On a lighter note… help name these kitties!

30th October 2009

On a lighter note… help name these kitties!

posted in Personal, Rachel |

So, I mentioned that we were considering an abused Himalayan with behavioral issues. I found that cat only after I had first inquired about two Siamese mix kitties and was told that another woman was already committed to them. The Himalayan cat is in a shelter foster home in a city nearly two hours from my home and apart from an initial email from the shelter manager a week ago, I haven’t heard back. They haven’t responded to my emails, voicemails and regardless of what time of day I call, no one answers the phone. We would also have had a lot to consider before adopting the Himalayan, such as if I am equipped to handle his behavioral issues and if my cats and bunnies would be safe around him since he bites. I got an email the other night from the foster mom of the two kitties saying that the prospective adopter changed her mind and that they were available again. I had initially only set out to get one more cat, but she was insistent that they be adopted together since they’ve bonded so strongly. How could I resist?

I just picked them up yesterday afternoon and it’s been somewhat bittersweet thus far. I have already fallen head-over-heels for them but at the same time can’t help but realize that they are here only because I no longer have my beautiful Grayson. That they were found as strays in a garage is comforting considering that I also found Grayson as a stray in my parent’s garage. Neither Brandon or I have had Siamese cats before, so it’s a new experience for us. I’ve heard that the breed has its quirks, so please fill us in all you Siamese cat-lovers. The short-haired one has a slight cross-eye, which the foster mom assures us is common in the breed and doesn’t harm his vision. They’re yet unnamed kitties. I could pick out a dozen beautiful girl’s names, but I’m drawing a blank on good boy names for kitties (I despise cutesy names). I like Ari for the fluffy one, but the husband doesn’t care for it. We’re thinking of Bogart for the short-haired one, but aren’t sure. Suggestions are very much welcome!!

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1 On October 30th, 2009, spoonfork38 said:

Siamese, even mixed breeds, are usually pretty vocal, so you may be in for a loud time!

If you name one Bogart, you could name the other Claude, after Claude Rains in Casablanca, or maybe Louis (or Renault) after Claude Rain’s character? “Louis, this may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 12:24 pm

2 On October 30th, 2009, Amanda said:

Adorable kitties! I’ve had a female Siamese mix for just over a year now, and am still absolutely in love with her. I’d heard that Siamese could be very loud, but she’s actually the quieter of my two cats and rarely vocalizes. She does love to knead me though – anytime I’m sitting down, she’ll jump up and knead my tummy, legs, or arms for a while before settling down to cuddle. A little bit neurotic, but also cute No ideas for names, although I might try to think of something tiger or wolf related for the fluffy one – he looks fierce!

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 12:31 pm

3 On October 30th, 2009, Hazel said:

OMG they are sooo cute. Hold them close and never let them go! Both my kitties (Freya and Loki) are Siamese mixes from the East Asian cat bloodline. They like to talk to me and are not too loud. In fact their talking always tells me where they are, if they feel lonely, and sometimes if something is even wrong, like a dog outside or often a bird. Their favorite bed is a nice thick sheepskin and they can’t get enough of wool balls or yarn balls.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 12:55 pm

4 On October 30th, 2009, returnofconky said:

The one on the left looks like a little bobcat, and I’m in love with the cutie on the right with the lazy eye. Congratulations on the new additions to your family.

5 On October 30th, 2009, Bianca said:

Well my first reaction was omgsoooocute!!!!!!!!, but I don’t think that really works for a boy’s name.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 1:18 pm

6 On October 30th, 2009, Elizabeth said:

“The one on the left looks like a little bobcat, and I’m in love with the cutie on the right with the lazy eye.”

OK, then the answer is clear. The name of the one on the left is Bob.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

7 On October 30th, 2009, Bekbek said:

Diesel and Sprocket, to honor their garage origins.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 1:47 pm

8 On October 30th, 2009, Fluffycat said:

Yup, Siamese are supposed to be vocal. I’ve also found them to be very affectionate and loving.

I think sometimes you need to hang out with them for a bit before you can figure out good names for them.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 1:54 pm

9 On October 30th, 2009, WendyRG said:

Here are a few suggestions:

Wallace and Grommit
Troylus and Cressida
Anthony and Cleopatra
Mutt ‘n Jeff
Orfeus and Eurydice

They’re adorable. Enjoy!

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 1:59 pm

10 On October 30th, 2009, Alice said:

Oh, my. They look SO much like my former cat, Max, and my friend’s cat, Junior. (Junior looked like your little bobcat, and Max looked like your cross-eyed shorthair.) Both are gone now, and so it’s so amazing to see two cats so similar to them cuddled up like that.

