wasn't supposed to come home with me, but Animal Control never called me back after repeated voicemail messages were left. So she came home "just for the night". I should have known better. I should have realized that cat had found a permanent home before I even left work for the night. We'd been feeding her small amounts canned cat food every couple of hours, and at the end of my shift, she had stretched out full-length along the top of my desk, put a paw out on my left arm while I was filling out my end-of-day reports, and gone to sleep, purring happily to herself.

I took her to the vet the next day, to make sure she didn't have anything contagious that my landlord's cats might catch, and while at the vet asked J-boy if we could keep her. He said "NO! She's mean to the dog!" Which then led to my asking if he'd give it a week and think it over (and promising not to say another word about it until he made his decision, which I kept to). Two days in, he asks me if we should call her something other than "Hey You" or "Kitty-Kitty". I said: "no, you don't name things you're not keeping" and left it at that. Day four rolled around and we were on our way home from the bar and he said "I think we should name her Caitlin." I looedk at him and said: "well, I guess that means we're keeping her."

Later, I asked him where he got the name. Turns out, he was reading a book about Caitlin Thomas at the time.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Thompson
Date: 06 Apr 17 - 03:49 AM

A friend had a Chairman Miaou

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 06 Apr 17 - 04:03 AM

Some very imaginative and clever names on here, I feel mine are a bit pathetic. But I always tried to find names that one could call easily and not make the neighbours die laughing. My friend had a cat called Aristoteles, and she admitted she felt mighty silly calling that from her back door to get her cat in.
One of our neighbours here in the village has two cats, Marmite and Spirit. I'd feel a bit daft shouting "Marmite!" but I notice she's reduced it to 'Marmie'.
I have a very thick folder full of photos and Pedigree charts of all my many cats. (The strays I've taken in have no pedigree of course) But I get a bit tearful looking at them all. So much love from them for so many years...

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: olddude
Date: 06 Apr 17 - 11:26 AM

Wilma and betty.. My two Bob tail cats.. Sadly both passed and I am kitty less at the moment

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Apr 17 - 11:50 AM

Let's see:

My first cat was Emmeline Pankhurst, a noted punisher of the tomcats who strolled the German village where I lived at the time.

Years later, when I finally managed to escape apartment house living, Black Maria and her sister Batsy came into my life, quickly followed by Perdita (also black), a foundling kitten we raised on Carnation milk and weaned on Cream of Wheat. Batsy disappeared in a snowstorm at the age of about three and Maria was struck by a car at five; Perdita lived to be 19, and died of a stroke in the act of leaping for the kitchen table.

Alexander the Great, another desperate stray, was a long-haired sand-coloured tomcat of substantial size; he, too, died young, of kidney stones. Lucy was a black-and-white stunted starveling found hunting for food in a garbage can behind a convenience store; when we started feeding her, she grew to the size of a hassock, though her early privations led to bone deformities and, later in life, crippling arthritis. She lived well into her teens and died of breast cancer, of all things.

Cecil was yet another stray, a black tomcat who marched into the house when I took the garbage out and left the door open. I named him after Cecil Rhodes because he was small and pushy, but he turned out to be a real charmer. He died at five of pancreatic disease. A few months later, Bill arrived at the back door, hammering with his paws and meowing loudly for rescue. He was filthy, sick, wounded and starving, he had clearly had enough of life on the street. Bill was named after W.H. Davies, author of the Victorian memoir "Diary of a Super Tramp".

After Bill came Rosie, originally known as Tokyo; we added Rose because who could call a cat Tokyo?. Rosie is a Tortoise-shell Point Oriental Shorthair (she looks like a Siamese with a bad streak job) who was foisted on us by the wife of my old college buddy James. Rosie left our household three years later because, after Bill's death, she took to being the only cat in the house with a too much enthusiasm; when we acquired two kittens, Watson and Isobel (now three and a half years old and running the joint), she terrorized them to the point of breaking down their litter training. Rosie is now the light of an aging bachelor's life, having been adopted by an old school pal of my brother's.

Watson and Isobel are the current incumbents, two black cats from a litter of nine in which all the male kittens were given names beginning with W; we were just thankful that we didn't end up with Wendell. Isobel was originally named Cupcake, which we thought she would grow out of, so we renamed her for Isobel Bayrakdarian, who is also dark and beautiful.

And that's the lot of them -- so far!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Will Fly
Date: 06 Apr 17 - 01:23 PM

We only had the one cat, when I was about8 or 9, found as a lost kitten by my father at the paper mill where he worked.

It was grey all over. We called him Smoky Joe.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Apr 17 - 05:38 PM

Othercat.

