Kitty Names

 Domino and Midnight were named by their foster parents; they were 12 weeks old when I got them--they already knew their names, so I didn't change them.

All cats develop nicknames, too.  Midi is Baby Girl, Midget, Midi Kitty, Mid-mid.  Domi is Dominator, Denominator, Little Man, Dom-dom.

But I have a 24-year old tradition to maintain.  When I got my first cat, Benny, I shared an apartment with my best friend.  We think Benny was 6-9 months old when I got him (stray) in December of 1998.  He was a tuxedo cat, so he needed a formal name to go with his formal attire, hence Benjamin.

I taught middle school during the day and my friend worked nights. When Benny got in trouble, she started spouting "B" names. It finally solidified.

Benjamin Bradley Balthazar Buford Bartholomew Brat.  (Ben Brat) Benny lived for almost 18.5 years.

When I got Cass a couple of years later (2000), we thought he was a girl.  (He was a very young pet store baby.)  Cassandra had a mouthful of girl names, too, until we found out she was a boy.  He was already Cassie, so he became:

Cassidy Casper Cassius Charlie Christopher Cat. (Cass cat)  Cass made it to 22.25.  I lost him last June.

So, the new kids had to have the same kind of name.  It's not just a big string of random names, though; it has something to do with the syllables and the flow of the names.  Bonus if it fits personalities.

Midnight Mischief Marjorie Macel Mariposa Mite. (Midi Mite)

Mischief: as in, full of.  Marjorie, just because. Macel was my grandmother.  Mariposa means "butterfly"; small, pretty, constantly moving.  Mite because how many 1-syllable M names fit?

Domino Dominick Donatello Daniel DaVinci Dude (Domi Dude) 

Dominick because it's similar to Domino, and is a favorite book character.  Donatello from TMNT.  Daniel in the biblical sense, but also Daniel Tiger from Mr. Rogers (when I say it, it tends to try to turn to David, but I really like Daniel better).  DaVinci just because, and Dude because the alternative was Drat.

Hopefully I interspersed enough baby pictures you're still reading.   Go find some scraps of paper to bat around.  It's entertaining to watch; it has to be more fun to play!