OT: Apologies and Processes

Got it. The "regal" look. We know it well. They're trying to look all noble and dignified and everyone (they and us) knows damned well there's a Labbie brain inside that head (BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!) When Boomer assumed that pose we referred to him as "Dog, MISTER Dog" (like "Bond, JAMES Bond"). We even had a collar we cut off a white dress shirt that we put on him with a black clip-on tie for formal occasions.

Oh, yeah. Life with Doc & Mrs. Doc has had its moments...

Sorry you've been feeling so badly, Doc. :-(

As to naming, I've found that my cats usually tell me--a name pops into my head.

Best regards, Michelle in Nevada

That's not weird, lady - that's downright bizarre! (and funny as hell...) ROTFLMAO I like your style.

Doc

I once knew of two cats name fajita and enchilada because that's what the owners had ordered for take-out the night they brought them home.

Well, sometimes they just tell you their names. Sometimes they have physical or personality traits that demand a name. Sometimes it is tradition.

Hounds are almost all named Blue, Red, Gypsy, or Rattler. It is only when you get more than four or you get an unusual breed that they are allowed to have another name. That is an example of tradition.

When DH got his last dog at his mom's house they picked the smallest sickliest pup at the rescue. Pup was a breeder's reject, half pedigreed greman shepherd, half who knows what. They took him straight to the vet, and when they brought him home a week later set him up in a cozy blanket box where he lay quietly for the rest of the day. In the middle of the night they were awakened by great shaking thumps against the house and loud shrieking screams. The menfolk grabbed their guns, DH also grabbed a handful of salt because he was convinced it was a supernatural thing, and made their way to the kitchen. Rather than a wounded bear or a demon attack, what they found was a lonely puppy taking running leaps at the door and screaming like there was six of him. So that little guy ended up being called Demon, Dee Dee for short which made a lot of people think he was named after one of the Ramones when actually it was because they thought he mght be posessed. That is naming for a pesonality trait, albeit a temporary one since he grew out of that (for which my MIL was eternally greatful)

I have known numerous cats named things like Callie (calicos), Tanner, Socks, Wierd Beard, Blackbeard, Tux, Champagne, or Dipstick (white cat with a black tail), all for markings or coloration. That is naming for a physical trait.

Of course sometimes nothing sings out at you about a name. That is when you get your dogs named things like SM (stupid mutt), Puppo, Brown Dog, Jack Dog (it was Jack's dog in that case), and even Iwbee (prounounced Ew-bee, short for "Ijit won't bay"). Though Iwbee doesn't quite count because he was a hound.

NightMist

We had a betta fish named Lucifer. It seems that everybody I ever met that had more than one cockatoo had one named Atilla. I guess that says something about the personalities of the birds. (G)

NightMist

Oh ep, how can you possibly call a fish 'Fluffy'!!? That is really funny- love it! . In message , Edna Pearl writes

I look for characteristics in the kitten's personality that would point toward a particular name. Punning takes on famous names are a plus, if available (Victoria Battenbird, Benjamin Disraeli Lord Mousebatten, Skritch Henderson, Rudyard Catling, Robert Redcat, Sarah Birdheart.....)

Current cats process: Astra was the short-lived smallest model Saturn made; Astra came to me when I worked at a Saturn dealership, brought to work by one of the guys who worked there, looking for a home for a stray kitten found under his house by his dog. She was little, the Astra was little......

Hillary climbs bloody everything. People, screens, furniture....she's starting to get past that at six months. But as a kitten, *everything* was her Everest. And so she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary....although of course a lot of people assume she's named after Hillary Clinton.

--pig

I forgot what is probably my most creative naming -- the kitty I had for several years back when DH and I first met. I was living in Arkansas at the time, working for a newspaper but earning next to nothing (like everybody else in Arkansas at the time). There was a winery up in the Ozark part of Arkansas that turned out a pretty tasty wine. For $1.50 a bottle you could get a muscat wine, but if you were willing to put out $3 a bottle you could get a surprisingly drinkable red wine. That winery was named Weiderker Winery. One find Saturday I was indulging in yet another wine cooler with my t hen boyfriend (now he's my DH) and was feeling mighty fine when the old lady across the street came over and said her mother cat was hit by a car and killed and she was going to drown the kittens if nobody wanted to take them and raise them.