We had several house kitties-- full on pets-- but she was a treasured stray who haunted and patrolled the back porch. Till she showed up preggers so we caught her, raised the litter, found them homes except one, spayed her, and gave her an indoor domain to share with her very tall, terminally stupid and generally hapless son Tip. She never has gotten a 2nd name.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: ranger1
Date: 06 Apr 17 - 06:04 PM

Current cat is Kaylee, named after a character from the short-lived but brilliant TV series Firefly. Yes, I am a nerd.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: beeliner
Date: 06 Apr 17 - 09:12 PM

I call my cat Buda because he's such a Pest.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Anne Lister
Date: 07 Apr 17 - 04:54 PM

Had two kittens brought into the household when I was sharing a house in London years back with Bonnie Shaljean and others - one we thought was female and who was cute and delicate we called Felicity, and the other we thought was her brother and a bit clumsy and ungainly and we called that one Dunstable. Later discovered both were female, but we'd got used to calling her Dunstable by then.
Current cats - Persia (well, I'm not sure how she spells it) chose her own name. She'd been a rescue cat and had been called Mrs Fairford at the shelter, but as she was only a kitten that seemed wrong. We tried names out beginning with "purr" as she was beginning to demonstrate how loudly she could do that and when we reached "Persia" she said "ow", or words to that effect, and did that repeatedly each time we said the name, so that's who she is. We had a Bengal cross kitten for a while and he was Fitzroy as he was the offspring of a pedigree Bengal male and pedigree Burmese female (so the bastard son of a king). He was an adrenalin junky and tried to cross the A40 at night in December (and he was grey) ... we now have the splendid Mylo who fits his name well as again a part pedigree, quarter Bengal who is full of character. Both cats are also Mogs, Moglet, Furs and whatever other names come to mind. They know who we mean.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Mrrzy
Date: 07 Apr 17 - 06:06 PM

Phoebe and Sophia were bobtails. All others calico or torties.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Apr 17 - 06:33 PM

When one buys a pedigree cat which is registered with the UK General Cat Fancy, the breeder has their own prefix followed by their choice of name. Ours were/are all pedigree Siamese cats. One breeder had Tintally as their prefix, and our little Minty was called Tintally Toluene. His brother was Tintally Othello. Another was Ashmere Augustus. Then there was Applejack Simpson. All far too posh for us, so we changed their names forthwith.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: BobL
Date: 08 Apr 17 - 04:06 AM

I once heard of a cat named Darius Miaou...

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raggytash
Date: 08 Apr 17 - 05:19 AM

The cat that visits us in Ireland has been christened Josie, a very sleek black female, who is very affectionate buts comes and goes as she pleases, we know that we are merely staff who give her food and strokes.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 08 Apr 17 - 08:31 AM

Had a lovely grey one whom we called Smoky, but she disappeared at a fairly early age.
Next one was Honey: the colour of lightest of her tortoiseshell patches.
After she died we got a tabby: at the same time our neighbours got a cat they called Oscar, so ours was named "Emmie" - award-winning names!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: gnu
Date: 08 Apr 17 - 03:43 PM

If I get another one, which I won't, I shall name it Cat and call it Fishbreath.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: olddude
Date: 08 Apr 17 - 05:45 PM

My friend Garry had one called big pussy

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Apr 17 - 06:14 PM

The Bitter End

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 08 Apr 17 - 08:12 PM

I learned a few years back that cats naturally respond to sibilant sounds ("s" and "sh") and that its a good idea to give them names which include such sounds. So, if I ever have another cat, I'm going to name it "Stupid Sorry-Assed Sack of Shit".

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 17 Apr 17 - 03:58 PM

Helen, will the cats in your household condescend to let you tell us their names? Or will they give you the cut direct, if you tell?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Newport Boy
Date: 17 Apr 17 - 05:08 PM

A rough-looking, black neutered tom, left to us when our neighbours moved abroad. We called him Fred, which seemed to fit. He liked to doze in the sun on top of the gate pillar. Passers-by were allowed to stroke him twice. If they tried a third stroke he raked his claws across the back of their hand.

If we saw a parent lift their small child to stroke the pretty pussy we turned away - we could never warn them in time.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 May 17 - 03:10 PM

Raggytash, if it pleases you and you would be so kind,
do you have a name for
the cat who is a homicidal maniac
and scared of his own shadow
but sometimes comes to you for affection's sake?

Is he the cat you had as a newborn kitten from his mother?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: JHW
Date: 09 May 17 - 03:37 PM

I had two cats; a black one and a ginger tom, arrived in the back yard one day as big kittens. The black one got entangled in paint stripper stripped paint and had to be bathed. Cats can hover, wider than a bath. Meanwhile the ginger tom sat alongside shrugging its shoulders. Black cat disappeared and never returned. Ginger (ex)tom stayed all its days.
Called Roland.
Two children (1 of each) from somewhere down the street would knock on the door and ask if they could play with Roland, who was happy to oblige.
Years later one day in the Laundrette in came a beautiful woman with red hair. "Don't you remember me?" No. "I used to come and play with Roland"

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 May 17 - 03:47 PM

I get lots of children wanting to stroke our two cats. I often sit on the garden bench in the front of the house with Smokey and Murphy, and the children come along for a few minutes' time with us after school. They relax and tell me all about their day, while the cats get longer and longer on the bench enjoying the attention.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: leeneia
Date: 09 May 17 - 04:20 PM

That's delightful, Senoufou and JHW.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jos
Date: 10 May 17 - 04:10 AM

I once had two children ask me to help them get "their" kitten down from the tree in my garden.
I pointed out that she was my kitten and that she wouldn't come down until she wanted to.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Mr Red
Date: 11 May 17 - 03:42 AM

We once had two grey strays descend on us. I suggested Smokey and Fag-Ash (cigarette ash).
I was over-ruled, so I suggested the small female was called Jessie and larger male be James.
The names stuck and a few weeks later it dawned on the household they were........


Jessi, James.


