pets and why they are called what they are called

I ahev 3 cats a British Blue  who was given to me as he has a curly tail so couldnt have a pedigree. Hes called Grendle after the monster in Beowolf as he is a monster. What he lacks in brains he makes up in brawn. just a thu g really.

My other 2 cats are a brother and sister, Lennie and Elvera. She is a tortoiseshell named after the naughty ghost in Blithe Spirit because she can be naughty. Lennie is a ginger tom who is frightened of his own shadow, a real wimp.

I love them all but i dont like the remains of mice left for me.

We had Jason-he was a budgie named after Jason King

Rosie-a dog- after Rosie And Jim-kids named her

Kelly-another dog -but can't remember why

Kally-another dog -just a spin on Kelly

Cody-current dog -just because we liked the name

We have three cats as well, all about 2 years old and from the same litter although one came to us about a year later than the others as it was decided that a cat living in a flat wasn't a good idea. 

The two girls are called Cleo and Dora, Cleo because she wants to be at the centre of everything and is a typical queeny cat, Dora because when we first got her she wanted to explore everywhere. The third cat is a chap and came already with a name, Buster, he's a big brute and is incredibly clumsy but the most gentle of them all.

We have tropical fish too but far too many to name, and they all look too similar.

I have Oscar, a lovely cross between border collie and springer spaniel. He is quite mad. See Forkers post. he was a rescue, came with a rediculous name so we sat down and shouted names at him till he responded 

2 cats neither of which i have by choice - white with bit of black and was daughters, when she left home, left cat

Then Sophie, fluffy, one eyed, black and white who was my ma's and so had to be adopted. Not a pleasant cat!!!

I have been reliably informed that you should call pets by a two syllable names- although they can't speak English they do respond to sound and two syllable words have a certain tone and rhythm to them

Originally Cody was called Blake until we adopted him.

We have two cats Tom and Tigga both black and both 11 years old (not from the same litter though). Tom's large and chunky and tigga is the opposite, thin and small but since he was diagnosed with a Thyroid problem he has put a bit of weight on.  Tom is as good as gold but Tigga has what seems like an extra long tail and has a tendency to knock everything off or over with it.

My dog is called Candy because we thought she was so sweet.

My old Border Collie (who died when she was 16) was Cassie because she was very black and cassis is blackcurrant in French. We live in France. My current Border Collie is Tigger, because he was very bouncy when he was young, like Tigger in Pooh Bear (except he's a dog, not in the cat family). My cat was Atom because I was told he was a girl when he was given to me, but he wasn't, he was a tom.

When I was growing up we had a budgie called Wogan.

My grandparents had 2 dogs called Blitzen & Solumon (Solly). There's been a Lady, named after Lady & the Tramp. I've also had cats called fatcat & thin cat

I had a rabbit called Digs, simply because he was a digger and a cat called Rags,  because her first toy was a knotted corner of a painting sheet.

Hallo to you all from a Swiss Kiwi. We have 2 cats at the moment, both from animal shelters. Peggy is a calico cat with blue eyes. She goes X-eyed when begging for a treat, the vet thought she might have some siamese ancestors. She is also a great mouser, brings home at least 4 mice per week (we live next to a field), mostly dead as a present but some get away and have to be chased round the house! The other is  and is a castrated tabby with white called Minou, very much like Larry of Downing St. He's a real softy and lets himself be bossed around by Madam.

I have a mad "rescue" collie and he keeps me fit.I did Have a lovely cat called George but alas a person in a 4 x4 not only ran him over (did not stop) as my husband was picking him up  but she came back again to run him over (I can not repeat what my husband said)since then I have not had another cat,sadly.so I envy you that do.

Now you're all gonna think I'm quite mad.   I have 2 German Shepherds.  Their given names, by me, are Robbie and Blue.  But Robbie answers to :  Robbie, Rob, Bobby, Bob, Pop, Fatty Bum, Big Bum Bobby, Big Boy, Young Man, and of course Good Boy !  Blue has never been called Blue for more than one day, he answers to Monkey (coz he was a cheeky lil monkey when a pup), Little Man (coz he was my little man), Snuggie and Snug (a slant on snuggles (our word for cuddles)), and his latest name is Nug which seems to have stuck, he also answers to Stinker !

