Which non-feline animals or creatures does your cat remind you of?
April 12, 2020 11:38 AM   Subscribe

And do you create nicknames for your cats based on those animals? A zillion years ago when I adopted a tuxedo cat, I called her killer penguin for obvious reasons of color pattern. My current set of cats remind me a lot of dragons, unrelated to coloring or pattern. Do other people do this? And what animals? Apologies for chatfilter, I've decided to obsess over this in lieu of other things today.
posted by spamandkimchi to Pets & Animals (63 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
My late kitties (a tabby and a Burmese-ish black cat) reminded me of a lemur and the Velveteen Rabbit, respectively, and I used to refer to the first as "Lemur Lady."
posted by Sheydem-tants at 11:42 AM on April 12, 2020


A monkey. My other cat is a doe.
posted by marimeko at 11:44 AM on April 12, 2020


I call my cat “tiny monster,” and picture her like one of the Where the Wild Things Are monsters.
posted by Weeping_angel at 11:46 AM on April 12, 2020 [4 favorites]


I called my tuxedo "the rabbit" since he hopped up/down stairs.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 11:51 AM on April 12, 2020


My younger cat reminds me of a bear cub, and gets referred to as Little Bear pretty frequently.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 11:53 AM on April 12, 2020 [3 favorites]


One of my cats gets called “Bun” or “Bunny” more often than his actual name, and most of his extra nicknames are based off of that too. He got the name because he’s soft like a bunny, and when he was younger he had serious haunches which kind of gave him a more bunny-like shape.
posted by duien at 11:58 AM on April 12, 2020 [4 favorites]


We also had a bear some years ago - known as Juliabear - a long-haired and very dark tortie who was a unique creature and certainly nothing as ordinary as a cat, in her view.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 12:01 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


My previous cat had a huge fluffy tail like a squirrel or a skunk, and once when she was a kitten, we watched her follow a line of baby skunks across the backyard. Apparently she looked enough like a skunk that she didn't get sprayed.
posted by pinochiette at 12:02 PM on April 12, 2020 [6 favorites]


Depending on her mood: monkey, fox or rabbit. Monkey is more behaviour than looks but she absolutely knows it means her.
posted by randomonium at 12:11 PM on April 12, 2020


I called my old cat (large, grey, fluffy) "Bear" from time to time (and sometimes "Mississippi River Paddleboat" on account of her enormous furry haunches). The other cat is "Mouse" - she's a calico with small pink nose and ears and a nervous demeanor.

This is an appropriately-timed question because as of last night, it has been determined that the new kitten (previously identified only by name) actually resembles a tanuki.
posted by sparkling at 12:12 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


Not a cat, but I had a house rabbit we nicknamed monkey-bunny because in her enthusiastic young bunny days she used to scale the sides of her pen with her thumbs sticking out. We also called her our puppy because she would run and greet us when we came home.
posted by carrioncomfort at 12:13 PM on April 12, 2020


Best answer: I called my first cat a carpet shark when she would meander by. I don't have an explanation.
posted by tiny frying pan at 12:15 PM on April 12, 2020 [11 favorites]


My huge mackerel tabby was usually called gila monster, loosely based on his name but very tied to his equally oversized personality. My current cat is house puppy, in contrast with my hounds who are house ponies. Collectively, they are the muppets.
posted by vers at 12:33 PM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]


A cat I used to live with was identical to Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon, down to body language and mannerisms.
posted by centrifugal at 12:34 PM on April 12, 2020


My cat, who selects a spot to curl up in and then remains there for at least eight hours or, if the selected spot happens to be a lap, until the lap moves from horizontal to vertical, is definitely a sloth.
posted by Daily Alice at 12:44 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


We had a tiny solid white cat with dainty pink ears who was mostly called Bunny, despite that not being her official name. Besides the overall appearance similarity and her tendency to hunker somewhere twitching her nose disapprovingly at us, she would bunny-run down the stairs. Our other two cats would go down alternating front paw-back paw-front paw-back paw. Bunny preferred front paw - front paw - back paws at the same time - PLOP!
posted by Ann Telope at 12:52 PM on April 12, 2020 [4 favorites]


My enormous cat is named Triceratops for very good reason. She did grow into her name in terms of size, but she also has ear tufts and is The Very Best.
posted by ChuraChura at 12:55 PM on April 12, 2020 [5 favorites]


Bunny (though really it should be rabbit) because her hind legs are long and powerful.
posted by Kitchen Witch at 1:03 PM on April 12, 2020 [3 favorites]


I have a large gray cat who sometimes reminds me of a seal, especially when he lays on his side in a half-curled position.
posted by oiseau at 1:07 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


One of my cats is extremely hefty and has silky black (or very dark brown) fur. She is often known as Woolly Bear.
posted by paduasoy at 1:28 PM on April 12, 2020 [3 favorites]


The other is sometimes known as Kangaroo Cat because he could kill a man with his powerful hind legs, even in his advanced old age.
posted by paduasoy at 1:30 PM on April 12, 2020 [3 favorites]


Our girl cat is definitely a little chicken. She makes the cutest little trilling sound when she sees me walk into the room.