Ho Ho Ho.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 11 May 17 - 04:06 AM

'Fag-Ash'? Gah! 'Smokey' - excellent name (one of ours is 'Smokey')

The lovely little family-up-the-road have called their new ginger cat 'Ronnie', which for some reason always makes me laugh.

'Ronnie' has teamed up with 'Spirit' (cat-from-hell) who is leading him astray in a big way. They were seen together only yesterday, striding across the ridge pole on the roof of a neighbour's bungalow, trying to catch some pigeons. The lady inside said it sounded like hob-nailed boots tramping overhead.

'Spirit' already has a housemate called 'Marmite', but it appears 'Marmite' is law-abiding and boring, and they don't play together. I reckon 'Spirit' is aiming to form a gang of hoodlums. They'll probably be dealing catnip soon on the street corner.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 11 May 17 - 04:20 AM

On reflection Mr Red, shouldn't you have suggested 'Fag-Ash' and 'Lil'?

Our super neighbours' grown-up daughter came home from Uni with a nice little cat, called 'Squiggly-Diggly'. Then she changed it to 'Mr Squiggles'. The last I heard he was 'Squiggs'. He must be a bit confused!

All their cats (four now!) come and visit our two, and sometimes there's a positive herd of them stretched out on our patio!
They get on extremely well together.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: JHW
Date: 11 May 17 - 05:30 PM

'I once had two children ask me to help them get "their" kitten down from the tree in my garden.'

Children of a freind in York were afeared their ginger cat (called Ginger Cat) was stuck up a tree and called the RSPCA who wouldn't help get it down.
"But it'll die if it stays up there"
"No it won't, you never see dead cats up trees"

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Mr Red
Date: 11 May 17 - 06:08 PM

I once rescued a kitten from a tree. It was mewing endlessly and it tokk me 10 minutes to figure where it was. I got it down in a bag, and it sauntered off without any thanks. Next day it was up the adjacent tree. I waited to see if it found out how to descend. It must have, it was happy up there and I gave up.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jos
Date: 12 May 17 - 04:55 AM

Not cats this time, but ...
There was a report in a local paper once about some people who decided to keep chickens. The chickens arrived, and in the evening the people went out to shut them up for the night, only to find that the chickens were perched up a tree in the garden - so the people called the fire brigade to rescue them, as they 'had got stuck up the tree'.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 May 17 - 11:22 AM

refresh

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 14 May 17 - 02:46 PM

My son's fiancee called theirs Bowie after you-know-who! So now they've just moved house from a top floor city flat, where Bowie could only get outside via 2 cat-flaps to a house in a rural location, where he can roam and hunt to his heart's delight. Bowie is probably thinking "Is there life on Mars?" Or maybe he's transformed into Major Tom if there are any lucky lady cats about?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Roz
Date: 14 May 17 - 10:25 PM

My little cat, who found me when she was nearly paralyzed, only a few days out from dying of feline leukemia, was named Bonnie Raitt.

There is a mostly feral cat who lives in the woods near me and drinks some water on my porch from time to time. I call that cat 'Little Wildcat'.

And of course there was a cat I cat-sat in the long-term. A rescue with behavior issues. Named Fig, I called him Newton, and broke him of his terrible habit of peeing in the sink.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 15 May 17 - 03:33 AM

Spirit and Ronnie are terrorising the neighbourhood. Another neighbour has a pair of blackbirds in her garden, which she feeds. (They come into her kitchen and get sultanas and mince!) The two cat-hoodlums had been watching this from the top of her fence, and decided to have some fun. Luckily she caught them stalking the poor birds, and grabbed her grandson's huge water pistol thing. They got a seriously wet squooshing! (What my sister would call 'an Oh-No Moment'!)

I always see cats as cartoon characters, and find myself putting imaginary speech-bubbles over their heads. One can generally tell what they're thinking, and Spirit & Ronnie give me a good laugh. Those two will end up with an ASBO. (Anti-Social Behaviour Order)

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 May 17 - 10:23 AM

Ah, Eliza, I volunteered on another thread that your neighborhood Spirit sounded like Sam the Skull!

"Ah'm the kind of cat that strangles a rat
Or even the occasional dug"

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 15 May 17 - 11:06 AM

"...ah've got claws in ma paws like a crocodile's jaws and a heid like a fairmer's bull!"

I just love that song keberoxu! I lived in Glasgow for many years, and learned to speak Broad Glasgae.

I always laugh at 'The 'Polis stations roond aboot hae bars on the windae sull, no tae keep the prisoners in, bu tae keep oot Sam the Skull.'

I took in a ginger stray when I had a flat in the Byres Road area of Glasgow. He was renowned for mugging drunks when they came out of the fish-and-chip shop. I used to watch him from my window. He'd wind seductively round their legs,and when the rather unsteady drunks bent down to stroke him, he'd grab their piece of fish and whizz off at high speed. The men's language was terrible!
I couldn't think of a fascinating name for him, so I just called him Ginger.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Jun 17 - 06:35 PM

A German author (and composer) whose penname was E. T. A. Hoffmann had a tomcat. The tomcat became the protagonist of a wildly hallucinatory satirical novel. In real life Hoffmann was very fond of his pet cat, who died as Hoffmann was succumbing to terminal illness himself. The author was brokenhearted about the loss of the cat. The tomcat -- in German, KATER -- had the same name in the novel as in real life.

The cat's name was Murr.

