WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Posted by Sheila Connolly (apparently Sarah Atwell is a dog-lover)

I mentioned briefly a few weeks ago that we had lost one of our cats, Felix, at age fifteen. It was unexpected, since he seemed to be in good health, and it was sudden. Given that one of our cats, Heidi, is now twenty, we had expected her to go first, but she soldiers on, happily gumming her food. Our other cat Raisin is ten, no longer a kitten.

 

You don't "replace" a cat, because each cat has its own unique personality. So after we mourned, we (my husband, daughter and I) discussed getting another cat. Heidi (left) does not interact with other cats–heck, she barely interacts with humans, unless she wants food. Raisin (right) is very shy, and we knew we'd have to consider her feelings, so we thought that a pair might be appropriate–they could amuse each other without bothering her too much.

Although both my parents grew up with dogs, they never planned to have pets. The reasons are lost, although I thought they sounded phony at the time. I don't know what would have happened if we had not moved into a rental house where the prior tenants left a Siamese cat and three of her offspring (from two litters) in the garage. We kept the mother and one of the daughters for a few years, then downsized (giving the daughter away, because my mother had bonded with the Siamese, who she had dubbed Beauty) when we moved into an apartment. Beauty lived until my senior year in college.

When I moved into my first apartment, I immediately went cat-hunting. I wanted another Siamese, and through an ad in the paper I found a guy in Dorchester who had a litter. He turned out to be a crazy Vietnam vet who thought raising cats was the ticket to quick money (maybe he had trouble holding a job?), but I bought one and carried her home on the T (after he'd whacked holes in a box for me with his army-issue machete). That was Victoria, affectionately known as Dum-Dum. She had a habit of greeting new people by jumping on their shoulder–from the floor. With claws out. She traveled with us to our first married apartment in North Carolina, then to California, then cross country again to Pennsylvania, and she lived to be eighteen. Siamese are a hardy breed.

My husband found Heidi in a parking lot and brought her home. She was the cat from Hell–the staff at the vet's used to don elbow-length leather gloves when they saw her coming. She never did quite manage the intricacies of the litter box. Yet we still have her: we take our cat responsibilities seriously.  I ransomed Tommy, another Siamese, from a mall pet store, not because I approve of them (I don't), but because I knew he didn't belong there, and besides, he kissed my ear the first time I picked him up. He was a sweetie, gone before his time to a kidney infection.

We got Felix from a shelter in 1994. We brought home another cat, Cleo, from the same shelter a couple of years later, but she didn't last long because of an undiagnosed thyroid problem. And little tortie Raisin was the last, from a different shelter.

For the past ten years we had been holding steady at three cats, one for each member of the family (although we argued about who was whose). Then Felix was gone, and we faced a decision.

There are those who might say that it was too soon to get another cat. I know my sister, who had to put down a much-loved pet, has sworn never to get another, because it's too painful to lose them. I see it differently: we've had wonderful experiences with our cats, and I don't want to give that up. Getting a new cat is a tribute to those we've had before.

So I tracked down the local pound–no easy feat, since it's hidden away in a crumbling industrial backwater a couple of towns away. Of course they had plenty of cats. Sad to say, because of the recent economic downturn, far too many people have been dumping their pets. Some own up to it by bringing them in to the shelter personally, often with kittens; others drop them off and run, or worse, leave them behind when they move out of an apartment. The shelter is overflowing, with two and three cats per cage, and more farmed out to foster parents. I will say that they were all clean and healthy, because the people of work there really care about animals.

So it was our civic duty to provide a good home for a cat, right? Or, in fact, two: a pair of orange and white siblings, a boy and a girl, four months old. We brought them home Friday. They are closely bonded to each other, comfortable around humans, and a joy to watch. I had forgotten how much fun kittens are–it's been a long time.

In my life so far I've had a total of eight cats. Now I have two more. But who are they? For the last three days we've been wrestling with names. How do you name a pet? We've run through literary duos, film pairings, even silly names, but we're still stumped. All suggestions welcome. And make them good, because I hope we'll be living with them for a long time.

Meet the new ones.  The one with more white is the girl.

Comments

[Elaine]

Hi Sheila,

From their picture they somewhat (if you use your imagination) are positioned as a yin and yang symbol.

[Lesa Holstine]

Oh, I have no ideas, Sheila, but just wanted to say thank you for adopting 2 cats. We should have gotten 2 when we adopted our last one because he has no one to play with. The other cats are much older. We have 4 right now, and that's as many as we're supposed to have, living in an apartment. But, like you, we've had cats for years, and we love each one. In our house, it's my husband who can't wait too long to replace one. He grieves, and wants another cat in our lives. Enjoy them!

[RhondaL]

In naming cats, I've found that names "suggest themselves" as you get to know them. We've taken two or three weeks to name a cat. Then, the name comes in sort of a flash.

[Dru]

I bet as you watch them on a daily basis, their names will pop into their heads.

I would love to own a cat, but alas I'm allergic.

[Michele]

They are the spitting image of my late ma-in-law´s cats, Tom and Gerry, brothers, they used to chase each other in a similar fashion to the cartoon characters. We feed 13 feral cats and they are named after their idiosyncratic or physical traits, Bobtail, (no tail) Stumpy (half a tail) Houdini (escapologist) Finale (last one to be trapped for visit to vet to be neutered,
as Rhonda said, their names will come in a Flash. There you are, Flash Gordon.

[Ritaestelle Christiano]

How about Hansel and Gretyl for two very, very sweet kittens!

[Julie]

My middle daughter was just "adopted" by two sister kittens outside her dorm. She, of course, can't keep them in university housing, and her roommate is allergic anyway. My eldest daughter took one (almost all black) but can't quite manage to adopt both, despite everybody encouraging her and her boyfriend to take the leap. I don't blame them. This is their first experience with a pet and they're skittish.

But, middle daughter is now bonding with her little stray. She's named her Miss Kitka (you know, Catwoman's alter-ego in the original Batman movie?) and my eldest daughter, the artist, named hers Victoria Oakley (I think I'm getting that right) after a famous illustrator.

I know everyone is suggesting you wait until the cats name themselves, but my first thought (since you are of a literary bent) was Nick and Nora.

My two cents (and then some) for today.

Can't wait to meet my grand-cat(s).
;-)

Julie

[Sheila Connolly]

That pictures did make me think of Yin and Yang (I'd better do my homework and see how that works). We too came up with Nick and Nora, but my daughter keeps objecting to assigning married-couple names to siblings--and there aren't a lot of good sibling pairs in literature, alas (I'm ignoring the Bobbsey Twins). Truman and Harper? Mork and Mindy? They are adorable, very people- friendly, quiet (I haven't heard a meow yet, just a lot of little mews)--and they're still Boy Cat and Girl Cat. I'm waiting until they tell me something.

[Kay Finch]

I absolutely love your new cats - they are gorgeous - my favorite cat color. We had a "Jake" who looked very similar to them.