I take full responsibility for their multi-personality disorders

I can't really remember a time when I didn't have a dog or cat -  my first dog (I was about 5 I think when he was given to me) was a cross between a bearded collie & a sheepdog. He was called Tippy, because he had a white tip to his tail.  Had my first cat before that, a black one called Kitty - I remember her climbing up the kitchen curtains as a kitten & falling off into a bucket of soapy water. Next cat was called Snowy - though he was in fact black & white!  Quite a long gap then until the next cat - probably 20 years - and she was called Fitzpatrick.  Odd name, I know, but she had been found as a kitten in a monsoon drain outside Fitzpatrick's Supermarket on Orchard Road in Singapore and was "inherited" with the house where we lived  then.  She had a mutilated tail - I'm not sure why, but was told that there were local superstitions about not allowing a cat to be "perfect".  Next cats ( in the UK) were Smokey & Roly - two grey & white brothers who were rehomed from the RSPCA as adult outdoor cats.  They were really good at keeping the front garden here free from rabbits. Roly was killed on the main road - though it's quite a distance up the lane.  Smokey lived a further 4 years and died of natural causes two years ago.

So - dogs (in chronological order):-

Tippy - as above

Carlo - black & white sheepdog

Simon - black & tan standard dachshund

Miggy - black & tan miniature dachshund

Daisy - fawn Italian Greyhound

Rosie - blue-cream whippet

Lily - grey-brindle & white whippet

Freddy - fawn & white whippet

Charlie - grey-brindle & white whippet

Harry - fawn & white whippet

Frankie - red brindle whippet

Piper (aka Pie) - fawn & white whippet.

The last two are here as I type this  - and (you've probably guessed) my nickname Hypercharleyfarley is because of Charlie, who fitted that description so well in so many ways.  I still miss him so much. - but loved them all.

Gosh hypercharleyfarley, that's quite a list!

My first two dogs were Seiko and Quartz - my watchdogs. All subsequent dogs came with names as they were rescues but I changed ones I didn't like much: Goldie to Maddie, Alfie to Pepper and Minty to Flo. Flo was a little westie who looked like a polar bear cub and was often known as Flo Bear, hence my name. Like Kezza, I use a variety of names. Lily answers to Lils, Lilliput, precious-poo, Maisie to Maisie-moo, Moomers, Moomintrude and, when she has indulged in her little 'habit' she's called Poo-tongue. Pepper is Peps, or most often WhatNOW, Weegit or Weesod.

Rats I have owned were named after cheeses, quail were named after Shakespearean characters and my chickens are named after my four sisters!

Oh, and the snakes are called Piglet - because she was such an enthusiastic eater when young - and Zizi because she's sort of zebra coloured. One day I took them into school to show my class and a little boy who spoke french at home informed me that zizi is french for little boys' willies!

Never said we had a hamster called Picnic ( Picnic Hamster)

:- D :- D bjay, that's my sort of name!

My dog Inka was a rescue, and came with a name--but my brother liked the name and used it for his Australian dog. So mine is Aboriginal Inka [came from a reserve] and his is Antipodes Inka. My other dog, Blue, was 14 when I got him, so he has kept his name.

I took on a cat from my daughters boyfriends ( now ex) mum. He was called Tiger, what a wrong name for him. He weighed 18 lbs and was renamed Fatty. I managed to get 4lbs off him but got a bit vicious ahen he was given diet cat food. We had to part with him 4 years ago he had a huge very fast growing tumour around his tongue and windpipe. Its strange as i didnt really want to take him on but was just as upset when he went as i was with the others that i had had from kittens.

I love the originality and reasons that people are giving here. Working with a dog rescue you get a feeling for the popularity of certain names. That's why I changed Alfie to Pepper because there are so many Alfies about. There seem to be numbers of Jack Russells called Jack, Shih Tzus called Gizmo and Staffies called Tyson. It's interesting to notice that the majority of pets these days have 'people' names instead of Rover etc.