01 October 2008

Please help me name my cat!



We have a new cat! And we have to come up with a name. The shelter had named her Hannah, which I don't want to keep as her name because I know some human Hannahs.

So I'm sort of semi-secretly (shhh!) going to give anyone who suggests a name two bonus chances for next week's drawing for the Hachette books. I'm going to link to this post from my books blog but not say there are any bonus chances, just that I want some naming help.

She is a year old, very small and thin. She has short hair, and is white and black. She's timid, and while she likes being petted, she doesn't like to be picked up. She has beautiful light brown eyes. They look sort of crabby in that photo, but she was having a bad day, being put in a carrier and handled by strangers and hissed at.

Name I've suggested: Minerva (after Professor MacGonagall). Unfortunately, my son says it's a horrible name. But it's my turn in my family to name a cat, so he might just have to get used to it unless you guys help me pick a better one.

Names my (freak) husband has suggested: Not a Barky Dog, Fluffy Ninja, The Odds Against This Name Are Astronomical, Mr Kite, Mrs Henderson, A Splendid Time Is Guaranteed for All.

Name our son suggested: McFuzzlebottom.

So, what are your suggestions?

52 comments:

raidergirl3 said...

Your husband should not be allowed to name things.
I've never named a pet, so I'm not even sure where to start.

Hermione seems like a cat's name. or Mrs Norris.

I have no imagination - I'm just building on the HP suggestion.

Meryl said...

I always wanted to name a cat "Spot" when I was a child. (This was before Data's "Spot" on Star Trek.) But my family got into this convention of naming cats after snack foods--Snickers, Skittles, Hershey, etc.

I like Minerva though. Maybe Min for short?

MySharonAnne said...

I had a foster kitty that looked similar. I named her Jewel. So that's my suggestion. I also like the name sweetpea. my next cat will be sweetpea.

Darlene said...

I don't know why but I look at her and think Star is a good name. Something about the white patch-I can't explain. She's adorable though.

Anonymous said...

Pyewacket! :)

Jen (Devourer of Books) said...

Some ideas from Wikipedia's List of Fictional Cats:
Bast/Bastet (an Egyptian goddess)
Binx
Dinah
Imelza
Mehitabel
Moxie
Selima
Thomasina
In other news, I'm not sure why Wikipedia people seem to think that some movies = literature.

Nicole (Linus's Blanket) said...

Eeeeh! She is adorable. I petted her through the screen. I do that, virtually pet cats. She looks like a Pepper to me. But I think I'm partial to the spice rack names ever since my mom named her cats Ginger and Spicy. My Cats have old man names like Walter and Leo.

I wonder if it's the breed that doesn't like to be picked up. Is she a tuxedo cat? From her face she looks like one. Leo is a tux and he loves being petted but hates being picked up.

Okay, will stop being a crazy cat person now.

L^2 said...

Oh, I like coming up with names! Since you’re a book-blogger, how about:

Booker, Novel, Writer, Author, Story, Poem, Prose, Word, Stanza, Rhyme, Page, Script, Line, Para (paragraph), English, French, Jot, Scribble, Text, Fable, Doodle, Pen, Type, Drama, Haiku, Fairytale, Copy, Print, Journal, Epic, Fantasy, Draft, Scrawl, Opus, Essay, Fiction, Legend, Myth, Saga, Satire, Parody, Sketch, Tale, Thesis, Treatise, Verse,...

I could keep going, but I won’t. LOL
Congrats on the new cat. Hope you find a good name for her soon. :-)

Anonymous said...

I uber-heart cats, so in no particular order, here's what came to mind when I saw your little girl:

Calliope
Tatiana (I wanted Puck, but that's too boyish)
Nadine
Adelaide (or Heidi)
Tonks or Lily (in keeping with the HP theme)
Katriona or Lissar (from Robin McKinley)
Agatha, Charlotte or bell (Christie, Bronte or hooks)

Hmm. I will have to keep thinking.

Good luck in discovering what her name is!!

beastmomma said...

She looks like a Rocky or Cookie (like the ice cream flavor cookies & cream)

Anonymous said...

I always wanted to name a cat after a Greek goddess or something (they seem to act like they are little gods anyway, at least mine do...)