We have two cats and they are differentiated by the nicknames Bigfoot and Littlefoot.
posted by oxisos at 1:34 PM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]


Current cat: monkey. She's a mostly-black tortie with puffy fur that gives her a round face. At other angles, she looks like a medieval painting of the devil.

I also know a mackerel tabby nicknamed racktoon. Besides the coloring, his haunches are big and he has a malformed foot, so he galumphs along like a raccoon when he's in a hurry.
posted by momus_window at 1:34 PM on April 12, 2020 [3 favorites]


After our cat popped up on his hind legs with front legs down just like the meerkat in this photo, we now call him Meerkat.
posted by gudrun at 1:41 PM on April 12, 2020 [4 favorites]


Just look at this bunny cat! She has such long ears and such big feet! And this little tortie is definitely a monster cat, always watching and waiting and ready to dig her little teeth and claws into me when she's hungry or when I pet her or for no reason. They're both monster cats, really, 'cause Dolly also likes to nibble on my hair to wake me up and knock over or chew up everything she can until I feed her.

We also call these poor unfortunate rescue kitties "orphan cats," 'cause they are so food-insecure, they've always stolen food and caused trouble, and they're definitely getting sent back to the orphanage for being bad one of these days. These sister cats curl up together like there's no one else they can rely on in this world. They're also "baby cats," 'cause they're so little tiny and silly, even at a year old, and have tiny meows when they want something. I started off calling Dolly, the calico, Baby Doll, after Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds, but they're both baby cats, even though Carmela thinks she's a fierce huntress and guerrilla fighter. Revolutionary cats!
posted by limeonaire at 1:43 PM on April 12, 2020 [7 favorites]


One of my cats is nicknamed bear because of the way she climbs and because of her adorable teddy bear face! She also gets up on her hind legs if she finds something she's interested in.
posted by Eyelash at 1:46 PM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]


One of ours is an owl because one side of her face is white around her huge gold eyes, but also a baby goat for her climbing prowess and a springbok for her pronking maneuvers.
posted by Otter_Handler at 1:55 PM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]


My old cat Avocado was very tall and rangy. My housemate Penny really loved him. She used to say he was built like a racehorse.
posted by Don Pepino at 2:08 PM on April 12, 2020


Past cats were nicknamed “raccoon” and “ring-tailed lemur,” but Rupert is my “pocket lion.”
posted by carmicha at 2:11 PM on April 12, 2020 [3 favorites]


Our cats are actually a herd of baby elephants. That rumbling you hear off in the distance in the middle of the night? That's them.
posted by metaquarry at 2:27 PM on April 12, 2020 [5 favorites]


Owl-cat.
posted by misteraitch at 2:29 PM on April 12, 2020 [11 favorites]


The little black manx is super-fluffy right now, so she's caterpillar.

The teeny Norwegian Forest Cat remains a food weasel.
posted by aspersioncast at 2:29 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


Our sweet tortoiseshell tabby was very food driven and had a dog-like obsession with it.

We called her a kibble hound :)
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:31 PM on April 12, 2020


@Weeping_angel: I too have a Tiny Monster! And she has So. Many. Opinions.
posted by WaywardPlane at 2:35 PM on April 12, 2020


my enormous white cat (who is mysteriously waterproof??) is basically a baby polar bear
posted by attentionplease at 2:52 PM on April 12, 2020 [4 favorites]


I formerly had a tuxedo cat who was named Penguin, formally known as Pen-Gwen Stefani. My current seal-point Siamese cat alternately reminds me of an otter or a teddy bear. My blue-point Siamese cat, who is much more slender and muscular than the seal-point doesn't really conjure up other animals for me, except humans. He's quite an athlete!
posted by poppunkcat at 2:53 PM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]


The kitten is both a fox and a mouse. The big one is a raccoon and a bear.
posted by OrangeVelour at 2:54 PM on April 12, 2020


My housemate has adopted two cats with animal names, both given by their original owners. The first was named Cow. Cow died eventually and was replaced by another cat named Mink. Cow was a large cat with black spots, so he resembled a Holstein dairy cow. Mink's name doesn't make any sense to me at all. (No, he doesn't like riding on people shoulders. He pretty anti-social, and he's mostly white with light yellowish brown spots.)
posted by nangar at 3:07 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


One of my cats lets us cradle her on her back and she reveals her really cute belly and lets us scritch it. I think of her in this position like a sea otter.

My other cat stretches out her back legs that reminds me of a kangaroo, so call her kangaroo legs when she does it.

This is a fun question, thank you for asking.
posted by ellerhodes at 3:47 PM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]


One of my kitties is half-horse half-cat and is a professional personal trainer and body builder. Her sister is half-mermaid and is a newspaper reporter and teaches yoga.
posted by bleep at 4:15 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


There are 40 comments on this question, but only four have paid the Cat Tax. That's reprehensible.