I think that one's inspired,
and not just because it reminds me of Mrrzy.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your ca
From: robomatic
Date: 14 Jun 17 - 07:02 PM

A kitten followed me home in the rain when I was at school one Summer in Connecticut. I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a fraternity during Summer session. I had never had a pet but I named this one Kit and gave her her freedom, i.e. she could stay in my room but also roost on the fire escape where the litter tray was. She was developing her personality, perspicacious and affectionate. In the morning she would bounce off my chest and jump into the metal dustbin and rattle around.
You can persecute a cat and teach it fear. You can wreck its personality if your personality is warped in that way. But there is a native cat endowment of curiosity and courage, and a willingness to fight solo against unknown odds. I've seen a roll of film where a bobcat goes after a large rattlesnake. They appear to be evenly matched, the cat has no reason not to simply back away, but it goes after that snake, nails it dead, makes sure its dead, then puts its head up and walks away. It was a thing to be killed not eaten.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: rich-joy
Date: 15 Jun 17 - 10:03 PM

Our family household was never without cats, often named the ubiquitous Ginger, Tibby, or Whitey. Then along came Black Mumma, a tiny barrel who gave us Greenie & Goldie (the eyes), Smokey & Timmy, Ringo, Honky Cat & Roly-Poly & Spitty-Spatty (all self-evident!). Then came Poosie (from the book "The Kitty Poosies") & Lucy Locket (both sort of Calico cats), and Mum's last, Black Cat & Grey Cat (but known as Sooty & Susie to the Vet!).

Once in my own home, we were lucky to be adopted by the most intelligent, most loving, most unique feline ever, a Tonkinese whom I named Chinu (I was told it meant "little one" in Tamil). After a few years, she agreed to share us with a stray kitten we named Rennie (short for Renoir), who looked like she had a big black moustache painted on and was a very beautiful, long-haired Tortoiseshell.   When we left town, my sister took them on for some years and when she left town, my Mother took them to the Family home and loved them dearly, until they eventually returned to Source.

In my new state, we adopted a grey tabby stray whom we named Harry, a delightful boy who liked evening strolls with you, up the road and back - and his sister, Pretty-Kitty.   Also her kits, Tulla (a ginger, for Tullamore Dew whiskey) and tortoiseshell Matty (short for Matisse). They were all re-adopted when we moved and next came the stray Mordy (short for Mordacious) and Lloyd (Welsh for grey-haired one). Then we were neighbours to Smudge, a very large, food-addicted, black and white boy whose father was a Turkish Van, so the fur was soft with an undercurrent of ginger! Also a little black kit named Voodoo. When we moved to another state, these two came with us.

Years later, once Smudge and Voodles had Gone to God, the vet bestowed "the Clinic Cat" upon us : Hector, a large Jellicle cat, even at 2+ years weighing around 8kgs. We promptly named him "Hector Lysander" - amazing how many people have never heard the song "The British Grenadiers"!!   He is still here, even tho' My Beloved has since "Gone to God" :((   Although Hecky was obtained to help me with a CHF condition, he immediately latched onto my partner and insisted on lying on his chest and purring and kneading amongst his long beard, whenever he saw but the slightest opportunity!! "Hect" leads to lots of word-play (like Hectopascal), but lately, as he has got more vocal, I call him "Jessica Mauboy" (Aussie singer/actress) and comment on his "Mau Mau Uprising" when he gets very insistent!

My friend has had three little jet blacks named Mishka & Pushkin and currently Percy. He is named after Sir Percy Blakeney, aka the Scarlet Pimpernel. He was "Twentiklaus-and-some-Teeth" whilst he was growing from kittenhood, but is still rather too free with his weaponry …

My sister has had DeLuna, a stunningly beautiful silvery stray but who, sadly, was definitely "moon-touched" and could not really be trusted. Also The Babby, a long-legged black boy who recently returned to Source after 20 years. He was named from dialogue by a wee Scots boy in the 1990 film set in Nova Scotia, called "The Little Kidnappers"!

Cheers!
Rich-Joy, (in Down Under land)

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 15 Jun 17 - 10:32 PM

My first cat was a long haired black cat that I named Hendrix. He was a gentleman of black cats. We have had many since, most rescues. We never let them outside, so they had long full lives. Some of my faves, though not all of them were named here, Rockefeller, Heathcliff, Worf, Bonnie, Gandalf, Spencer (after Spencer the Rover),
Ariel, Makeeta (Cheyenne for little man, Finish for Sweet one, and Japanese for cordless screwdriver), Misha, Arthur. You can check my facebook page for many pictures of the recent ones.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Jun 17 - 02:42 PM

Igor Stravinsky set "The Owl and the Pussycat" to music
-- it's madness. Over in no time, fiendishly fussy and tricky.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 16 Jun 17 - 04:10 PM

Would you believe it? Spirit and Ronnie, the Gruesome Twosome, have been joined by Marmite (young black boy) and they're wreaking havoc in all the neighbours' gardens and even in the Primary School grounds. They sat down in the goalmouth of the children's football pitch and refused to move. Luckily, one of the girls in the school is the owner of Ronnie, and managed to entice him away, followed reluctantly by his two accomplices.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 16 Jun 17 - 04:52 PM

My wife had a sister and brother called Frankie & Johnny, and when I was a boy we had a cat called Fluffy!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 16 Jun 17 - 05:55 PM

Haha Bonzo! Reminds me of a child I taught who was writing a story about a knight in armour on his trusty steed, heading into battle. Sir Roger on his horse Fluffy...