How about Athena (wisdom and liking books goes together well...)? Diane might be cute.

On the other hand, how about Belle? She looks like a beauty to me.

Eva said...

I quite like Minerva; you could always call her Minnie for short.

The way you say kitten/cat in Russian is 'koshka,' with the emphasis on the first syllable, which I always thought was adorable (I call my niece koshinka, which is a diminuitive, so it's like calling her little kitten).

I also really like the name Cosette for a cat. But I'm not sure if she looks like one or not...it's difficult to judge from one pic! :)

Anyway, congrats on the new addition!

Anonymous said...

• Portia (from Julius Caesar, of course)?

• Birdie (the strong female character in Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman?

• Paikea (the name of the girl in Whale Rider)? This is the one I like best.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Ok, going with the literary themes here ...

Charlotte - as in the one who married Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice - she's also timid and despite her odd marriage she does end up carving out a special place all for herself

Maud'dib - Ok, this one is from the Dune books, and yes, it was a male character, but the name means "mouse" (in one of the languages of the book) and it would be adorable for a cat - you could call her Maude for short :)

Emily - as in Emily Cuthbert from Anne of Green Gables - although she was gruff and not outwardly affectionate (as your kitty seems to be, at least so far), she had a heart of gold and truly cared for those she loved

This suggesting thing has taxed my brain! Hopefully you enjoy my ideas even if you don't choose one of them.

FYI, when we were kids my sister always said that the next time we got a cat she'd name is Knickie (from Grease) ... luckily we never did get another cat!

Wendy said...

She looks like a Zelda to me :)

http://www.caribousmom.com

Dewey said...

I don't think she's a tuxedo cat, unless she's wearing a white tuxedo with holes in it! She's more white with spots.

Names that jumped out at me from your suggestions so far: Athena, Koshinka, Zelda


Names that won't work because we know people with those names: Charlotte, Min, Emily.

I will read every single name to my husband and son and see what they think!

Anonymous said...

You could keep with the Frenchy name theme-- Suzette or Ninette.... Okay, that's not serious. How about Manon, like from Manon des Sources?

SassyCupcakes said...

Given that it's banned books week and you've been reading East of Eden, how about Cathy or Kate, Liza, or Faye?

I have two cats, Annabella (Annie) and Isidor (Isi). Our dog is named after Denny Crane from Boston Legal. :)

Maree said...

Oh, she's gorgeous!
Our female cats' names are Misty, Chloe, Scout and Piper.
I don't know what I'd call her _ I alwasy agonise over cat names. Piper was nearly Pepper, though.
There's always T S Eliot ... The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter ... :)

Alyce said...

I don't know how much help I will be on this one because I've always called all of my cats "kitty" (kind of like Lisa Simpson and her cats all names Snowball). Come to think of it my granmother named all of her cats Suzie, so maybe it's genetic! :)

My first thoughts were:

Spot
Sam
Henry(then I realized it was a girl, so this probably isn't the best)
Princess (gag)
Snuggles
Diva
...and I think I'm out of ideas.

Marny said...

The first name I could think of was Serafina/Seraphina, no idea where that comes from :-)

Jeannie said...

Hi- first time stopping by. It's wonderful that you rescued this sweet little kitty. :D

I like the names...

1. Sable
2. Bianca
3. Bessie (like a little black and white cow).

Congratulations on the new addition to your family.

Andreea said...

Tasha?
I've always wanted to have a cat named Tasha :D

Congratulations on your new kitty, it's absolutely lovely!!!

Dreamybee said...

How about Dinah, from Alice in Wonderland, or Claudia (Claude for short)?

She kind of looks like a bat with those big ol' ears. I wish I could think of something appropriately batty...Belfrey (Belle for short, although I think somebody already mentioned that.)

CJ said...

Smudge, for the bit of black on her chin.

cjh

Anonymous said...

A few Swiss-inspired suggestions!
Choupinette
Zazou
Peluche
Brioche
Liloo
Mirabelle
Ronronne

I think choupinette is my favorite - and you can shorten to choupi!
- Verbivore

Ladytink_534 said...