I don't really like cats. They make me sneeze and wheeze and their habits are all appalling to me. I've never liked cats and the idea of me owning one was preposterous. But I'd been drinking a good bit of that fine, cheap wine. So I said I'd take one. He was tiny, needed a bottle and never was quite right. I called him Weiderker because there's no way I would have taken that kitty, even to save him from the drowning bucket, if I'd been sober.

The story ended fairly well. I finally gave him to someone with several kitties who was willing to cook the special diet he needed to live. He was 3 years old by that time and had kidney problems. And he was weird as they come. My little lhasa apso missed Weedy something fierce, but I was glad to see him go.

Sunny

My QI's were all named after a well known airshow pilot or aeroplane, ie QI I have now I got when DH bought another plane a "Cassutt" there for you guessed it..lol

lyn

Howdy!

One look, and they pretty much name themselves.

Dusty Cat is a dust-colored Siamese. Bobbin' was our first Siamese, quite the hunter w/ her head bobbing up & down when about to pounce. My dog (when I was in high school) was Scratch, because every few steps he'd sit down and .. well, scratch (not a skin disease, more likely OCD). Our dog Freckles- well, that was just so obvious. The guinea pig was Hairy, 'cause he was. Stanley Dog sounds like a Stanley Steam engine when he gets excited or exercised. I like to recall the animal's name when I look at them; makes it easier than my grandma had it, often calling my mom by whatever name came to mind (6 sisters, 4 daughters, god knew what name she'd call; I was lucky as "Sis" ). We knew we had returned to Texas when we heard a neighbor, riding around the 'hood on his bike, calling his dog, "Booooooger! Here, Booger, here boy!" LOL

R/Sandy - returned from vacation to pick up both animals who promptly rooted into their quilts for a long nap...

me, too:)) I once knew an American bulldog named 'Butterfly', and thought that FiFi would have been a pretty good choice for her, too...

rusty

What a fun thread! Cats in my life: Chico - a boy kitty we got when I was 3 yrs old. Benjamin - neighborhood tomcat who would come around to get cleaned up after every fight. Pangy - Siamese from a neighbor's litter [one sister wanted Pansy, one want Angy]. Girl- white cat adopted by my mother from the neighbors. Pickles - petite gray Persian female - no clue what we were thinking! Jessica -Abysinnian mix with a long nose, named after Jessica Rabbit in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Murphy - adopted at 4 weeks, it was Murphy's Law. Da Ling - Siamese mix kitten found on the feed lot of a racetrack, a play on Darling. Rodney -tabby with skinny tail, named after a line of Canadian racehorses from an old sire named Rodney with a thin tail. Fish - I've had 4 Siamese fighting fish, named Edgar, Fido, Gunther, and Homer [all with D. Fish behind the first name] Cars: Henry, Casper, Tony, George, Walter, Rosie, Luna, Gulliver, Hank, Betsy, Sam

G> First, I apologize to any & all I've offended with any posts this

Oh, that's marvellous, too. Mind you, the 'calling from the door' must have been hilarious. Wish I'd been in the neighbourhood!! . In message , rusty writes

I had a college acquaintance who had a black lab called Kat (short for Katinski). When a little tabby cat walked in off the street and made her home with them, she answered to 'Dog', naturally!

Dr. Zachary Smith wrote:

All of our recent pets (except for Cheeto) have come through rescue groups so they already had names. We usually stick with some form of the name they came with, making minor adjustments to fit out likes. Reno (Black Cat - RIP) was called Rio when we got her and that wasn't quite right so we changed it a bit. Cassie (Baby Cat) started off as Cassie but we officially called her Cassiopeia for the constellation because she is really a beauty an as pretty as the stars at night. The newest cats -- Bunny Sue (Fat Cat) and Ivy Jane (aka Black Cat, Stealth Kitty or Garbanzo Brain) Came with those names and we rather liked them. I guess the "given" name is the one we use on the paperwork at the Dr. office, etc. At home we use the nick names mostly. If I call Bunny Sue for some reason, I start off calling that name then also call, "Fat Cat, come here Lard Butt". I will do the same when I call Ivy Jane but add "Come here Black Stealth Kitty, Garbanzo Brain". Cheeto is another matter all together. When DH brought him home, we just called him Little Guy because that's what he was -- not even a pound and very little. When DD said she wanted him, she asked what the name would be in Spanish and I said Muchachito. That was too long a name for the SMDGD to use so it was shortened to Cheeto. Last night, he was VERY naughty, broke some of my autumn decorations and terrorized the autumn village and got a "flying lesson" -- I called him lots of not so nice names, too!! I once had a lovely little silver Persian whom I names Schaherazade because I just loved the cat food commercial with a woman calling her kitty with that name. Of course, that was too long a name to use regularly so she ended up being called Hari. Mikey (Original Recipe Fat Cat) was really Miyake who came to me as Michaela. Suzi (Run away from home and go walk about) Dog came to us as Sissy and we usually called her SueSue. So I guess, for us, regardless of the "given" name, there is always a nick name that fits the personality or appearance and that's our everyday name. The "given name" is used for the first few weeks until we determine what the every day name is. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

