They name cats, don't they?
September 13, 2014 3:12 PM   Subscribe

Friends! This may be a bit of a stretch for this community but I need help naming a couple of kittens. Difficulty level: I don't know if I'm keeping both of them but I want names that work well together.

These are two rescue kittens I've been fostering. They're the first foster kittens I've been thinking about keeping. I was originally only thinking about keeping the all black one because he won my heart, but the black and white one is pretty adorable too. So now I am thinking about keeping him too! But I am not sure. Maybe if they have great matching names!

This is where you come in to save this little kitten from a tragic life on the streets!*

Looking for names that work well together. Nerdy suggestions of all kinds welcome -- games, sci-fi, astronomy, horror, whatever. They will be sharing a home with Blinky, who has been lonely since his pal Mothra passed away over the summer.

* ...and by 'on the streets' I mean 'in a wonderful loving forever home just not my wonderful loving forever home'
posted by Jairus to Pets & Animals (52 answers total)
 
Pinto & Maverick
posted by adamrice at 3:17 PM on September 13, 2014


Oh, and you're keeping both of them, btw.
posted by adamrice at 3:17 PM on September 13, 2014 [25 favorites]


boris & natasha, regardless of gender
posted by poffin boffin at 3:18 PM on September 13, 2014 [7 favorites]


Ford and Arthur
posted by divka at 3:18 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]


Charlie (Chaplin, of course, for the 'stache) and Smudge. Or Adolph (Adie?) (Dolph) and Smudge.
posted by primate moon at 3:26 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]


onyx and marcasite
posted by bluesapphires at 3:26 PM on September 13, 2014


Wynken and Nod, to complement Blinky(n).
posted by jaguar at 3:31 PM on September 13, 2014 [12 favorites]


They're gorgeous! As are Blinky and Mothra (what a sweet shot! and I'm so sorry for your loss).

Charlie and Nigel. We'd have chosen Nigel if we'd gotten a black cat, as a Spinal Tap reference.

"How much more black could it be?"
"None. None more black."
posted by Wet Hen at 3:31 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]


B&W looks like a Buckminster, so black can be Fuller (especially if he has an appetite), or Geode.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 3:33 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]


Please do keep the black cat. Statistically, they have a smaller chance of getting adopted. Mothra is an awesome name. Keeping in line with the kaiju monster theme, Rodan and Megalon.
posted by cazoo at 3:34 PM on September 13, 2014 [3 favorites]


Best answer: If you've got a Blinky, then you need a Clyde. And Inky, which would be the solid black one, then.
posted by sebastienbailard at 3:46 PM on September 13, 2014 [5 favorites]


Miley and Cyrus.

Twerk and Lurk.

Erasmus and Luther.
posted by Chitownfats at 3:47 PM on September 13, 2014


boris & natasha, regardless of gender

Seconding. Really, any time you can give yourself the lifelong chance to speak on your pets' behalf with an accent, you win.
posted by mochapickle at 3:48 PM on September 13, 2014 [9 favorites]


Laurel and Hardy.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 3:55 PM on September 13, 2014 [2 favorites]


Stan and Ollie?
posted by TORunner at 3:58 PM on September 13, 2014 [2 favorites]


My grandmother had a cat with a nearly identical nose smudge, and his name was Tramp. So you could go with Tramp and Scamp.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:00 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]


Alphonse and Gaston
posted by Confess, Fletch at 4:06 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]


TORunner FTW, because that's so much more tasteful than the Dolph and Eva that sprang to mind for me...
posted by kate4914 at 4:07 PM on September 13, 2014


I'd go with Nova for the white one and celeste for the dark one.
posted by AlexiaSky at 4:18 PM on September 13, 2014


Like Jaguar, I was thinking Winky and Nod.
posted by rhizome at 4:19 PM on September 13, 2014


Atlas and P-Body
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 4:20 PM on September 13, 2014


Castor and Pollux?
posted by cmoj at 4:25 PM on September 13, 2014


Phobos and Deimos


Okay, for real, Damon and Pythias
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 4:29 PM on September 13, 2014


Inky for the Black Kitty and Clyde for the Black and white kitty, or Pinky if she's a girl. Because Pac-Man.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:31 PM on September 13, 2014 [1 favorite]


Jaguar beat me to it: Winkin' and Nod.
posted by goml at 5:01 PM on September 13, 2014


Dorothy (all black one) and Toto (with the 'stache).
posted by Ms Vegetable at 5:16 PM on September 13, 2014


Oh. Oh. They are so sweet. You need to keep them both.

I think the black and white one looks like a Fraggle. So that makes the black one Rock. Or Rocky, if you must.

(If you weren't a child in the 80s you probably think I am insane.)
posted by lollusc at 6:04 PM on September 13, 2014


Wait and see their personalities and how they behave.

Don't give them similar sounding names if you want them to respond to "hey hey, stop tearing that apart". I also advise that the name should be a sound that you don't utter frequently as they will come to, reasonably, ignore the sound you make when you want their attention if it's not differentiated from normal sounds.

My cat is named Squirrley, full name Jo Anne Squirrley but when I want to have a joke with her it's "Grr rrr rrr rrr" when I'm encouraging her to go galloping about a squeezed "D'oh the kitty" or "there's the kitty" or a "tch tch tch" sound.