Oh I love names! I had a black and white cat when I was a kid named Kitty Baby (actually Doodle to begine with) the family got better at naming cats. Jarren for example is a mash of my name Jennifer with my husband's name Darren.

Since they don't like Minerva, what about Maggie (the actor's real name)? Or Audrey? Or Belle?

Anything is better than McFuzzlebottom!

Anonymous said...

I like Sassy's idea but I suggest Abra :)

I also like your husband's ideas LOL.

We have a Harry Potter-inspired cat.Her name is Luna.

Lezlie said...

I have no name suggestions, but congratulations on the new family addition! Such a pretty girl!

Lezlie

Charlotte said...

She looks like a Dorothy to me, either for Dorothy Parker or Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

Another commenter suggested Charlotte. Of course that is also a lovely name ...

Anonymous said...

Charlie
Dinah
Eve
Hazel
Mog
Arwen
Hepzibah (no, seriously)
Cat.

Bybee said...

Ilsa. (I've been watching Casablanca)

Lisa said...

hedwig! I want a HP named cat.

I also like the idea of a cat named Mrs. Norris, as raidergirl3 suggests.

Claire said...

I just love naming things. Here's my suggestions:

Merrikat
Sloane
Elsa
Marabelle
Dinah

She's awfully soulful looking.

Mandy said...

How about Oreo?

Serena said...

Here's some suggestions...I may have gone overboard!

Amber, for the color of cat's eyes

Ambrose

onomatopoeia

Page

Pulp

Galley

ARC

Oreo

Jackie (Literary Escapism) said...

We had a completely black cat named Chaos...she so completely fit her name, so don't name your cat demon or anything like that. :)

Anonymous said...

I like the name Moxie Crimefighter, which is what Penn Jillette named his daughter. I think it's a terrific name. I tried to name one of my cats that, but she seemed to like Bear better.

Unknown said...

How about Moxie? I love that word, its just so sassy and so are cats. Or Juno.

valentina said...

I'd call her Mowzer, she looks exactly like the cat in the picture book "The Mousehole Cat"!:
http://valentinasroom.blogspot.com/2008/05/picture-book-monday-mousehole-cat-by.html

valentina said...

also Amelia, Isadora, Stella, Amaranta.

Lexi said...

I like Oreo (um, TM).

pussreboots said...

Clawdia

Mandy said...

Beautiful cat.

What about Oreo?

I have two cats and their names are Marshmallow and Cinnamon.

I have an obsession with food haha.

Kathleen said...

Wow that's a lot of suggestions!

It's hard to think of something not already said. Hmm.

How about: Alaria, Anika, Janae (pro. Jah-Nay-ah), Persephone, Sakagawea, Muskoka, Sierra/Ciara, Lashley, Sennara, Narria, Fooshka... OK I know I'm weird LOL.

I like the idea of a bookish name but you already have lots of ideas that way.

Ti said...

How about Franny of Franny & Zooey fame?

She's on the older side but Lolita has a nice ring to it.

Or Dot..for Dorothy.

Abigail?

Franny is growing on me.

Dreamybee said...

Cleopatra? Then you could call her Cleo or Patch for short.

Monica (aka monnibo) said...

Just to appease your son, make sure her full name ends with McFuzzleBottom.

Everyone calls my (our) cat Henry, but I know his full name is Sir Henry McSquishington Fluffybutt. Sometimes just Squishy for short.

Anyway...... I think you should name her Maggie... for Maggie Smith, who PLAYS Minerva McGonegal. Ta da! Maggie McFuzzlebottom.

Dewey said...

Actually, we always give our cats first, middle and last names. So her last name is definitely McFuzzlebottom.

I think she'll be either Zazou (thanks for the suggestion!) or Minerva. We're trying both out for now.

Crystal Arcand said...

I like Bronte Zazou McFuzzleBottom or Zazou Mignonette McFuzzleBottom.

Debi said...

Oh my goodness, she's beautiful!!! And looks so much like the kitty we got from the shelter a couple weeks ago (he doesn't have the black on his chin). Personally, I love Minerva...so I think you should just go with your first instinct.

Jaime said...

Hahahah... I kinda like "Mrs. Henderson".

She strikes me as a "Delilah".