Names for a litter of kittens

September 25, 2021 7:50 PM

I know there are a bunch of cat name questions, but I have six foster kittens and one momcat that need names! I'd like to name them after objects/things instead of people, and hopefully fairly accessible/cute names (I would probably want to name my own cat something weird but it needs to be easy for potential adopters to fall in love). I was thinking like... types of nuts? types of cheese? Something like that? There are two orange and white kittens, one tortie, and three tuxies. Any ideas? (Kitten tax)
posted by catcafe to Pets & Animals (36 answers total)

Best answer: I think spices are very nice names for cats.

Sesame
Nutmeg
Paprika
Pepper
Basil
Saffron
and of course, CardaMom

And feel free to adjust the names to your, ah, taste.
posted by phunniemee at 7:59 PM on September 25, 2021 [57 favorites]

Big hex
Super hex
Mini hex
Little hex
Orange hex
Normal hex

(Apologies to Nate the Great)
posted by SystematicAbuse at 8:03 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]

This is probably (definitely) too weird but I've always wanted to name a litter of kittens using a Bohemian Rhapsody theme. So:

Galileo
Figaro
Magnifico
Scaramouch
Beelzebub
Fandango

And, of course, Mama.
posted by Mender at 8:04 PM on September 25, 2021 [61 favorites]

Ice Cream flavors-
Days of the week-
Sport Team Mascots-
posted by calgirl at 8:06 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]

I came in to say herbs/spices. Some not already mentioned:

Rosemary (the mom totally looks like a Rosemary to me)
Sage
Bay
Ginger
Cassia
Cayenne
posted by bananacabana at 8:39 PM on September 25, 2021 [4 favorites]

Kinds of beans?

Fava
Lima
Pinto
Lentil
Adzuki
Cannellini
Garbanzo
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:44 PM on September 25, 2021 [8 favorites]

Momcat can be Quark and her kittens Up, Down, Charm, Strange, Top, and Bottom.

Momcat can be Parti (as in particolored), and her kittens Rave, Ball, Cocktail, Banquet, Festival, and Tea.
posted by Mizu at 8:46 PM on September 25, 2021 [14 favorites]

Mama Sundae and her babies:
Maraschino
Peanuts
Marshmallow Fluff
Caramel
Chocolate Sauce
Sprinkles
posted by meese at 9:20 PM on September 25, 2021 [6 favorites]

I have no names to offer but that mama cat is gorgeous!
posted by slmorri at 9:44 PM on September 25, 2021 [4 favorites]

Sapphire
Emerald
Garnet
Topaz
Amethyst
Opal

Romeo
Juliet
Lear
Othello
Hamlet
Cymbeline

Athena
Apollo
Hermes
Hera
Zeus
Artemis

Mars
Jupiter
Venus
Saturn
Neptune
Mercury

Jane
Lizzy
Lydia
Kitty (haha)
Mary
Bingley
Darcy
Wickham
Collins
(Choose any five—Mom cat should definitely be Mrs. Bennet!)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:59 PM on September 25, 2021 [5 favorites]

The ones mentioned are already good. Also. Fall/Winter items.


Hat
Scarf
Gloves
Earmuffs
Wool
Stockings
Snowshoes
posted by firstdaffodils at 10:09 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

Mum:

1. Dip (the one with white toes)
2. Oreo (a tuxy one)
3. Penguin
4. Toast (tortie)
5. Cinnamon (one of the orange ones)
6. Zest (ditto)
posted by freethefeet at 10:21 PM on September 25, 2021 [1 favorite]

I think planet names could be sweet!
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Neptune
Pluto
posted by itsamermaid at 10:27 PM on September 25, 2021 [3 favorites]

Wow! I got drunk one night and wrote down future animal litter names, so I’m glad to see this as a real question!

- [ ] Falafel
- [ ] Gyro
- [ ] Garbanzo
- [ ] Pita
- [ ] Tzatziki

- [ ] Pistachio
- [ ] Peanut
- [ ] Cashew
- [ ] Almond
- [ ] Pecan

- [ ] Waffles
- [ ] Bagel
- [ ] Pancake
- [ ] Butter
- [ ] Bacon

- [ ] Snickers
- [ ] Licorice
- [ ] Gumdrop
- [ ] Reese’s
- [ ] Caramel
posted by buttonedup at 10:46 PM on September 25, 2021 [9 favorites]

Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, and Grubb
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 11:47 PM on September 25, 2021 [3 favorites]

Valencia
Caracara
Satsuma
Pomelo
Kumquat
Tangerine
Clementine
posted by Night_owl at 12:02 AM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Pocket foods

Ravioli
Empanada
Dumpling
Pierogi
Potsticker
Tortellini
Manti
Samosa
Bierock
posted by meemzi at 12:22 AM on September 26, 2021 [3 favorites]

And then Mother would be Totino's Pizza Roll if you're silly enough for it.
posted by meemzi at 12:23 AM on September 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Widget
Gidget
Budget
Lugnut
Magnet
Fidget
and Spinner
posted by iamkimiam at 12:33 AM on September 26, 2021 [5 favorites]

Oreo
Snickerdoodle (aka Snickie, Doods)
Gingersnap
Choco-chip (aka Choccky, Chip)
Turtle
Brownie or Wafer

