Help Name Our Cat!

[Ralf Maximus]

Ms. Audrey Maximus will be turning 8 years old on November 27th.  For her birthday, we have agreed to get her a cat, to be added to the pack of existing animals at House Maximus: two weiner dogs (Oscar & Bryndal) and two cats (Pixel & Storm).  She's a total animal person and takes care of the critters now, so this is a logical extension of her passion.

We've started the process of meeting the local cat rescue folks, and are planning a trip to the shelter.  The new kitty will be female, and will be out of kittenhood, but beyond that Ms. Audrey can select whatever she wants.  I just hope there's no escaped Pumas or anything at the shelter.

Here's our wee problem.  Ms. Audrey is bound and determined to name the new kitty (I kid you not) "www.smellsalot.com" ...oh, sweet jesus, this would be so cute in other circumstances, but I can't imagine saddling a noble creature like feline domesticus with a domain name.  A really bad domain name. 

And no, I ain't registering it.  Not gonna happen.

So, please post suggestions for an alternative name.  Please.

[Veign]

I go with names around development.  My dogs name was 'beta' and my next dog will be called v1.0 (one for short).  So maybe something slightly geeky - get her started young as the world needs more geeks.

[mouser]

I remember hearing somewhere that it was a bad idea to associate a pet as a present.. I guess i'm high strung enough or new agey enough to take such warnings seriously.  If you are too you could simply make something else her "present" (the gift of naming the cat can be here present), and then the cat is welcomed to the family not as a gift but as another family member who is thereafter to share the same birthday as audrey.

Quick google search of people saying bad to give pets as presents:

• http://www.ocolly.okstate.edu/issues/1997_Fall/971204/stories/pets.html
• http://vetmedicine.about.com/library/weekly/aa113000a.htm
• http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_giftpet.php

Thinking about it, I think probably most of the caution against "pets as presents" is probably directed at people who are giving like a surprise present of a pet and then *assuming* that the recipient will want and care for it.  If the person is actively asking for such a pet it may not make a difference whether it comes on their birthday or not.

I just hope there's no escaped Pumas or anything at the shelter.

Animals often seem to inspire kids to name them after they've been owned for a day.  Why not tell audrey to meet the cat first and then try to figure out the name that best suits it.

[Renegade]

That is hilarious! I love it!

How about just getting Audrey to choose a better domain - preferably one that's not taken.

Or she could observe the cat for a while then give it a name. If it's clumsy, then call it "Crash". If it's a good mouser (   ), call it "try-catch". If it eats a lot, call it "CPU Hog" or "Resource Hog". If it tends to pee where it's not supposed to, call it "Memory Leak".

Oh the fun to be had with techy pet names!

[mouser]

ps. If audrey is already considering names based on domain name availability, she may just have a future in the tech business...

[Ralf Maximus]

Thinking about it, I think probably most of the caution against "pets as presents" is probably directed at people who are giving like a surprise present of a pet and then *assuming* that the recipient will want and care for it.

Your concern is warranted, and I would express my worries to anybody who was considering a pet-as-present.  However, in this case, we've been pretty careful.

We've thought long and hard about this, and Audrey understands the animal will be part of our family, and her "ownership" extends only to selecting, naming, her say-so about whether kitty gets treats and when, any tricks she wants to teach her, etc.  There's already a precedent in place, in that Pixel is "my" cat and Storm belongs to Mrs. Maximus... like the animals know or care.  (Actually, the pack behavior of integrated dogs+cats is fascinating, and may be worth another post...)

And strictly speaking, the actual presents will be a cat carrier, new litterbox, some kitten food (if applicable), and a small supply of treats. 

Animals often seem to inspire kids to name them after they've been owned for a day.  Why not tell audrey to meet the cat first and then try to figure out the name that best suits it.

Excellent advice.  If nothing else, it buys us more time if she insists on "YouTube" or "Google".

Or she could observe the cat for a while then give it a name. If it's clumsy, then call it "Crash". If it's a good mouser (  ohmy ), call it "try-catch". If it eats a lot, call it "CPU Hog" or "Resource Hog". If it tends to pee where it's not supposed to, call it "Memory Leak".

Heh.  One of our cats is named Pixel (tiny, colorful, yet fleeting), and my first kitty was named Amiga (expensive and crashed a lot).  Tech names are indeed fun!

If Audrey were to choose from her known mythology, I worry the cat's name will come from a Disney princess or a character from Cartoon Network.  Be very afraid.

[PhilB66]

That's funny.

How about 'dot cat' or 'Cat.NET'?

[Cpilot]

This is easy, I got the answer.
Bob.
Short, sweet, easy to spell and nongender specific. Who could go wrong with Bob?

[app103]

She can name it after a programming language

and there is one just for cats  

But it has been my experience that a cat can't really be named right away after joining your family. They generally don't accept the name you first want to give them. They seem to let you know what their name really is after you give them a little time to get to know you.

The little demon I live with, my first instinct was to name him Houdini, after he escaped and got loose in the car on the way home. My boss handed it to me along with my paycheck and said I had to take it or I was fired...there was no time to get a carrier to transport and I had to put it in a cardboard box.

My daughter didn't like that idea for a name and wanted to name him Zip, after the little black & white cat Beanie Baby that he looks like.

