A Weird Love Story

Sometimes you find love in unexpected places. It creeps up on you and when you realize it’s real, you know you have to have them in your life full time. You even ask them to move in, and you’ve only known them for 2 weeks.

You make lists of things that you think you want: Playful, short hair, dark complexion. Declawed.

And then you go to the cat shelter–just to volunteer, just to look. You go in thinking you know who you’d want if you adopted another cat to be a playmate for your current cat, Biddy.

But as you’re playing with that cat, you look over in the corner and spot this precocious furball observing all of the other cats like an anthropologist. He looks just like Biddy, but much thinner and with longer hair.

Much to your surprise, he’s exceedingly friendly. As you pet him, a kitten plays with his tail, and he doesn’t even care.

The shelter calls him Sidney.

You return the next week, convinced that another cat will captivate you. But again, all you want to do is hang out with Sidney. Not only is he incredibly sweet, but you think he might be the perfect buddy for Biddy. Biddy needs a calm cat who will wait for Biddy to come to him.

So you sleep on it, and it still feels right, so you go back and adopt Sidney. Here he is in his new home:

Just for reference, here’s Biddy. I truly never thought I’d get a cat that looks so similar to Biddy. Oops.

I have a trial period of one week to see if I want to keep the cat. I’m 99% sure I do, but I want to make sure it’s the right thing for Biddy before I commit to it.

If I do keep him, one thing will have to change: His name. “Sidney” sounds too much like “Biddy.” Here’s where you come in. What’s a good name for this cat? I was trying to think of famous redheads and twins, and so one name I’ve considered is George Weasley (of the famous redheaded twins in Harry Potter).

I kind of think he needs a normal human name. You can’t really tell from the photo, but if you meet him, his facial expression often says something to the effect of, “Oh, you haven’t seen The Artist yet? You totally should, if you want to. Either way.”

So to help me celebrate Valentine’s Day the way St. Valentine intended it, help me name my new cat.

39 thoughts on “A Weird Love Story”

    • That’s so funny–I’ve definitely considered Winston, but a friend has a cat named Winston, so I figure that’s off limits. Valentine is interesting–I hadn’t thought of that.

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  1. I would name him Regis. I’ve already decided that’s what I’m naming my future cat, but you can totally steal it 🙂 I’m a big fan of human names for pets.

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  2. Perun – a God from Slavic Mythology who was described as a rugged man with copper hair and beard. Always wanted to name something that.

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    • Theo is good too! And Mena, I like those suggestions. He does look like a warrior cat, especially with his clipped ear.

      Biddy and he are currently napping mere feet away from each other on the bed. It’s amazing.

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      • Awwwwww!

        I suggest either Clancy (red-headed warrior) or Flynn (son of the red-haired one). The added bonus is that they are both Irish names, which will make you fondly remember your recent trip.

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  3. There are so many good names already listed! I’m sure new cat would love any of these.

    Here’s a few more red head names to consider:
    Lindsey Lohan
    Lucille (as in Ball)
    Napoleon (supposedly had red hair)
    Nelson (as in Willie Nelson–I’d go with Willie except that it sounds too much like Biddy)
    How about Prince Harry Stegmaier? Does Prince Harry have red hair?
    Conan (as in O’Brien)
    Surely you’ve considered “Amy Adams”

    Also, anytime you name anything, you have an opportunity to go a little bit of the grid of names–something like Bing Clawsby or Darth Kitty: Litterbox Destroyer.

    Also also, I have to plug Horace.

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  4. On an intellectual nod how about V. Lenin? Not red hair, but definitely a red.

    I also always wanted to name a boy cat Tiberius

    Have you considered Itty? Itty & Biddy the two ginger kitties (could be a children’s book)

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    • Itty & Biddy could also be your fist names for life if you named your second cat in accordance.

      Speaking of 2nd cat, have you considered the famous Austin Powers character name, Number 2?

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  5. I’m going to throw my weight behind Amos.

    1. Very different from Biddy (extra points for the A-B combo)
    2. Amos is a very manly name – however, Amos is also an ode to Tori Amos who has rather red hair.
    3. Given your description of Amos’ character I assume he is disposed to eccentric and edgy comments similar to his namesake.
    4. Have you ever known someone named Amos to be high-strung?
    5. Famous Amos cookies are comforting – something that I hope Amos will be in your life.

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  6. I’m amazed by the quality of these names! My favorites from your suggestions so far are:

    Vincent
    Amos
    Conan
    Nelson
    Arthur
    Homer
    Regis

    The name not sounding like Biddy is really important, so that knocks out a lot of the names (although I do like Itty and Biddy combined with new fist names).

    As I read each of these names, I think of myself calling the cat down the hall in a loud, sing-song voice.

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      • You can’t Vincent (sing-song) without automatically lapsing into an un-manly vocal range. Immediate disqualification. Feel free to move Amos into the pole position at your leisure.

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        • The one problem I have with Amos has to do with my inability to pronounce it correctly. It’s one of those words I have to actively think about to pronounce. I want to say “eh – mose”, but I’m supposed to say, “eh – muss”, right?

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          • I think your quirky pronunciation will only draw you and Amos closer. There is nothing like an inside joke to cement a relationship. Home isn’t home without those occasional deviations from the standard.

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        • I vote to keep Vincent on the list, or as another option Van Gogh… It’s completely acceptable to name an animal with a last name 🙂

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  7. Perun is the same character as the Germanic Thor, and I like Thor MUCH better. Freyja was a Norse goddess (think Venus) who had a chariot pulled by cats. Also, as a Rowling tribute, name the cat something catty, like Felix, Sylvester or the already mentioned Leo. Or, she straight-up looks like Crookshanks.

    But can we spend a moment on how you get this new roommate again?

    You have a cat now, but you have the capacity to give more love than she needs. So you head to the shelter to see who they’d Match you with. You get responses from several highly available kittens. But the aloof redhead across the room is the one that catches your eye, basically because she is showing zero interest in you. You go pay her some attention, and she doesn’t mind. But she doesn’t seem that interested. Not even the sprightly little minx batting at her tail can bother her. She’s younger, thinner and has longer hair than your current companion, and she’s visibly damaged. So you bring her home one night to see how Biddy will react. Does that about sum it up?

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    • The name Thor is very cool. As is Crookshanks.

      I like how you capitalized “Match”–that’s exactly how it felt like. LOL…that was a very funny description of what happened, with one key exception: The cat is a male cat.

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  8. I’m shocked no one has mentioned Tigger, so I’m throwing that out there. I love Thor, but not the pathetic movie version of today…off topic… What about Thundercat?! Boo boo Kitty…nevermind.

    I love how you get your audience involved! I really hope this kitty works out this time. Three bachelors.

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    • I definitely like the way Tigger sounds in my head. Although I wish it were a normal human name.

      I think Arthur and Leo are currently at the top of my list.

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    • As you well know, Dash might be my favorite animated character ever. Unfortunately, this cat is not a Dash. He sits and watches from a distance, and then he walks in front of my legs a lot. He also purrs constantly.

      He and Biddy did play chase for a little bit last night, but I think Biddy was doing most of the running.

      Reply

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