I've named my animals because of their color and or because of their personalities, most have come to me already with their names. As a child I had my black cocker spaniel-Pepper, my blond cocker spaniel- her name was Crackers (was eating crackers when I picked her up), then we got our kitten, who I named Kiddie (although she had the personality of a dog-miss her still), then we got another blond cocker and named him Ritz to accompany Crackers. Later, I had two small dogs-the runt and the bull of the litter. The runt (I can't remember her name at the moment) was supposed to be my daughters and was as small as a miniature chahuahua, and the bull I named Fat boy...he was fat when we got him, very loving and fluffy (similar to a cocker-doodle.)

Since we've been in this house. I've had a lab mix whom was promptly named Dirk (my late-DH wanted to name our son Hunter, Dirk....over my dead body! lol) Then a stray golden retriever showed up and after a few days named her Molly, it just seemed like a natural name for her. Then our three kittens (two brother and a sister) were named by two of my kids and myself. Shadow, was a beautiful blue-gray, body sleek like a siamese. Hunter named his kitty, Skittles-after his cousins bird. And my DD named her kitty, Olive. She actually is a touroise shell and has camoflauge coloring. Corki's name just popped into my head when I was going to pick him up and the funny thing is my aunt had named him Corky (unknown to me when I was going to her house to get him.) So the name was a natural for him!

Then we got our two kitties, Night and Gabby. These two are sisters and were named before we got them, but decided to keep their names the same. They do fit. Night is pitch black with gold eyes and Gabby is a gray striped tabby. About three weeks later we got Taffy, our Cairn Terrier. That was her name when we got her and kept it the same. She is cute as a button and a hoot and a half, fun like candy. A month later we got Brody, our Rotty-Shepard mix. Again we kept his name. It just fit him and he knows his name.

I'd say most of our animals agree with their names, because they answer to them....although Taffy minds herself (rarely comes when I call her, even if I mention treats-she looks my way and continues to do what she had in mind to do! lol)

Launie, in Oregon

As a child, we had a pair of cats. One was a ginger tom and the other mostly white with a bit of ginger. They ended up named for their colouring, as Coffee and Cream.

I found a tiny abandoned kitten once. She was dumped in a place called Mirrabooka, so I called her Booka. That was fun to call her in. I'd stand at the door and go, "Here, Book, Book, Book, Book!" I sounded like a chook (chicken). :-) Still, she answered to that for nearly 18 years.

We got a Jack Russell Terrier and my DH, who is into astronomy, wanted to name her after a star so we went through his star name book. Sirius (the dog star) was too obvious. He did want to go with Zuben-el-genubi (the southern claw), but I protested at that. Imagine calling THAT in public! We ended up with Nunki (the star of the proclamation of the sea). She also happily answered to that for nearly 16 years, but we did have a lot of trouble with people thinking it was Monkey.

Our current JRT is called Buster. That one was simple. DH just looked at him the first time we saw him and said, "Come here Buster," and it stuck.

My sister-in-law also has a JRT whom she called Spinner. She wanted to be able to stand at the door and yell, "Come in Spinner!" Aussies should get that reference. Non-Aussies might need some explanation. :-) Two-up is a gambling game where two coins are 'spun' while the gamblers are gathered around in a circle and place bets on the coins landing heads or tails. Someone calls, "Come in spinner," and he comes and spins the coins.

So, quite a few processes there. I guess it depends on the circumstances and the QI.