My mom and our neighbor began feeding a group of stray cats last summer. Nature took its course, and the cats increased and multiplied and began to fill the Earth until a few of them became roadkill and a few others went out into the Big Wide World and still others very likely were captured by irate neighbors and turned over to the S.P.C.A. My mom and the neighbor still feed the cats regularly, though the cast of characters continues to change.A few weeks ago they spotted a lone kitten who didn't look like he would be able to make it on his own. So they captured him and set him up in our neighbor's pool cabana. He is a quiet, gentle, moderately curious kitten with silky fur of a solid charcoal-gray color. His eyes are a dark Hazel, and barely show any whites. He can hide in any crevice and perfectly resemble a shadow.
My mom has finally decided to adopt him and turn our trio of cats back into a quartet. We have taken him into our house and have isolated him from the other cats in a bathroom, where he can get used to the idea of living in a people house. On Friday we will take him to the vet to get him checked out and to set him up for future visits. But to do that we need to assign him a name for their records. What name?
For the past few weeks my mom has been calling him Babusz, pronounced BAY-boosh, a Polish word that means "baby." But we're not sure that name will work. My nephew suggested "Ashes", because he was fond of our dear departed cat. But I don't think we'll be using that name. I've rejected "Spooky" and "Smoky". "Shadow?" Maybe. I've also thought of "Lamont" and/or "Cranston", but no one would get that.
We're working on figuring out a name by Friday. Your input would be appreciated! Please submit any suggestions to the Comments. Thanks!
You already said it...he resembles a Shadow, there ya go!
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly. A bit cliche, but hey, it works.
ReplyDeleteThe stray grey kitty I adopted was named Regis because he is small grey and annoying - just like Regis Philbin. Some one I know adopted a grey kitty recently and called her Macy (inspired by Macy Grey).
ReplyDeleteAlso, one of the pure bred breeds of a grey cats is a Russian Blue - so how about Aleksander or Boris or some Russian name?
When I was a kid my sister always got to name our cats. So we had Rusty, Spooky, Whiskers, etc. My last two where named Indira (as in Ghandi, she was too pretty to name Margaret Thatcher) and Ptolemy (the astronomer). Be creative.
ReplyDeleteWe've tested Raven, Oni (a word my nephew heard somewhere, turns out it's a Japanese demon, a comic book publisher, and the Office of National Intelligence), Nero (Italian for "black", according to the Babelfish), Loki, and Merlin. My other nephew suggested "Trixie", which we rejected because that's his dog's name. (Named by his brother after Gollum's desciption of Frodo and Sam as "Tricksy Hobbitses." Right now Babusz is the frontrunner, just from frequency of use.
ReplyDeleteOne of our gray strays was named Caleb. He disappeared pretty quickly. Not unlike the song he was named after - Caleb Meyer.
ReplyDeleteGoing along with the ghostly theme, how about Marley (as in Jacob Marley)?
Although, I think I might stick with Babusz - I like ethnic names.
I've always liked the name "Fisher" for a male cat. And if you want to get really ethnic, the Polish word for kitten is "kotka".
ReplyDeleteIT'S A GIRL!! So now we have two boys and two girls.
ReplyDeleteAnd she's got intestinal parasites. So she has to be isolated from the other cats for two more weeks.
We went with Babusz. Everybody at the vet's office loved her.
Good choice
ReplyDeleteRicky said you should name her Cassie. I say Spooky.
ReplyDeleteI saw you have picked a name but wanted to give you our input.
She is beautiful. :)
Cassie would have been a great name. Damn. Very astronomical, as Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern shy ("The big W") that I use to find the Andromeda galaxy.
ReplyDeleteI shall tell Ricky that. Jr. astronomer that he is. :)
ReplyDelete