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Janie
Date: 16 Jun 17 - 06:28 PM

Freida. Zelda and Frodo, littermates, both of whom died young, tragic deaths, Sadie - a fine country girl of a calico, Lucy (very prissy an inherited cate and mother to Zelda and Frodo before my older sis had the money to get her spayed), P'tui - he arrived in a shoebox from a festival in Ohio, brought by my younger sis and room mate soon after Zelda and Frodo died. A very small, upset kitten foundling who did not relish the long drive. He was spitting and hissing like a wildcat but is still the cat I loved the most. Gentled nicely, loved to stretch out on his back and be gently stroked on his belly from chin to thigh. Also had ythe unfortunate habit of jumping on my chest every morning, promptly at 6:00am, put his nose against mind, and purr loudly to announce it was breakfest time.   Beavo - an inherited cat when I took over an apartment from a friend who went to prison - Maine Coon with amazing green eyes who would jump up in your lap, demand to be petted, then bite hard when she was done with all that foolishness. Henry, a man about town even though neutered young. And finally, Stella. Bottle raised and named by my son when he was in his latency years. A very demanding and independent little b*tch of a cat who truly knew she was the queen of the house. She stayed with hubby post divorce 10 years ago and I still occasionally keep her when he travels. Have to admire her imperious attitude.

Dog and catless for the past 10 years. Occasionally tempted, but finding taking care of ex's and son's cats and dogs,or my neighbor's dog on the occasional weekend has many of the benefits and few of the hassles, and is enough of a fix for me at this time in my life.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Jul 17 - 11:42 AM

Rest in Peace, Raggytash's Lulu, at the end of a long life.

On the paper-sack posts,
Jon Freeman has reminded us of the names of the cats who own his house:

RIP Oedipuss, one month ago,
Mewan/Fleabag, and Pusspuss.
And back in history, two siblings named Port and Starboard!

Then there is Trex, undoubtably short for T Rex.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Jul 17 - 11:57 AM

In the garden today, we had quite a collection of various moggies who live nearby. They seem to like to visit and stretch out on our small patio. They were:-

Alfie
Tiger Lily
Poppy
the dreaded Ronnie (who behaved impeccably for a change, though I had my eye on him!)
and our two, SmokeyPokey and Murphy.

It was like a feline beach in Benidorm! I was tempted to serve cold drinks and pizza, but they'd have preferred slices of chicken I expect.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 07 Jul 17 - 04:02 PM

We took over a cat named Buttons so when we got a kitten she became Cinders.

Friends of mine had a cat called Hudson as they wanted to sound like they were calling for the butler. Another friend had a cat called Rover, I think he was trying to confuse it.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raggytash
Date: 07 Jul 17 - 04:12 PM

Keberoux, I don't know if it was sold in your neck of the world but TREX in England was COOKING FAT.

Now if you've ever tripped over one of our beloved feline friends you may have said ..............F ............ C ..?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raggytash
Date: 07 Jul 17 - 04:18 PM

I should have also said thank you for your kind words regarding Lulu.

Three years go we had to have another cat, Spike, put to sleep, he'd just reached his 21st birthday. I was going to have a party for him later that week.

That broke my heart.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: vectis
Date: 08 Jul 17 - 04:05 AM

Blackie, Barney (a she), panda (black and white), Toughie (semi feral female) Penta (the fifth) Sexton (b/w and number six). Next one to be SAeptic??? No. I found I am allergic to cats so Sexton was the last.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 31 Jul 17 - 07:24 PM

The cat-name discussion did pussy-foot its way to another cat thread,
where we talked about cooking fat.
In my native Great-Lakes region of the USA,
we call it "shortening", as in "short'nin bread" (that's a TUNE),
and there is more than one brand of it.
Never saw a brand "Trex" in the US,
but we have coffee-can-sized tins of "Crisco," thanks to Proctor and Gamble.

Imagine a North American pet cat named Crisco?

The Cris-co Cat was a friend of mine, doo doo doo doo ("Cisco Kid" by War)

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Nov 17 - 04:12 PM

Raggytash,
that Cockney rhyme for "f*****' cat" is enduringly hilarious.
I'm still sniggering over here.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 21 Nov 17 - 08:39 PM

Oh dear, just re-read my post of 14th May 17. Very sadly, the much-loved Bowie went missing a week or so after moving house, never to be seen again dead or alive, despite being micro-chipped and a concerted advertising and search campaign with posters, Facebook, vets, animal rescue centres, and going back to the place they'd moved from, but nothing....
After holding out hope for a long time, then eventually having to give up, they now have another cat, Freya, half Bengali, so beautiful markings. She nearly made a bid fir freedom while I was looking after her the other week: wobbling her way along the top of a very high garden fence. Quick grab got her back on home side!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raggytash
Date: 22 Nov 17 - 11:20 AM

Glad to be of service keberoxu

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Nov 17 - 10:48 AM

Still loving Senoufou's story of Glasgae Ginger, a few posts back.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 24 Nov 17 - 07:27 PM

Loki....... what else for a ferral kitten?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 26 Nov 17 - 11:40 PM

Eunuch -- for obvious reason!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 27 Nov 17 - 03:54 AM