Mom: Brulee (as in creme brûlée) or Ladyfinger or Sugar
posted by profreader at 12:35 AM on September 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Oakum
Maple
Black Gum (Tupelo)
Sweet Gum (Liquidambar)
Hickory
Cherry
Aspen
Sassafras
Cypress
Tulip Tree (Poplar)
Ginkgo (Maidenhair tree)
Persimmon
Several other fall foliage trees.
posted by TrishaU at 1:12 AM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Zagnut
Clark
Chunky
Twix
Whatchamacallit
Heath
and Bit-O-Honey
posted by rhizome at 1:40 AM on September 26, 2021 [5 favorites]

rfc1178 - Choosing a Name for Your Computer.
rfc2100 - The Naming of Hosts.

My favorites... Invader Zim - Wikipedia because the cool names were all just 3 characters. Zim, Gir, Dib, Gaz, Tak, (make up some more short quick names with 3 characters).

We mostly used star (the space kind) names for tons of our individual machines. You'll never run out, a lot are greek/roman/arabic/etc.

Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Troi, Beverly, ....

Same principals apply naming a bunch of cats.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:20 AM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Yarrow
Columbine
Phlox
Hibiscus
Allium
Coleus
Tulip
Crocus

Sorghum
Millet
Wheat
Rye
Oat
Quinoa
Farro
Bulgar

Azalea
Sassafras
Birch
Elm
Hazel
Alder
Willow
Tupelo
Cedar
Spruce
Juniper
posted by sciencegeek at 3:06 AM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Collectively “Les Six”

Individually “George, Louis, Germaine, Arthur, Darius, Francis.”

/Deep classical music humor.
posted by spitbull at 4:20 AM on September 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Ti

London, Paris, Berlin, Washington, Rome, Tokyo, Ottawa

Which particular seas belong to the Seven Seas has changed over the year, but NOAA has lists here and you could mix and match: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sevenseas.html. Caspian, Atlantic, India etc.
posted by Hypatia at 5:05 AM on September 26, 2021

Cookie Dough
Dumplin'
Fruitcake
Strudel
Sugar Pie
Waffles

and

Mrs. Baker

Alternate pastry names if you happen to hate Fruitcake:

Hamantash
Macaron (or Macaroon)
Chocolatine
Oreo
Pop-Tart
Profiterole
Samosa


etc
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:22 AM on September 26, 2021 [3 favorites]

Foods that make good cat names:
Dumpling
Samosa
Muffin
Strudel
Snickerdoodle
Gingersnap
Yorkshire Pudding
Empanada
Creme Brulee
Felafel


Philosophers and/or Inventors
Galileo Galilei
Marie & Pierre Curie
Rosalind Franklin
Leonardo DaVinci
Albert Einstein
Thomas Edison
Archimedes
Louis Pasteur
Alexander Fleming
Nikola Tesla
Tim Berners-Lee
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
René Descartes
Blaise Pascal

You could do a great list of artists or poets: O'Keefe, Whitman, Neruda, etc.
posted by theora55 at 7:25 AM on September 26, 2021

anonymous
mystery
shadow
enigma
pseudonymous
posted by aniola at 8:53 AM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Cheddar
Swiss
Brie
Munster
Jack
Colby
Pecorino
Blue
posted by Toddles at 8:54 AM on September 26, 2021 [3 favorites]

Maybe Snow White for the mom and Grumpy, Bashful, Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Dopey and Doc for the kittens? I dunno if people would be confused by having a not-white cat named Snow White. I know there are a bunch of variants on the Snow White story: maybe you could choose a name that the character has in one of those?
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:00 AM on September 26, 2021 [4 favorites]

My two rescue kittens were fostered by someone who named the kittens:

Mango
Strawberry
Apricot
Clementine
Peaches

We adopted Mango and Strawberry, who became [Rosalind] Franklin and [Nicola] Tesla, but we're a scientific family. (Perhaps predictably, Franklin is calmer and much more clever than Tesla.)
posted by citygirl at 11:24 AM on September 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

I know you said not people, but:
Greg
Marcia
Peter
Jan
Bobby
Cindy

And Mom is....Alice. Or Carol.

And going off the Ice Cream suggestions above, what about Ice Cream Manufacturers:

Ben, Jerry, Edy, Dreyer, Breyer, Bluebell, Haagen-Dazs, Baskin, Robbin
posted by China Grover at 12:15 PM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

Jeeves for a tuxedo cat
Gizmo
Hazel(nut)
Gilda
Jingo
Nobbie
Skeezix
posted by Enid Lareg at 12:53 PM on September 26, 2021

When we adopted our two kittens they were called Chenin and Pinot. The rest of the litter were Chardonnay, Cabernet and Rosé and the mom was Shiraz. There are many other wine varietals that could work as kitten names (Merlot, Pinotage, Riesling, Barbera, Sangiovese etc). We live in very wine-orientated city though - not sure how accessible these names are where you live!
posted by toebeans at 2:17 PM on September 26, 2021

Just name them all “Claude” (and then a number)
posted by spitbull at 6:35 PM on September 26, 2021 [2 favorites]