The main differences I noted with siamese are the vocal-ness (they can be louder, but they’re often just more frequently vocal to express themselves.) Some people with allergies won’t have as many issues – Siamese dander differs from regular cat dander, which is why we got Max for our family.

I agree that names sometimes take time – boy names that we considered for our current cat were Sebastian, Sasha (what we went with), Edmund and Clyde.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

11 On October 30th, 2009, Jae said:

Spoonfork’s idea is awesome I second that.

Congratulations on your two new kitties!

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

12 On October 30th, 2009, Bree said:

I had a Siamese mix named Sam (she chose it after a friend’s cat). He was actually pretty quiet, but had a temper on him and was not lovable. But he was company and handsome. He lived to be 20.

If you’re considering Bogart for the shorthair, how about Bacall for the other?

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 2:35 pm

13 On October 30th, 2009, Rachel said:

Haha, creative suggestions, all

I agree that names sometimes take time – boy names that we considered for our current cat were Sebastian, Sasha (what we went with), Edmund and Clyde.

I like Sebastian for the fluffy cat, but the husband isn’t so keen. My first (girl) cat was named Sasha I also like Edmund, as well as Edward or Henry (I tend to go more for the old-fashioned names).

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 3:30 pm

14 On October 30th, 2009, Geogrrl said:

I tend to like formal names for cats. Our black Bombay (Burmese/Shorthair mix) looks like a miniature panther. It took some consideration before we settled on Cyrus. When we tried it out on him, I swear he nodded, as if to say “That’ll do fine.”

Since it’s a male and female, Victoria and Albert (which will be Vicky and Al or Tory and Bert or whatever). I also really like Chester or Alfred for a male cat.

The main quirk with Siamese is that they tend to be fiercely loyal–to one person. Everyone else they’re lukewarm about. Other than that, they’re very smart and rather talkative. And yes, the crossed eyes are common in Siamese and shouldn’t cause any problems.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 3:46 pm

15 On October 30th, 2009, Georgia said:

The one with the lazy eye should be Smeekop and the fuzzier one should be Murray.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 3:47 pm

16 On October 30th, 2009, Rachel said:

Geogrrl: We were throwing around names yesterday and I joked that we should one Jesus (surprisingly, its #79 on last year’s top 100 most popular boy’s names). The fluffy cat instantly looked up and began purring and making all kinds of weird noises. Brandon said that it was a sign, but I’m putting my foot down.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 4:07 pm

17 On October 30th, 2009, Geogrrl said:

Bwahaha! Yes, I think I’d put my foot down regarding “Jesus”, but obviously the fluffy one has definite ideas about his/her status in the household.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 4:15 pm

18 On October 30th, 2009, me again said:

Oh Rachel, I am so, so, so happy to hear about your adoption. At the same time, I am sorry to hear that you lost Grayson. I don’t plan on having children, so my kitties are my children. I recently lost two of my beloved babies and I miss them so much. Tomorrow would have been their birthday.

How about ‘Chaos’ and ‘Meander’?

Happy Halloween!

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 4:18 pm

19 On October 30th, 2009, Elizabeth said:

My FIL had twin boy kitties named “Trouble” and “Mischief”.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 4:38 pm

20 On October 30th, 2009, kellzzz said:

Congrats on your adoption! My Siamese mix was VERY cross-eyed, but the only time he seemed to have trouble was when something got really close to his face–he’d have to blink and re-focus. He was also really vocal and quite loud if he really got going. Combined with the fact that the Siamese voice sounds a lot like a baby crying, I used to be convinced that my neighbors thought I was abusing a child in my apartment.

Names are so personal that I think they have to just come to you. My pets have always been named after real people who are significant to me (Roosevelt, Ernie Banks) or movie characters (Georgey Girl, Churchy).

Good Luck!

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 4:40 pm

21 On October 30th, 2009, Bekbek said:

I’m so tickled, we have a cat named Sebastian, and another we adopted as an adult that came with the name Sebastian, which we then changed to Meander ( we thought calling him Part Deux all the time might make him feel inferior)

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 4:42 pm

22 On October 30th, 2009, merri said:

Those are SO ADORABLE!!!! Growing up, we had a cat who got out four litters of kittens before we were able to spay her. Twice, one of the batch came out looking like the cross eyed one (without the cross eye), siamese cat looking but grey/white. They were really good natured and friendly and got picked right away for homes. Good luck with the new babies…I wish I could get a kitty.. Awwwww.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 4:56 pm

23 On October 30th, 2009, Rachel said:

@kellzezz: My orange cat Teddy is named after Theodore Roosevelt. I got him when he was a week old and virtually reared him. He was always so passionate and demanding and spirited that it reminded me, the history major geek, of Roosevelt’s reputation of being a bull in a china closet. Six years later, the name still suits him perfectly.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 5:09 pm

24 On October 30th, 2009, Elizabeth said:

Another set of names that would honor their garage heritage are Click and Clack (or Tom and Ray if that’s too cutesy).

