Should I rename my new kitten? If so, help! (Pics included, of course.)
September 23, 2015 9:36 AM   Subscribe

We adopted this darling girl on Sunday from the ASPCA and her shelter name is Gossamer. I'm not sure if that's the name for her - sure, she is delicate and light, but Goss is a weird nickname so I'm considering other possibilities.

I knew she was the one for me when I picked her up and she purred super loud and fell asleep in my arms. She is sweet, soft, playful, cuddly and responds to all kinds of love. Lucy or Clover are other possible names. Yet while she is as sweet as can be, her farts are super lethal so I have considered the name Stinkbug. None of these feels right and so I could use help from the hivemind! I like food and flower names as well as mythological names. Movie/tv character names can be fun too - she was adopted with a kitten from another litter and his name has been changed to Johnny Utah (so while combo names could be fun, like Mulder and Scully, Johnny Utah is pretty set in stone.) Pics here:

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3 - eating with her new buddy Johnny Utah, she is on the left

Pic 4 - Naptime! She is in the front on the right

Pic 5

Thank you for your help!
posted by cristinacristinacristina to Pets & Animals (69 answers total)
 
Obvious, but similar to her shelter name: Gussie.
posted by gaspode at 9:41 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


The way her joints all poke out, she looks like a Cricket to me.

I'm sure her farts will mellow out after she gets good food regularly for a while.
posted by OrangeDisk at 9:42 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


I love cats, I have a 13 year old torti. I think the TV character name for your lovely cat is Tralfaz.
posted by Rob Rockets at 9:45 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


I am always in favor of Tralfaz.

And Slagathor.
posted by briank at 9:47 AM on September 23, 2015


Gus! I love the name Gus for a girl kitty bobo!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:49 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


That is Mariposa. Mari for short.
posted by 26.2 at 9:51 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


Orville or Wilbur

(edit: I realize those are boys names but so be it. Kitty!)
posted by bondcliff at 9:52 AM on September 23, 2015


Best answer: Gossamer is a pretty name. Were she mine, I'd leave it at that - and I'm generally one to rename a kitten RIGHT AWAY. It could be shortened to Sam, though.
posted by nathanfhtagn at 9:54 AM on September 23, 2015 [13 favorites]


Point Break Wind (Windy for short!)
posted by tempestuoso at 9:54 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Gossamer aka Sami, pronounced "Sahmee"
posted by jgirl at 9:57 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


Best answer: I think Gus Gus would be funny because it sounds like it's derived from Gossamer, but it also is a nod to the gusts of wind her tushie produces.
posted by Hermione Granger at 10:08 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


Juniper! Junie or June for short. (And then your kitties would be Johnny and June.)
posted by divined by radio at 10:09 AM on September 23, 2015 [3 favorites]


Buzz
posted by you're a kitty! at 10:10 AM on September 23, 2015


Thistle?
posted by jamjam at 10:14 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Freya
posted by Ostara at 10:22 AM on September 23, 2015


Gracie.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 10:23 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


How about wisp, from will o' the wisp?
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:28 AM on September 23, 2015


Johnny Utah is a great cowboy name and I think this girl needs a similar good Old West name

one way to achieve that is achieved by adding Miss in front of other suggestions: Miss June, Miss Windy, Miss Lucy, etc
posted by dismas at 10:29 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


Nutmeg. Meg OR Nut for short.
posted by purple_bird at 10:31 AM on September 23, 2015


I mean, if you've got Johnny Utah, you've got to have Bodhi.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:32 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Poot?
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:50 AM on September 23, 2015


Thunder
posted by river99 at 10:55 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Oh what a cute tabby! I like "Lucy" alot - take that one! Otherwise, maybe "Hershey" for the dark syrupy-like stripes, or "Maisie".
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 11:07 AM on September 23, 2015


If she's a zippy kitten, you could call her Tout de Suite, which is French, and, therefore, Fancy, which cats like, but you could call her "Toot" for short.
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:09 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


What a cutie. Cobweb?
posted by sister nunchaku of love and mercy at 11:12 AM on September 23, 2015


Lillibet - by god, I want someone to name a cat Lillibet.
posted by ersatzkat at 11:15 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


"Toot" (as suggested above) would also reference her talents in the flatulence department.
posted by chicainthecity at 11:17 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Waffles!
posted by dayintoday at 11:23 AM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


She looks like a Jenny or a Jessie to me. And those might go with Johnny. Jessie Nevada?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:24 AM on September 23, 2015


I think dismas is onto something with the cowgirl names. Maybe with Calamity as a prefix, as a nod to her intestinal chaos. Calamity June?
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 11:25 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Best answer: There are female Bodhis--and I think that's what she looks like to me.

(Of course, if you keep Gossamer, you must realize that she shares a name with this dude. And that's pretty darn cool.)
posted by dlugoczaj at 11:28 AM on September 23, 2015


Violet
posted by sciencegeek at 11:31 AM on September 23, 2015


Little Bit, or Lil' Bit. Similar to Lillibet above, if you say it fast enough.