Cat Tax

(Their names are Helena and Leeloo, but we call them Potato and Bean, because they resemble a potato and a bean. Vegetables count as non-feline-creatures, right?)
posted by tzikeh at 4:35 PM on April 12, 2020 [4 favorites]


One of my cats is very petite, and lacks a tail but has a huge butt, so she is shaped like a tiny bear cub. When I get her shaved down (annually, shedding creates horrible matting), she looks like a weird turkey chupacabra ... thing (evidence)

My other cat, especially as a kitten, was a sentient pool noodle.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 4:50 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


We call Alan Purring a house walrus. It's probably influenced by some of the other posters in the THIS CAT IS SMOOSH facebook group, but he also splats around the house looking very pleased with himself, which is walrus-like, in my opinion.
posted by batter_my_heart at 4:59 PM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]


My cat is named Baby Goat. He's a roly poly white cat with tabby ears and tail that can leap vertically and gambol like goat. He is also very partial to headbutting. I keep threatening to make some little horns and hooves to dress him up in. His nickname is Oleg because he like to lie around with one leg stretched out when he's not cavorting around.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 5:22 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


Triceratops.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:29 PM on April 12, 2020 [5 favorites]


I have a siamese otter-seal.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 6:56 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


Our pets have always reminded us of Muppets and sesame street characters or other story book characters ( and/or we have a desire to actually be able to live with those characters that we lived as kids so we tend to see them brought to life by our pets). We are currently living with roo, tigger, and beaker and said goodbye a few years ago to grover..
posted by Tandem Affinity at 8:42 PM on April 12, 2020 [1 favorite]


We had a tiny white siamese with blue eyes that sometimes reminded me of an owl the way he would put his ears and just look at me. I have a tiny glass owl that is blue and white to remind me of him.

We had a grey cat named Smokey that we called "bear," because he would stand on his hind legs.

My parents have a orange tabby named Sunny, that we call "Bunny."

I have a rescue squirrel that I often call "Monkey" because of the way he climbs on me, and other times I call him "mousey face," because, well... he has a mousey face.

My sister has two great danes that I refer to as her horses for obvious reasons.
posted by Kimothy at 9:10 PM on April 12, 2020 [2 favorites]


We've somehow adopted a fine specimen of wiggle ham.
posted by Vervain at 1:02 AM on April 13, 2020 [8 favorites]


I have a naked cat. We call him the raw chicken, since he really really does look like one.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 4:42 AM on April 13, 2020 [2 favorites]


I call my girl a pig in a cat suit.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:10 AM on April 13, 2020


I have a tiny white tiger living in my apartment, and he has a snaggletooth. Behold: the rare, couch-dwelling Snaggletooth Tiger.
posted by figaro at 5:37 AM on April 13, 2020 [6 favorites]


I have a Cow cat! He started out as Cow-boy, which just morphed into Cow. He's black & while (Holstein!!) When I took him to get neutered, I filled out the cat's name as "Cow, but I'm really a cat" to the amusement of all the waiting room folks when our turn was announced. He's a wonderful boy.
posted by LaBellaStella at 6:35 AM on April 13, 2020 [3 favorites]


We call our cat "little goblin" (she screams a lot) and also "sneeze weasel" when her cat allergies are acting up.

We also have a dog who is DEFINITELY part catfish.
posted by catoclock at 6:36 AM on April 13, 2020 [3 favorites]


nangar!!!
posted by LaBellaStella at 6:41 AM on April 13, 2020


quite a few of you are in violation of cat tax rules, I'm afraid.
posted by Everydayville at 9:16 AM on April 13, 2020 [2 favorites]


I think my cat looks like a crocodile.
posted by *s at 10:48 AM on April 13, 2020 [4 favorites]


Our cat's name is Human Nose, because, especially when she was first born, from a certain angle, her nose, hence face, looks eerily human.
posted by hannahelastic at 10:55 AM on April 13, 2020 [5 favorites]


One of our cats is named Totenberg. She is Totes, aka Totes the Stoats, sometimes Stoatenberg. Because she is skinny and (mostly) white and has very sharp teeth, like a stoat.

We have many songs about the brave, terrifying deeds of Totes the Stoats.
posted by none of these will bring disaster at 11:22 AM on April 13, 2020 [3 favorites]


RE: My snaggletooth tiger. I guess a tiger is a feline, so I haven't really answered your question correctly. His adorable back feet remind me of a rabbit's, so I often call him my little bunny pickle. Not sure where the pickle part comes in, but he seems to like it.
posted by figaro at 3:02 PM on April 13, 2020 [3 favorites]


My foster failure has big white splotches across his snout, and resembles Thumper from Bambi.
posted by Recliner of Rage at 10:10 PM on April 15, 2020 [1 favorite]


Our middle cat occasionally lies on the windowsill or on the floor like a seal on the beach would, basking in the sun. Rotated halfway between on his side and flat on his back, front legs folded, back legs stretched out backward-ish. Which earned him the moniker "zeehondje".
posted by Stoneshop at 8:06 AM on April 18, 2020 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thank you everyone, these have been super fun answers! I marked "carpet shark" as best answer because it reaffirms my impulse to call their prowling about looking for things to do, eat, chew, and pounce about as "sharking around."
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:48 AM on April 18, 2020 [3 favorites]


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