Is it wrong to NOT name a pet?

[Wcross]

This is Kitty. I picked up Kitty and his brother,the other Kitty last labor day by the side of the road. They are identicle twins. They are great cats, lots of fun and I treat them just as well as my six dogs. I see no point in naming them. They wouldn't come if I called out their name anyways so why bother?

[StopTheMorans]

1. i concur

[ZenLefty]

2. Kitty is a name.

So is 'Other Kitty'.

[Wcross]

6. I guess...

I don't call either "other kitty". I call them both Kitty. If I merely said "come here" they wouldn't come anyways but all six of the dogs would think I was requesting them to step forward. If I say come here Kitty- the dogs know I am not talking to them.

[Lavender Brown]

17. Aww... they look content

and healthy. That's all that matters.

[ET Awful]

18. Wow, lucky you :) A matched pair of kitties AND a matched pair of

dogs!

Do you have twin kids too? :) :) :)

[Wcross]

20. The two Mutts are father and son.

Buddy is the one closest to the camera, his son Moe is the one sniffing the cat.(no kids in the house)

[tridim]

3. My cat has a name, but I've never called her anything but "Kitty"

That's how the dogs know her too. "Hepburn" is her given name.

[MsAnthropy]

4. Totally agree. What a beautiful animal!

If George Foreman can name all of his sons "George", you can name your kitty Kitty.

[skypilot]

5. I have sometimes been tempted...

...to name a cat simpy "Cat".

[Wcross]

11. The woman at the vet thought it was odd....

I took them in and she insisted on them having different names. I told her Kitty #1 and Kitty #2.

[skypilot]

16. I've noticed that some vets can be a little odd...

...when reacting to pet names. I once had a cat that I named Arthur. I don't know why but every vet I ever took him to chuckled when I told them his name. That wasn't really the main thing though. I would notice that on Arthur's records, or anything the vets gave me that had his name on it, his name was always written as "Arthur" rather than simply Arthur. Is this common?

[Wcross]

23. One of my dogs is named Larry.

The other two pups are Moe and Curly. The younger girls at the vet don't get it, why I would name a dog Larry. (they have never heard about the three stooges)

[skypilot]

24. I think some people expect a pet's name...

...not to sound too human. I guess Larry and Arthur are no-nos in that regard.

And who on earth hasn't heard of the Three Stooges?:wtf:

[Wcross]

29. My Vets helpers...

My Vet treats all animals so he has a barn and Kennel which requires extra help. He hires local highschool kids to help out. I guess if you're 16 years old these days, the stooges might not have made you laugh.

[LynneSin]

33. I get that with Abbott and Evita

Abbott is usually introduced first and they assume that Evita's name has to be "Costello" cause I'm some sort of lame brain that would name my cats "Abbott & Costello"

Then I remind them that Abbott is actually named after Abbie Hoffman, but he's just adjusted to the name Abbott cause he's always in trouble and I'm always looking at him and doing my stern "ABBOTT!" name.

Evita is named after the musical, not the wife of an Argentinian dictator which yes, I know that the musical Evita is about her. But I love the musical, not Eva Peron

[Wcross]

34. I guess naming my dogs after the three stooges........

Might qualify me as a lame brain but it sounded good at the time!



Moe, Curly & Larry.

[Freebird12004]

22. I did name a cat "Cat"

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. My mother in law has a tabby named "Cat" and a calico named "Kitty"

and I once had a boyfriend who had a Chihuahua/spaniel (ouch!) mix named Puppy. The dog was 14 years old and still being called "Puppy".

[DrWeird]

7. I once had a dog named Yoohoo.

He always came when he was called.

[emulatorloo]

8. Each of my cats came when I called them by name

even when I had multiple cats.

My dogs know their own names, each other's names, and the names of several of the other neigborhood dogs.

Your mileage will vary.

[alarimer]

9. My aunt has a cat they call "the other one"

because she has two white cats. One has a name, I forger what it is, but the other one is just the other one.