I had friends who decided it was wrong to personify a cat with a human name, so they always referred it her as "cat"
As a young man, I picked up the Liverpool habit of referring to all cats as "Tiger"
Until the cat's death some years ago, it infuriated them no end that she would totally ignore them when called "Cat", but would always respond to "Tiger" - something to be said for the idea that cats are wild animals who happen to live in houses!
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 27 Nov 17 - 04:09 AM

Once upon a time there was an unmarried lady who lived in a garret with only her Tom Cat for company.
One night she was gazing out of the window wistfully and wishing she had some male company when a fairy godmother who happened to be passing spotted her, drifted down and asked he why she was so sad.
She explained the cause of her unhappiness, so the fairy godmother pointed with her wand to the Tom Cat curled up on the sofa and FLASH - she turned him into a handsome young man; she took her leave and the woman
The woman, extremely flustered, hurriedly got the young man a drink, made sure he was comfortable and set about preparing him a fine meal, complete with candles and dimmed lights
After the meal, they both sat replete, holding hands and eventually, she snuggled up to him, leaned on his shoulder and began to nibble his ear.
He responded, rather dryly, saying; "I bet you regret sending me for that operation!"
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 27 Nov 17 - 05:21 AM

Cat named Dog

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 28 Nov 17 - 05:20 PM

Tattie Bogle, I hear that Bengal cats are intense in temper.
Is that true of your grand-cat-daughter?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 28 Nov 17 - 08:16 PM

No, Keberoxu, Freya is very friendly and loves to snuggle into whatever jacket you are wearing in between you and the jacket. Her bowel habits aren't that great so you just hope she doesn't snuggle in just after she's been doing her "business"! My son says she really doesn't like the ritual paw-wiping after such "business" episodes, so may at last be getting the message, and is cleaning up her act! Maybe too much information?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 30 Nov 17 - 08:42 PM

Sure I've heard Jim's story as a song. Hamish Imlach and others since?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Leadbelly
Date: 02 Dec 17 - 12:27 PM

Our actual cats are called Willy, Hänschen klein, Mariechen, although a tomcat (like "a boy named sue"), Muttchen, Ollie, Rocky, Lucky and our oldest got the name Schnuckie (13 years of age)...And they all are happy together...

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cats
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Dec 17 - 03:10 PM

Boris & Natasha

Your Grace & Your heinous

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 05 Dec 17 - 02:47 PM

That's a lot of pussycats ...
hope that doesn't mean you live in a barn?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 05 Dec 17 - 06:19 PM

Kuro

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 05 Dec 17 - 07:55 PM

Look who's back!   

This is what I love about Mudcat at holiday season.
Mudcatters show up that haven't been heard from since
... before newbie me was a member!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Dec 17 - 02:56 PM

Here's hoping that Charmion's cats
have weathered the house invasion
by electricians et alia.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 20 Dec 17 - 06:31 PM

A happy ending for "Mac" and "Cheese."

NoName, Mac, and Cheese

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Donuel
Date: 20 Dec 17 - 08:14 PM

We were picking out our first one line cat today.
In the final analysis it is the wand that chooses the wizard.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 23 Dec 17 - 01:55 PM

Donuel,
is that online (looking up cats on the computer)?

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Donuel
Date: 23 Dec 17 - 02:13 PM

On line cats are on the puter for adoption but everyone knows the cat chooses the people.

Because of the unique wave of the cat's tail is similar to Carl Ustremski's wave of the bat, his name is Yaz.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 23 Dec 17 - 04:45 PM

U Say U strem ski
and
I Say Yas trzem ski . . .

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: peteglasgow
Date: 23 Dec 17 - 04:58 PM

Fuckoff, cat

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Bill D
Date: 24 Dec 17 - 03:01 PM

My first cat 70 yrs ago, was a stray, and my younger brother, 3 yrs old, insisted it be "Mickey"... because he liked Mickey Mouse. It was too hard to explain why a cat named for a mouse was odd, so we shrugged.

My ex wife had a male Siamese that she called "Mr. Magoo" after the cartoon character with the poor vision. Magoo would walk majestically along the porch rail.... and miss his footing and fall in the bushes... then complain loudly that he was pushed... ? He was a classic 'get up a tree and yowl to be rescued' cat... even a small, low tree.

I suppose my favorite cat was the one that may have ensured that my wife had 38 years ago. When we were first acquainted, her cat, "Princess" jumped in my lap and settled down. Rita said, "Princess never does that with a stranger!" We have joked for years that that was the 'stamp of approval' I needed.... Since we've been married 37 years now, I do respect a cat's judgement.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raggytash
Date: 25 Dec 17 - 06:52 AM

Nothing wrong with calling a cat Mickey Bill. I have one called Mickey ................ his Mother is called Mouse!!

I swear I am telling the truth. She was just a year old when she had kittens (didn't take her to the Vet soon enough) and one of the kittens was VERY timid and he only person he could relate to was myself so I kept him. He's still very timid but I love him to bits.

I named her Mouse because it seemed like a good idea at the time. She's beautiful too, a long haired Tabby.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 25 Dec 17 - 08:57 AM

One of them came ready named as Dylan, so we call him Dilly.

And the younger one is called Piper after this young character. Not perhaps the wisest selection of a role model...

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Dec 17 - 01:09 PM

Thanks, Raggytash,
I had been wondering what the name of the cat who only relates to you was called.