But this cat had other ideas and about a week later he let us know he was to be called Chewy, after he began chewing on everything like a puppy.

And I could swear my daughter is speaking Chinese to that cat when she calls him to eat by saying "Chow time now, Chew."

I had another cat at one time that was called Packwack...because it's name was supposed to be Packrat (it liked to hide things) but my little sis couldn't say that right.

And there was the stray I took in that I asked him what his name was and he actually answered me...Meow. So that is what we called him, although he usually wouldn't respond unless you called him by his full name, Meow Meow. 

[app103]

Oh, one more thing...

Tell your daughter not to pick a name that she would be embarrassed to be calling while walking up & down the street, just in case the cat gets out of the house and lost.

The neighbors will hear you calling it, and if you pick the wrong name, they will think you are nuts. (that's how neighborhood rumors get started)

[Deozaan]

Name the cat "LOL"

[jgpaiva]

The neighbors will hear you calling it, and if you pick the wrong name, they will think you are nuts. (that's how neighborhood rumors get started)

That's a good point!
I guess that excludes www.smellsalot.com

[Carol Haynes]

A domain name could be useful for helping someone return a lost cat though - just put it on the tag and set up a webpage with a pic of the cat and a method of contacting you!

How about www.technocat.tv (available name) for the cat who's into technology and likes TV !

[cranioscopical]

How about www.technocat.tv (available name)

Nice piece of research there, Carol!

My goes into the wait-and-see pool. 
Most of our pets have been named for some behaviour or personality trait.  (We usually try to ignore the messier ones! Here ..itty,  ..itty, ..itty!)

[Edit: still can't spell]

[Ralf Maximus]

This is easy, I got the answer.
Bob.
Short, sweet, easy to spell and nongender specific. Who could go wrong with Bob?

I'm definitely suggesting this one, especially if it's a manx.  :-)

Thanks, CPilot!

Tell your daughter not to pick a name that she would be embarrassed to be calling while walking up & down the street, just in case the cat gets out of the house and lost.

The neighbors will hear you calling it, and if you pick the wrong name, they will think you are nuts. (that's how neighborhood rumors get started)

Excellent advice, and something I can easily convey.  She's at the age now where she's afraid of looking silly in public.  (I hope it's a passing phase...)

On the subtopic of how NOT to name an animal, I had some friends years ago who named their cat "ShitHead" and their dog "FreckleButt".  Both are lively and descriptive, yet fails the "calling for your pet in public" test. 

Needless to say, I will inform these folks of our new family member long after the name has been assigned.

[Darwin]

You could always go for the obvious: Aud's Cat. I like it because it's descriptive and you can smirk at the puzzled look on peoples' faces as they try to figure out why you are calling for "Odd Scat" 

[mouser]

Hey, aren't there some pet-naming generators on the web?

[p3lb0x]

I have asked Cody and I am awaiting an asnwer

[Ralf Maximus]

Hey, aren't there some pet-naming generators on the web?

Yup, and baby name generators, and Tokien name generators, and porn-film actor name generators...

But I wanted the feedback of folks I trust, and I know there are a lot of animal lovers here.  The auto-generator route would be a fallback position.

BTW, some DC account names are going on the list.  So far we have Darwin (if it's a boy cat), Renegade, and Mouser.  Any other candidates?

[p3lb0x]

Cody likes "LOL" but is saying that the cat should be allowed to choose its own name.
http://wtfcody.com/?page_id=5#comment-246

[Deozaan]

Cody likes "LOL" but is saying that the cat should be allowed to choose its own name.
http://wtfcody.com/?page_id=5#comment-246

I'd stuff the ballots with lots of LOLs!

Let the cat choose from a hat. Or a rat. Stuff the rats with names, when the cat eats a rat, take out the paper and announce the name!

[Ralf Maximus]

Cody likes "LOL" but is saying that the cat should be allowed to choose its own name.
http://wtfcody.com/?page_id=5#comment-246

Okay, that makes it official: "LOLCat" and "Cody" make the list.

Amusing Audrey-shopping-for-cat story of the day...

Mrs.Maximus took Audrey to PetSmart to see the adoption kitties, but I had to stay home and work.

A coupla hours later I hear joyful footsteps and calls of "Daddy! Daddy!" to (presumably) come up and meet the newest member of our happy family.  I go upstairs from the basement, only to see Mrs.Maximus and a very upset Audrey sitting and staring at an empty cat carrier, its door ajar.

"We lost her," Mrs.Maximus tells me, terror stricken.

"What?!"

"The cat's loose in the house.  We don't know where."

Emergency Pet Recovery Action Plan #22B unfurls in my mind, and I immediately run and secure the main floor so the escapee can't make it to the helipad and the other animals can't intrude on the crime scene. 

I'm cranked up to max adrenaline, looking for a flashlight to shine under beds and whatnot when Audrey starts laughing demonically.  "Daddy!  It was a joke."

Uh huh.  Turns out they couldn't find a kitty they liked after all.

Rest assured, there will be retribution.  These things tend to escalate around Fortress Maximus.

[p3lb0x]

Be sure to tell them who is the PIMP of the castle or rebellions will happen!!! If you indeed call the cat "LOLcat" the I will laugh out loud

[tomos]

LOLa

[cranioscopical]

Or Codette.

Nice story about the phantom escapee