When I'm responding to her wanting food I say, "ooh, want some foodoos". She knows I'm attempting to communicate with her when I make those sounds because I hardly ever make those sounds with humans.

Be consistant. There are four chairs in my living room and my cat knows which one she is allowed to sharpen her claws on because I've been consistant.
posted by vapidave at 6:20 PM on September 13, 2014


Frick and Frack.
posted by Sassyfras at 7:36 PM on September 13, 2014


Moses and Aaron

Jannes and Jambres

Milo and Otis

Han and Chewie
posted by SpacemanStix at 7:45 PM on September 13, 2014


The black & white is totally a Charlie, for that mustache!

And if you want something cute to match it, make the black one Lucy or Linus, and get two in-jokes for the price of one.
posted by stormyteal at 7:59 PM on September 13, 2014


Charters and Caldicott?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charters_and_Caldicott
posted by Freedomboy at 8:21 PM on September 13, 2014


What about Roman Counsels? There were always traditionally two of them serving at the same time. Same thing for the Spartans but with kings. On a more modern slant: Bonnie and Clyde, rocky and bullwinkle, Mick and Keith, a John and Paul, Butch and Sundance, Apollo and Artemis, doctor and [favorite Companion], Kirk and Spock, Vermeer and louvenhook, castor and Pollux, Bj and bear, Andy and Barney...really too many buddies, too many options.
posted by jadepearl at 10:32 PM on September 13, 2014


Peanut Butter and Jelly
posted by spinifex23 at 12:37 AM on September 14, 2014


Sooty and Smoke. Or Jack and Coke.

(And you're keeping them both, because they've chosen you. Weird how kittens can hijack human agency like that, aint it?)
posted by evil_esto at 1:08 AM on September 14, 2014 [1 favorite]


Frick and Frack
posted by sammyo at 5:43 AM on September 14, 2014 [1 favorite]


I had brother cats as a kid just like these two. One all black and one blak and white. The black one was Hobbes and the white one was Calvin :)
posted by Cygnet at 6:07 AM on September 14, 2014


They are SO CUTE. Anyway...

Sherlock and Watson (To me, the black one would be Sherlock, and the black and white one would be Watson, but it could go either way depending on personality.) If you want to go with a "brothers" theme, there's also Sherlock and Mycroft.

Siegfried ("Fred") and Roy

Winky and Dobby (House Elves from Harry Potter)

Arthur and Merlin

I also like Calvin and Hobbes, as suggested by Cygnet.

Or you could go with the Classics: Orpheus, Midas, Ajax... or there's always Scylla and Charybdis! Although you'd probably have to come up with appropriate nicknames since they don't exactly roll off the tongue. Oh, or you could do Achilles and Patroclus.

And yeah, you should keep both of them. (Or send them to me!)
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:15 AM on September 14, 2014


Batman and Robin?
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:38 AM on September 14, 2014


Maverick and Goose. (Yes I just watched Top Gun last night, why do you ask?)
posted by deludingmyself at 9:13 AM on September 14, 2014 [1 favorite]


I, too, immediately thought "Charlie Chaplin" when I saw the mustachioed kitten, and then came up with "Buster" (as in Buster Keaton) for the other.
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:13 AM on September 14, 2014 [1 favorite]


Bumppo & Dahfu
posted by lois1950 at 5:35 PM on September 14, 2014


Alton and Audrey
posted by InkaLomax at 6:38 PM on September 14, 2014


Response by poster: These are all amazing, everyone. I have not yet decided but I will keep you posted! (Buster is a really great name and I am trying to think of a good match for it!)
posted by Jairus at 2:23 PM on September 15, 2014


Buster makes me think of Arrested Development! You could go with Buster and George, Gob, or Tobias. There's also Michael, but to me that just doesn't seem like a cat name. Personally I think George and Buster sound cute together.

Please do update once you make a decision! Additional pictures optional (but strongly preferred).
posted by litera scripta manet at 7:15 PM on September 15, 2014


You could go with an old-movie theme and have Buster and Charlie (i.e., Keaton and Chaplin), especially because the little black-and-white one has that Chaplin mustache.
posted by dlugoczaj at 8:16 AM on September 16, 2014


Oop. Sorry about that, Oriole Adams--teaches me to scroll all the way to the bottom to catch up. :)
posted by dlugoczaj at 8:17 AM on September 16, 2014


Oh, I like Buster and Charlie!

(I think names have to get a little air and time before they stick. I was positive my dog was going to be a Lola, but I knew within hours that name wasn't her at all. Took me a week to have an a-ha! moment and land on a name that's her through and through.)
posted by mochapickle at 9:53 AM on September 16, 2014


Response by poster: I have a brother named Charlie, so that would be a bit weird!

Also considering: Duffy and Slash.
posted by Jairus at 10:58 AM on September 16, 2014


You could also do Click and Clack, after the Tappet brothers.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 6:30 AM on September 19, 2014


Nemo and Hagbard!
posted by cmoj at 2:36 PM on September 19, 2014


Response by poster: Inky and Clyde thank you all very much for your help!
posted by Jairus at 11:25 PM on October 3, 2014 [3 favorites]


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