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 5:14 pm

25 On October 30th, 2009, Kai said:

Heeh! Adorable. I have a Siamese who is so loving my mom decided she must have one as well (though the kitten she ended up getting is actually a snowshoe, and I suspect a ragdoll at that XD). They’re wonderful, wonderful kitties. I also have a ginger tabby and the Siamese’s voice is so distinct I can instantly tell who’s mewing (and thus determine if I need to go “save” anyone XD).

As for names, the fluffy one looks like a lynx to me. Which then immediately made me think of Bubastis from Watchmen – Bubastis and Ozymandias? (Ozy for short. XD) Or Bubastis and Adrian?

If you did decide to go with Edmund for one, you could do a Narnia theme and name the other Aslan. XD

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 6:07 pm

26 On October 30th, 2009, jojo.k said:

Rachel,
If you go with Jesus, go with the spanish pronunciation.

Another option is Si and Am, the names of the Siamese from Lady and the Tramp.
In the novel version they were Nip and Tuck. And of course they were vocalized by the lovely Peggy Lee, which offers up another girl/boy name option.

Of course you could continue with your presidential name scheme.
The bobcatty one could be Van for Van Buren. And it’s believed that Abraham Lincoln had a lazy eye, so Abe?

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 6:08 pm

27 On October 30th, 2009, Mary said:

When I rescued my last group of strays, three five week old kittens, I “mis-sexed” one of them. Instead of Romeo and Juliet I had to revise a few weeks later to Romey (a/k/a Romey and Michelle) and Juliet. Tucker got to keep his name. Juliet, alas, lost her Montague, but not as tragically as her namesake.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 6:31 pm

28 On October 30th, 2009, Alyssa (The 40 year-old) said:

How cute!!!!!
Sorry, I’m drawing a blank on names.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 7:34 pm

29 On October 30th, 2009, Twistie said:

ZOMG! CUTE! I’m sure they’ll both bring you years of joy and furry cuddles.

As for naming them, well, I find that’s a very personal thing, but when a cat starts reacting positively to a particular name, it’s made up its mind what it wants to be called.

posted on October 30th, 2009 at 10:12 pm

30 On October 31st, 2009, ValGrl said:

Hmmm,
You could name the short-haired one Marty as in Marty Feldman (Yeah, I’m kinda wrong that way) or Igor (possibly pronounced ‘Eye-gor’).
Thus leaving the fluffy one to be named Gene (Wilder) or Peter (Boyle) or Frederick (Frankenstein, pronounced ‘Fronk-en-steen’of corse!)

OK, I need to stop being silly, though I do like Marty for the short-haired cutie.

posted on October 31st, 2009 at 3:10 am

31 On October 31st, 2009, Aurora Erratic said:

When I lost my beautiful Tosha, a 20-yr-old tabby who had been my best friend through some pretty tough times, I told my husband NOT to go get me a kitten to try and cheer me up. But a few days later we found three littermates under a dumpster. We brought them in out of the cold, but of course they were then there to stay. Two years later they are still kittenish, I think because we kept them together. They can’t replace Tosh (and her littermate, Puma, who died a few months eearlier), obviously, but they were and are a comfort to my broken heart.

posted on October 31st, 2009 at 6:11 am

32 On October 31st, 2009, Lexie Di said:

Bogart is an adorable name! He’s very dashing, in looks too. ^.~

I was thinking Desi for the other because the color’s of his fur remind me of a desert and it would keep with the actor theme- Desi Arnaz. Or Durante after Jimmy Durante? Because the dark outline on his face makes him look like he has a big nose. It’s so cute.

Bogart and Desi.
Bogart and Durante.

Hehe! I’m horrible with names, but there are my ideas.

posted on October 31st, 2009 at 6:28 am

33 On October 31st, 2009, Lexie Di said:

Milo and Otis just came to me too. I love that movie. Hehe!

posted on October 31st, 2009 at 6:29 am

34 On October 31st, 2009, Rachel said:

Okay, so we decided on what we believe will be the final names last night. Drumroll, please…. The fluffy one is Sebastian and the short-haired one is Sydney. As much as I wanted to continue the presidential line, Truman and Johnson, two of my other favorite presidents, just didn’t seem to fit them.

