by Brenda Nelson

Created on: February 16, 2009   Last Updated: July 06, 2009

Some people say, "Cats don't come when you call them anyhow so what is the point of giving them names?". This may be partially true, but many cat owners do have cats that come when they are called and some even have cats that do know their names.

The key is to give the cat a name that sounds distinct, especially if you have more than one cat. As such some of the best named cats have short, one or two syllable names. If a person has more than one cat, they should all have distict sounding names, meaning they should all start and end in different sounds, and have different syllables. For example, the names "Buddy" and "Taffy" are somewhat similar and should not be used together in a multi cat home.

In my years of working at an animal shelter I noticed that people seemed to respond to different names differently when choosing a pet for adoption. One poor kitten had been named "Thunder", he never did get a home. Perhaps the name made him sound like he was too destructive. Sometimes even in human psychology people tend to live up to the name they are given, either good or bad. Some people put expectations on pets to live up to a name in an odd sort of way.

If a pet has a name of a human, it may be judged subconciously positively or negatively depending on if a person knows somebody in real life with that name. I personally am not fond of giving pets human names, particularly not common human first names, but other people find this perferable and even desirable.

I tend to try to name the cat something unsual, but not silly. I prefer to name a cat something that plays on its color or breed. Two of the cleverest names I ever heard were the names for my Aunts Himalayan cats, one was Annapurna, the other was Khatmandu, you can google those names if you do not understand the get the pun as associated to the breed. For short they were called Anna, and Khat. Two distinct names.

A good name is one you can say in a way that is easily recognizable by your pet. As well it needs to be a name you like and enjoy. If you allow your children to name the pet, chances are they will pick a name that you might not be comfortable with calling your pet three or four years from now. So remember you are the adult, if you want a unique and interesting name, do not give your kids the chance to name the cat. Naming your pet after characters in Disney movies might seem cute at the time, but you will soon find that the name is not unique or clever.

I find an easy thing is to look at the pet and run through the alphabet. Some letters might seem to fit your pet more than others, now flip through a dictionary and look for a name that fits. In this way you might come up with some unique names. Aspen, Baker, Cameo, and so on.

A good name is one that you like, that suits your pet, and is unique and memorable. Take the time to make sure the name you pick is one you can be happy with for years to come.

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