Who knew naming a cat could be so difficult? Yeesh!
At the shelter, his name was Nero. That was definitely not a keeper of a name, although Simon did call him that for the first 30 hours or so while we tried on other monikers. I was an early fan of Percy, and Henry, and Jasper. Aren’t those great names? And Bruce. The first kitten I fell in love with on the shelter website was named Bruce, and I thought that was a wonderful name for a cat.
The family did not agree.
Then we came up with Butterscotch, which shortens to Scott and Scottie quite nicely, and I liked that too. But the boys had a hard time getting their mouths around Butterscotch, and once someone slipped and said Buttercup instead, and it stuck. (It’s kind of cute, actually, because that’s also one of the pet names I use for the boys. Maybe that’s the reason they liked it so much?)
I have wanted a Buttercup for quite some time. In fact, when I was pregnant with the Player to Be Named Later, who became Lucas, for the first 18 weeks of the pregnancy I was desperate for him to be a girl for many reasons, not least of which so I could call our little baby bump “Princess Buttercup.” Buttercup is an endearing and adorable name — for a female.
So we tried Buttercup for a few days, and while there’s no denying the cute factor, he’s begun to exhibit a wide mischievous streak. Try scolding something using the name Buttercup and keeping a straight face!
Beloved called me this morning and said he’d had an epiphany. We’d call the cat Streaky, after some cartoon they’d all watched this morning. And I immediately vetoed that one. Nope, not gonna work. But he did send me off on a hunt for the perfect orange tabby name.
Some of the contenders included Huckleberry, (Orange) Julius, Cheeto, (Orange) Pekoe, Oliver, Seamus, and Gizmo. I was particularly enamoured of Oliver, aka Ollie. And I read one online suggestion for Loki, the Norse god of mischief, which seemed exceptionally appropriate.
However, after all that, I think we have a winner. None of the above, though.
Meet William. William of Orange, in fact.
Willie for short.
(At least, that’s his name for today….)
Awww what a cutie!
We also have a cat (also an orange guy) and a dog, one of each is the best 🙂
Did you pick that because he has a “W” on his forehead?
I <3 cat pictures. So perfect that you got a kitten – I'm going to love your 365 this summer! 🙂 Could that hissing at the dog be more perfect? And love the lighting in the last one. BTW, I think the latter is a caption contest in the making: "who me? nothin', honest" or "you don't mind if I shred these drapes, do you?"
William is a good name! Love the photographs and his blue collar 🙂
Oh my goodness, he’s a Willie for sure!!
T.S. Eliot knew that naming a cat could be difficult. 🙂 I can’t resist:
THE NAMING OF CATS by T.S. Eliot
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 Jonathan, 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.
Fawn, you’re AMAZING!! I remember reading this in high school, TOTALLY forgot about it. It’s perfect!! 🙂