Oh, and that shelter finally called me back. Nigel, the Himalayan, certainly has the potential to come around and be a sweet cat, said the foster mom. He’s already progressed in the short time she’s had him. He went from shaking and being totally terrified to actually coming up to her and wanting his chin scratched. And he’s totally fine with cats; it’s just people he’s shy around. I’m taking a look at him today. Obviously we’d still have a lot to consider since getting the kittens — we can’t handle all that many more $6,000 vet bills — but even if I just foster him, he’d have a much better chance at my home than hers. She fosters dozens of ferals and other cats and just doesn’t have the time to give him the interaction he needs. We’re meeting this afternoon, so I’ll keep everyone posted.

posted on October 31st, 2009 at 8:47 am

35 On October 31st, 2009, Vixen said:

Oh, I’m too late to the party; pout.

The shorthair said, “Franklin” to me, the minute I saw him. But then I read that you already have a Roosevelt….

They are gorgeous kitten monsters.

posted on October 31st, 2009 at 1:25 pm

36 On October 31st, 2009, Bronwyn said:

Sometimes when you throw out a crazy suggestion it turns out just right- I got a kitten a little over a year ago and when we were thinking of names I said I wanted something original and sorta zany, and my fiance suggested “Polyglot” which I dismissed out of hand..

Guess who’s named Polyglot now? It turned out to be PERFECT for him.

posted on October 31st, 2009 at 4:20 pm

37 On November 1st, 2009, Samantha said:

Oh my, I can see that you didn’t adopt them, THEY adopted YOU.
You better behave yourself or they’ll give you a piece of their minds.

**Congratulations!**

posted on November 1st, 2009 at 5:16 pm

38 On November 1st, 2009, Nakari said:

Sugar was at least part Siamese; other than his markings and baby blue eyes, he was also very vocal. My friend and I could have “conversations” with him by talking to him with him meowing back in return. I always like to think he understood me.

Sugar was more like a little puppy than a cat at times – he loved to follow me around the house (even into the bathroom), and in the morning he would knock things off my table to wake me up for his breakfast. He was very smart and knew who’s who and loved interacting with people although at the end of the day the one he loves the most would be me. His favourite game more than anything, was fetching paper balls. I trained him in about a day in the same manner someone would a dog. While my friend was taking care of him, he and her pomeranian Sparkle grew very, very close, which wasn’t surprising because Sparkle has been described as a cat-like dog.

So, that’s my experience in 2 paragraphs.

Good luck with Mr. Himalayan!

posted on November 1st, 2009 at 5:27 pm

39 On November 2nd, 2009, *e* said:

Congrats on the new kitties!

posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 9:56 am

40 On November 2nd, 2009, Rachel said:

So, I went and saw the Himalayan on Saturday. He’s actually much, much sweeter than I expected. His foster mom is a professor and she took him into her office where he hid most of the day in his carrier. He has a real problem with people approaching him, most likely because he’s been lunged and grabbed at by demon children for so long. The foster mom has to hide her hand under a town and then put the towel on his face to get him out. Once he’s out, he’s actually a very sweet lap cat. He only weighs about 12 pounds but because of all the fur looks like a much bigger cat. I fell in love with him of course, but I’m really not sure I can take on a SEVENTH cat (my max has always been five, but I made an exception for the kitties since they were inseparable). I’m also afraid that since I would be the one primarily working with him — and he does need lots of patience and attention — that I just won’t have time for him AND my other cats and bunnies. Brandon is fond of all our pets, but I’m the one who feeds them and cleans out the cage and litterboxes. Brandon is also concerned about taking on another cat for the possibility of vet bills like the one we are still paying off. The Himalayan will stay with the foster mom indefinitely so he’ll be safe and have food and shelter, but because she also has lots of foster cats, she just can’t give him the personal attention he needs. Emotionally, he’s mine already, but logically, I know I just can’t take on another cat right now, especially a special needs one.

If anyone is near Louisville, Ky. and thinks they can take on such a sweet but special needs cat, please let me know and I’ll put you in contact with her.

posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 am

41 On November 2nd, 2009, Lu said:

The best decision I ever made (petwise) was to adopt sibling kitties. They are beautiful!

posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 11:25 am

42 On November 3rd, 2009, odessa said:

Congrats on the new additions. My Siamese mixes have always been a joy. Just hope you don’t mind a little extra talking. Also, Siamese can make great “guard dogs” – Don’t be suprised if they growl at strange noises.

posted on November 3rd, 2009 at 10:01 pm

43 On November 5th, 2009, Nicole said: