Even before the musical, Cats, I've loved T.S. Eliots poem, The Naming of cats (below).
We brought home a very fat cat from the humane society and we're trying to find her name.
We've considered Mama Cass, Puddin', Askir (what's your cat's name - askir/ask her), ChunkaLunka, Chunky Monkey, Jaba the cat, Lady Larda**, Wookie
and the most recent, " Igmutanka or Igmu Tonka" the sioux word for mountain lion. Pronounced Eegmootahnka (Igmu - cat, Tanka or Tonka - Great or Large). And we would probably call her Tonka (the association with Tonka Trucks is kind of funny too).
So far this last one seems to be the only name that my hubby and I both like.
The Naming of Cats
by T. S. Eliot,
Published in 1939 in "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats".
The Naming of cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Johnathan, George or Bill Bailey -
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter -
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum -
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover -
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
Our cat named himself. We agonized and agonized over a name for him...he's solid silver, lanky, and we just went back and forth over several options.
That is, until we bought several 12-pack boxes of soda for a party and emptied them into a cooler. He ignored the empty Coke boxes, the 7Up boxes...but he jumped INTO the Dr. Pepper box and stayed for quite a while. We took it away and still, he never played in the other boxes. When we brought it back, he jumped right in.
We named him Pepper.
ETA: Tonka is adorable, and I love the explanation.
My first cat was Tabitha -- she was all black and that was the name of the daughter on Bewitched.
My second was Shelby -- from Steel Magnolias
My third was Shasta -- to go with shelby and a soda I remembered as a kid.
I think your name choices are much cooler!!!
For our dog -- the day we brought him home, he sat next to me while I googled "dog names" on the computer and kept looking at lists until I saw Dakota, which seemed to fit him -- he was a shelter dog and the person who had him first named my beautiful black lab "Spike" -- no imagination!!!
We couldn't resist her charms. We wanted an adult cat, but really weren't planning on an older cat (or an obese cat, for that matter), but she was so friendly in the visiting room, we really couldn't see "meeting" any of the other cats. Especially when the staff told us that she'd been there two months and no one has asked to see her in all that time, except us. Neither of us could stand the thought of her not getting a home, just because she was a pudge and a little bit older (sort of like us).
She's 8, so she's not so much a senior citizen as a middle-aged lady (like myself). She has a rear left leg limp that we didn't notice in the shelter. It seems to be an arthritic hip, but we'll ask the vet to take a look at it, at her first checkup. I think losing some weight will help a great deal (boy, can I relate).
She's a beggar though, and we're going to have to be careful about that. She's very quiet about it though, she comes over to you, taps your leg once and then sits down staring into your eyes (not so much as a mew). We weren't sure it was a food begging behavior until my husband sat down with a bowl of cereal, and she went through the little routine and then laid on his feet while he was eating.
Awwwe....she is beautiful! I love the name Tonka for her. Too cute!! She looks very special. I have a cat that looks similar to her...but he is a fat boy. He found us at my old house. He adopted us and we named him Jake. He is the sweetest cat out of all four of my cats.
Congrats on being a new mommy! I like the name Tonka a lot. How great that you gave her a home when she most needed it. I'm sure she'll return the love many times over.
I have to get a copy of the going home photo the shelter took. I think they're going to put it on the website, because it was a digital photo. I look awful as I just tossed my hair into a hairclip and threw on a denim skirt and a t-shirt to go see her (no makeup, and who knows what the ponytail looked like, because I didn't even look in a mirror when I put in the hair clip).
Gigantically fat people, gigantically fat cat. No wonder a crowd gathered (staff and visitors). Kind of embarassing, but everyone was so happy to see her get a good home. It was like a party. David tossed on an extra 25 dollars for a donation onto to her adoption fee and asked that it be used to reduce the adoption fee on another disadvantaged adoption (fat, older, or otherwise special needs cat).
I have three cats myself. Bailey (in the picture) came with her name from her previous owner who had passed away. Our second cat is named Akunta and our third is named Sadia.
Funny how kitties get called so many names.
Our 18 year old cat is named Chloe (after Daphnes and Chloe opera). We call her anything from 'wiener cat' to 'blindy' (she is now totally blind) to 'crack baby' because she is totally addicted to wet food now. That's a picture of her in my avatar.
Our other cat is Pixie - so named because she was waif like and starving when she came to us, with a high squeaky meow. Now we call her 'sausage' because she is chunking up quite a bit and is almost twice the size of Chloe!
I think Igmu would be a cool name!
Last edited by fiberlover; 05-08-2008 at 02:35 PM.
I got my cat from the shelter and she was already named... Muffin. At the time I thought the name was rather cliche, but it couldn't possibly have been more appropriate. When I first got her she was malnourished and tiny framed (5 years old, but seriously looked like a kitten), but once she had settled in she fattened up (thankfully she's actually down a lb from her high weight), but she still has the short little legs, so she looks pretty much like a Muffin. My mom likes to call her a "Low Rider"... Haha.