Mickey has canine associations for me, re childhood pets.
However Mickey was the most companionable mixed hound in the world
and the name will always seem affectionate to me.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jackaroodave
Date: 25 Dec 17 - 02:01 PM

Like Christopher "Kit" Smart, I considered my cat Jeoffry, for he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 25 Dec 17 - 02:42 PM

I had a sealpoint Siamese stray that came with the name Tractor -- probably because when he purred, it sounded like someone plowing the back 40. And Orphan Annie, and Little Tiny White Cat With No Name, Beardsley, and Schnuffles.

Then there was Foolish & Marmalade (litter mates), Peppersass, Blackstone, Calliope, Inquiry, Banjo & Creamsicle (litter mates), and Sabine.

Currently have Rufus (11 years old) and Hunter (8 years old) but who's only been with us since March.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: CupOfTea
Date: 27 Dec 17 - 12:46 PM

Had only one cat, and she was really my husband's delight, but she outlived him by quite a few years. We had been riffing on the speech of a character in CS Lewis' Narnia world, the Marshwiggle. Every thing was "this-wiggle" or "that-wiggle," and the anonomyous puddy who was a frozen New Year's Eve rescue was "Puddywiggle!" very soon. This morphed into Peawig, which she remained, a tortie with seagreen eyes and ombre whiskers. She also remained partial to men, and would pick a man's lap over a woman's if she had the choice. Phil Cooper can attest to this.

Joanne in Cleveland in inter-cattium

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: fat B****rd
Date: 27 Dec 17 - 05:14 PM

Yesterday I renamed my little tortoiseshell "Yaliltwat" as she had crapped in my shoe.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raggytash
Date: 28 Dec 17 - 06:40 AM

Lovely article in today Guardian about cats in Turkey.


Pampered Cats

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: mayomick
Date: 28 Dec 17 - 09:40 AM

locksmith

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Dec 17 - 10:10 AM

Hi, keberoxu -- Watson and Isobel are in fine fettle, now that the tradesmen have ceased to trample through their little feof. They spent Christmas sitting on laps, even the laps of my brother (a cat person) and sister-in-law (not a cat person), and show unmistakable signs of comfort and joy.

The tiler is coming in January to fix the kitchen floor and install the backsplash. One of his primary tools is a diamond-bit power saw for splitting tiles; it makes a curious shrieking sound that must be heard to be believed. I don't know what the cats will say about that, but I'm fairly sure it won't be Parliamentary.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Charmion
Date: 31 Dec 17 - 12:53 PM

Bump. This thread is worth sustaining, in my admittedly arrogant opinion.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Jan 18 - 11:06 AM

Charmion, your ringing endorsement is happily acknowledged.
When your cats feel at home in your new home,
that is indeed a healthy sign.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 01 Jan 18 - 12:42 PM

Our two horrors Smokey and Murphy have spent the holiday period gorging on large amounts of turkey and today a dish of finely-chopped roast chicken each. Like my husband, they now have pot bellies and can hardly walk.
We relented towards that white beast Spirit and left some chicken out on the front step for him. I watched him wolf it down from our sitting room window. I hope he doesn't get the idea he can start coming back to cause trouble round ours. Ronnie, his sidekick, is infatuated with their new, second dog called Marnie, and we hardly see him these days. Apparently, he's fallen in love an sleeps curled up beside him!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Jan 18 - 01:27 PM

Eliza, it is grand to have you back in the BS section,
along with the four-footed so-called horrors.

What is going on with Logie? (likes cats, doesn't he?)

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 01 Jan 18 - 01:57 PM

Hello there keberoxu! I'm only posting on what I would call 'safe' threads, to avoid all the arguments.

Logie went past the house this morning with his new housemate, the spaniel pup Molly (whom he loves and plays with incessantly) His owners and the two dogs were covered in mud, as were Harry, Marnie and the children from up the road. I always think it's glorious to be covered in mud after a lovely scramble through the fields!

I reckon we're all a bit tired of chicken here by now. My husband sings out his magic word, "Cheeeken!" but the reaction is a bit lacklustre.
No singing with joy, but a sort of silent sigh of resignation. They're utterly spoiled!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jan 18 - 10:38 AM

Hi, Eliza! I'm so glad you're back.

Our two come to the table to howl for whatever we're eating, even if it's only bread and cheese. This behaviour is completely political, however. Himself incontinently gives in to the barrage of meowing and frequently flings them a bit of steak or chicken, but they usually poke at it and walk away, mission accomplished. Then, after a few minutes, they're clawing at our knees and tuning up all over again.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raggytash
Date: 02 Jan 18 - 11:56 AM

Just one small correction Senoufou. Cats don't have owners, cats have staff.

I know my place !!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Senoufou
Date: 02 Jan 18 - 04:10 PM

I think our cats actually have 'slaves' Raggytash! My husband is particularly enslaved, and acts on their every whim. Even as I type, he's in the utility room mucking out their litter tray, and since they are evidently tired of chicken, I see he's opened a tin of tuna for them.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raggytash
Date: 02 Jan 18 - 05:06 PM

Sounds about right. My two have me very well trained!!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Jan 18 - 06:42 PM

By the way, Bill D,
I think Magoo is an ideal name for a klutzy cat.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Jan 18 - 01:00 PM

The last two we'll likely have are the present employees, who patrol the laundry/mudroom entry-- a prime entry point for annual persistent barn rats and field mice. These are in no way pets, but they did need names WE use to refer to them-- the cats themselves don't know these names and have no interest in laps.