Of course they have numerous cats (the number actually varies as they find homes for some) and at least 2 dogs (although now they also have like 7 puppies!). They live in the country. Still it must be hard to keep track...

[AlCzervik]

10. i had a german shepard collie mix when i was a kid

we named him Sherlock but if yelled out copy machine he'd come a running.

[JohnnyRingo]

12. I never named my cat...

I'd had a run of bad luck with cats at the time (It seems more painful to lose one that has a name), and didn't know he would gain such "street savvy".

He's my only cat so "Kitty" has worked just fine for 18 years now.

[jswordy]

13. I named our cat many things during it's 22-year life...

...usually after it scratched me, laid a turd in the wrong place or pissed somewhere unfortunate!

:headbang:

[Patiod]

14. we didn't either - ours is called The Little One

because i was boarding a friend's giant tomcat at the time we got her as a kitten, and we were always saying, "Where's Andy and the little one?" "will you stop Andy and the little one from fighting?" "Make the little one leave poor Andy alone"

By the time she got to be a normal-sized cat, we were so used to calling her The Little One that it stuck.

I do hate going to the vets and having her name called out, though.

But she does come in when she's called, though. Especially when we tap her food bowl and yell "Little!" at the same time.

[bettyellen]

26. mine was little girl. she would come when i called her girl,

so it stuck. my friend just gave me a beautiful grave marker for her that her carved her name on. i hope my landlord doesn't ask too many questions about what the hell it's doing in the back yard.

[Patiod]

31. That one needed a "may cause keyboard damage" alert

especially since I was drinking coffee when I read it.

[nickinSTL]

15. I personally think cats should be given names

If they're a part of your family, they deserve a name.

As to 'they wouldn't come if I called out their name...' That depends on the cat, I think.

My cat usually came when his name was called. When he didn't, it wasn't because he didn't know he was being called...it was because he didn't want to come.

[Kali]

19. Momma Kitty here

After a while you start to lose any imagination you may have had. I have a friend who didn't name his cat for the reason that he believes that would be human arrogance to DARE impose on such a regal creature so he refers to her as Noname, and when he feels like livening it up pronounces it in a psuedo Native American way as NoNahMay.

[movie_girl99]

21. i agree my kitties are

Dottie & Rutherford (Rutty) but they would come to anything with an "ie" sound on the end of it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

25. My mother in law has a Kitty...and a Cat...so she'd say no, it's

not wrong. :hi:

[ProfessorGAC]

27. Yes, It's Wrong

You should be deported! Just kidding! We had one that looked just like your kitty. She died a couple years ago, but lived to be almost 18.

BTW: We have had 3 cats in our family that came when called, from different room, as soon as they heard their name. So, it can be done.
The Professor

[Wcross]

30. Thats what the can-opener is for! n/t

[ElsewheresDaughter]

32. Cee A Tee....pronounced see eighty my pet is Dee O'Gee

[Solon]

35. Its not wrong per se...

but, cats can learn the names you give them, just follow a few simple rules. Number one, do not have a too complicated name that has more than say 3 syllables. 2 or less is perfect. Second, cats seem to respond better to names with the sharp "k" and "s" sounds, this isn't scientific, but all my cats know thier names. Here are the names for all five kitties of mine, from oldest to youngest: Kitkat, Cocoa, Zero, Reeses(see a pattern yet ;)), and last but not least, the odd ball, Sylvester. Thirdly, repeat the names to the cats, constantly, whenever you give them a treat, or whenever you feed them, make sure you say their names. In addition to that, look at the cat that you are speaking to, call them to attention, by let's say, a treat, or simply clapping your hands, and when they look at you, say their names. This is really important with multiple cats in the house, because it is easy to make them confused. Also, do not have names that are too similar, that is also confusing.

One thing to keep close to you is patience, cats aren't stupid, they are really smart, but they do have extremely short attention spans, and are easily distracted. The key is persistance and annoy the fuck out of them, and they will love you for it, or you lose a finger a two. ;) One way to actually tell if you had success in the training is by calling a cats name, in front of the other cats, and it is the only one to respond, either by looking at you, or crawling into your lap.