Colleen -- Boy, is she one lucky girl! I can tell you are already over the moon about her. She is going to be spoiled rotten -- no matter what you name her!
We considered keeping our cat's original name for only a few hours. "Joker" just doesn't fit her (except as an ironic name, perhaps - like calling her Tiny). She always seems so calm, serious, and quiet.
The only "trick" we've found she has is stealing french fries. I've never heard of a cat who likes french fries, she stole two and ran off with them (the fastest I have EVER seen her move since bringing her home).
Quantity-wise, she eats very little, but she does beg (quietly, usually just sitting and staring at you while you eat). I'm wondering if human food is what she got so fat on (especially with her apparent unholy love of french fries). I hope so, anyway, as that might make it a lot easier to slim her down.
Claire - you're right about spoiling, but she's going to be an easy cat to indulge (in every way, but calories). She's a super cuddler, which is so nice. She REALLY likes cuddling, she even likes having the pads of her feet massaged. She has the softest foot pads, I have ever felt (not even a tiny bit of callous, you can tell she hasn't done much walking). I always teach my pets to let me handle their feet, but I've never had an animal who enjoyed it so much. She loves any scratching and petting, and doesn't seem to have a limit (or at least I haven't reached it yet. I've always gotten tired, before she has).
My husband was reading loudly to me from another room, while I was still in bed, and it seemed to upset her for some reason. She came up and crawled onto my pillow and curled around my chest, very tightly, and purred so loudly, and made her little talking face. She chomps her teeth and it looks like she is mouthing words, but no with sound except her teeth clacking. She does this alot, but rarely meows - her meow is not musical at all, it makes her sound like a 60 year old chain smoker.
Yeah, you're a goner. They are so easy to love, and she is clearly living the good life now. I bet she is a big purr-girl too (along with the teeth clacking- lol). My husband and I often remind our kitties how lucky they are (I HATE to see feral cats or even pet cats that are not loved and indulged). They pay all the spoiling back with tons of love, and of course, lots of cheap entertainment! Isn't it amazing how distinct each cat's personality is?
I'm so glad you made the decision to get her - I didn't respond to your post earlier in the week (about your initial ambivalence to get her) because I only had time to read, but I knew your heart was big enough for a new kitty.
Yes she is purring nearly constantly, and VERY loudly too. Probably the purriest cat we've ever had. It was hard for me to get her, but harder to be without a cat, I guess. I was afraid that a new cat would just keep reminding me of GirlyGirl in everything it did like and unlike her. And that's exactly what happened, but in a good way. I really hadn't expected that.
She does indeed have a very unique personality, and yet there are a few eerily similar behaviors to GG. My husband says that Girly Girl must have left notes for Tonka, like where the best spot on the bed is for her to sleep, and when it's time to wake us up. Everytime Tonka learns more of our routine, David says she's found another note that KeeKee (his name for GirlyGirl) left behind.
I think for the first time, we might end up with a cat that has at least one name that we both call her. I'm trying to stick with Tonka so that it fits her even if she gets slim, but I find myself calling her Chub Chub or Lady Chub Chub.
I suppose Chub Chub doesn't have to refer to her weight - did anyone see the ChubChub short before Men in Black (II I think). The Chub Chubs were cute little aliens that looked like baby chicks, but struck fear in the hearts of an alien army (and indeed the handful of Chub Chubs fit under the alien janitor's bucket - they ate the entire army). If you haven't seen this, there's a foreign language version on myspace (you don't need to understand the words to get the story). Just search ChubChub (or maybe it was ChubbChubb).
Well, I'm going back to bed now. The reason I got up in the first place is our dear Tonka/Chub Chub. She had stole a quarter of the bed (the whole bottom quarter) by spreading out further and further, and in my sleep I surrendered more and more of the bed by pulling my feet up. When my knees finally started to cramp, I woke up. Even in my sleep, I'm a pushover.
I know what you mean about spoiling - even feral cats. When we had a feral population in the wooded area behind our apartment in Illinois, we fed the little colony and notified our local Sterile Ferile of their location so they could be neutered. It was a pretty small colony and the saddest thing was people dumping their housecats because they saw the feral population. They didn't understand that a feral colony is not an ideal place for a cat to live, and besides that a new cat isn't automatically accepted into an existing colony.
That was one spoiled feral colony though. A neighbor allowed his daughter (about 8) to play with them gently (without touching them or frightening them) using a fishing rod and reel. He removed the hook and tied on a soft feather ball, and he and she would sit on the stoop casting out the toy and reel it in slowly.
Naming a Cat
They are so easy to love, and she is clearly living the good life now. I bet she is a big purr-girl too (along with the teeth clacking- lol). My husband and I often remind our kitties how lucky they are (I HATE to see feral cats or even pet cats that are not loved and indulged). They pay all the spoiling back with tons of love, and of course, lots of cheap entertainment! Isn't it amazing how distinct each cat's personality is? 