The elderly female was named Othercat when she joined the crew then on duty because, "No, not that one-- the Other Cat."

Her partner (who she barely tolerates) is a young and miniscule adult tom recently insisting on placement, we've dubbed him Applicant, because if we're still in this house when Othercat passes, his mousing skills may earn him the prime job.

At present, only Othercat is granted the indoor role warmed by the gas wall heater. Applicant is young and active enough to reside in the barn with the cows, preferring that to the basement furnace where his water supply is kept unfrozen; his patrol zone is porch and approach pathways plus basement. He's the only employee we've ever seen stalking (after almost 25 years here) from above in a tree--clever boy. He has another snug and easily defended spot he likes for warmer weather.

We feed them both enough Barn Cat daily to retain their interest in remaining on staff. We doctor them when they need it enough to let us. Marauding ferals routinely adopt our landlord's auld barn but we're picky about which we feed and let nature take its course with the ferals; in our younger years, we did a lot of trap/neuter/release-- but younger folks will have to take that up now.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: JHW
Date: 28 Jun 18 - 01:53 PM

East Rounton (N.Yorks UK) farm shop had a cat in the veg outhouse, proper brown and black stripey cat, always happy to say hello and advise. Not there last week. Alas puss at about 18yrs is no more. I asked what she was called. Peugeot, as she'd been found as a kitten in an old Peugeot car. Didn't think to ask if they spelled it Purrgeot.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Aug 18 - 04:12 PM

I didn't tell you folks about the name derived from Arabic.
There is a roundabout story about this name/word.

Many moons ago I took a class that introduced English speakers to the Arabic language. I retained sadly little from the class. We spent much time on that darned alphabet. Our lecturer kept us entertained with little anecdotes; he went to Ain Shams Heliopolis university in his native Egypt, where he studied English and French; then he ended up in the United States teaching his native language to English-speaking North Americans.

Our class was waiting for an order of textbooks, as the bookshop had fewer textbooks than there were students. Not surprisingly, our class included a few government/military types (my location then was not the Northeast but the Southwest US, where military bases are a very big deal). Discussing this glitch during class, one gentleman, a hot-tempered military fellow, impatiently demanded of our lecturer: "Well, when are those textbooks gonna get here?"

" ' Fil mish-mish!' " said our worthy lecturer.
And he calmly took chalk in hand, and sketched the beautiful Arabic script on the blackboard from right to left.

In vernacular conversation, this is a figure of speech much like
when the Spanish speakers say laughingly, " ' Mañana. ' "
You know, when you get the tongue-in-cheek response " ' Mañana, ' "
that the answer -- literally, 'to-morrow' -- in truth means, nobody knows when it will happen, and it may never get done.

Same deal with " ' Fil mish-mish. ' "
That word is a specific cash crop. And when an Egypt native says " ' fil mish-mish, ' " in answer to a 'when' question,
it means:
it shall come to pass when the crop currently ripening in the orchard
has been harvested and brought to the market for sale.

So,
why would anybody call their pet cat "mish-mish" ?
Because a "mish-mish," singular, is one 'apricot,'
and some cats are apricot-colored.

And no, I cannot tell you what two or more apricots are called in Arabic,
because that is farther than my introductory course went
-- plurals in Semitic languages go places that English never goes.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raedwulf
Date: 03 Aug 18 - 12:56 PM

My neighbour has just acquired two black & white kittens. It doesn't take too much to work out why he named them Pen & Guin... ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: olddude
Date: 03 Aug 18 - 02:26 PM

Shitty kitty was my friends long hair cat as he always had to bath it

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: KarenH
Date: 03 Aug 18 - 02:38 PM

A young student relative named a cat 'Dinner'.

This was because they found it amusing to say loudly in the supermarket 'Must get some cat food for Dinner!'

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Thompson
Date: 03 Aug 18 - 05:16 PM

I like Mish-Mish.

I had a smoky grey kitten we called Ganja; unfortunately he didn't survive long enough to go the deep black that grey kittens normally go.

A friend had a Minou-Minou, which is the French equivalent of pshh-whshh-puss-puss.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: David W
Date: 05 Aug 18 - 12:04 AM

Haven't had a cat for a few years now, had many in the past. The very last one I had was called Catty McCat

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jos
Date: 05 Aug 18 - 05:26 AM

I used to know a cat called John. A perfect name, I thought.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Aug 18 - 11:42 AM

I've been thinking that Caligula might be the perfect name for the next cat. Depending, of course, on its general temperament.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Raggytash
Date: 05 Aug 18 - 12:37 PM

My son and his partner have acquired a cat they call Heidi.

For the first week they had it, it was either under the kitchen cupboards or up the chimney!

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 05 Aug 18 - 03:21 PM

Cooking Fat.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Aug 18 - 05:21 PM

My parents had a cat they named Houdini because she always managed to be on the front step of the house when they came home, although they always carefully made sure she was in before they locked up and left. Mine you, it was a rickety old house; presumably she was wriggling out by the same route the rats used to get in.

Subject: RE: BS: what did you name your cat
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 05 Aug 18 - 06:02 PM

I thought I'd mentioned it before but don't spot it. On the naming of black and white kittens, we had Port and Starboard. They had a white spot by their noses on different sides.