I had a cat named Lil' Bit.
posted by vitabellosi at 11:36 AM on September 23, 2015


I love "Gossamer"! Maybe Goss wouldn't seem weird if you thought of it as Goz?
posted by teremala at 11:41 AM on September 23, 2015


Mrs. Keihanaikukauakahihulihe'ekahaunaele.
posted by maxsparber at 11:47 AM on September 23, 2015


Miss Calamity works too.
posted by maryr at 11:54 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Tyler (Johnny Utahs girlfriend)
posted by Sassyfras at 11:58 AM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Gauss
posted by Confess, Fletch at 11:59 AM on September 23, 2015


Thomasina
posted by JujuB at 12:01 PM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Wait, changing my vote to Tootsie! Then she can be Toots and Tootsie Pop!
posted by Hermione Granger at 12:16 PM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


You should always rename your shelter cat unless you like the existing name. (For the record, I've really the names of four out of the five cats I've adopted over the years). A cat, and especially a kitten, isn't terribly attached to its name. I have no further strong opinions except that Gossamer doesn't strike me right for a round faced tabby girl like this - such a creature is as wispy as a brick which has an inclination to accelerate to 20mph and nap on you.
posted by wotsac at 12:20 PM on September 23, 2015


I don't think Gossamer particularly fits (I would have expected a white cat). But if you think it fits and just dislike the sound, you could call her Sam or Sammy (GoSAMer).
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 12:36 PM on September 23, 2015


That there is Miss Junebug, pardner.
posted by shiny blue object at 1:32 PM on September 23, 2015


What about Carmen San Diego? Or something else that geographically goes with Johnny Utah?
posted by China Grover at 1:35 PM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Frankie? Then you could sing bits of Frankie and Johnny to them.
posted by BoscosMom at 1:43 PM on September 23, 2015 [3 favorites]


I like Clover too though.
posted by BoscosMom at 1:44 PM on September 23, 2015


Or, if you want to stick with the western theme, Cat Ballou!
posted by BoscosMom at 1:59 PM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


Puff. Puff the magic kitten. Who occasionally "puffs"!

Please tell us what name the little darling gets!
posted by LaBellaStella at 2:21 PM on September 23, 2015


Luna -- a trip to the moon on gossamer wings.
posted by katemonster at 2:21 PM on September 23, 2015


Nthing that I like Gossamer for her. Were she mine, I'm sure I'd end up calling her Goose for short (because I'd start with Goss, which is a lil odd I agree, and somehow I'd end up at Goose).
posted by JuliaIglesias at 2:22 PM on September 23, 2015


Jenny Utah
posted by effluvia at 2:36 PM on September 23, 2015 [3 favorites]


I read a story from our local shelter that the names they give them are more like marketing to help them get adopted. So if you want to rename, go ahead. God help me, the name Sarsaparilla popped into my head when I saw your kitten. She may disagree. Try calling her different names and see which one(s) she responds to. If she responds 3 times to the same name, I think you have a winner.
posted by stray thoughts at 3:09 PM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Here in the UK Goss is short for Gossip. Is she a chatty cat?
posted by Mistress at 3:36 PM on September 23, 2015


Lily. I don't know why -- when I saw her she looked like a Lily to me.
posted by AppleTurnover at 3:37 PM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


Slinky. I have no idea why, it just struck me looking at her.
posted by kitten magic at 5:06 PM on September 23, 2015


Noodles. Noodles noodles noodles. I like saying Noodles.
posted by Sweet Dee Kat at 5:26 PM on September 23, 2015 [1 favorite]


Princess Prow-Prow, Stinky-Poo-Face/Brain and Loo-La-La are the names I use for the cats under my command and none of those words are their actual names. The good thing about cats is they will either ignore you, or, alternatively, come to you, regardless of what you are saying or doing or requesting or expecting or engaged in. Gossamer is a great name and Gussie is a perfectly cromulent condensation of that name.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:32 PM on September 23, 2015


Cat or the Cat. We had the Cat until we got another one – then we we had the Big Cat and the Small Cat. 12 years later the Big Cat died, and now slowly the Small Cat is becoming the Cat.

There were/ are other names as well, but in our family there ever was only Big Cat and Small Cat. They weren't compared to no other cat in the world, so was never a problem.
posted by zeikka at 5:47 PM on September 23, 2015 [2 favorites]


The markings on her back remind me of a guitar or a violin, suggesting Beans (as in beans beans the musical fruit), or Rocker in contrast to her gentleness.
posted by bendy at 7:51 PM on September 23, 2015


Cat or the Cat. We had the Cat until we got another one – then we we had the Big Cat and the Small Cat.

My uncle always had a cat named Cat and a dog named Dog. He called his wife Woman, and they called their kids Boy, Girl, and Baby Girl. I mean, Boy, Girl, and Baby Girl had Christian names; they just never got used.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:50 PM on September 23, 2015 [3 favorites]


If you do stick with Gossamer, Gussie would be a cute nickname.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:53 PM on September 23, 2015


I saw someone here who had named their cat Conspiracy - "Connie" for short. I thought that was a fabulous cat name.
posted by Ambient Echo at 12:20 AM on September 24, 2015


Goose! As a diminutive of Gossamer.
posted by orrnyereg at 3:45 AM on September 24, 2015


There are so many good names in this thread I won't even bother, but OMG the SQUEE! She and her bro are just precious and my brood and I wish you many happy years with her bossing you guys around. :)
posted by tigerjade at 7:11 AM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


I'd in no way feel beholden to the shelter name, but suggest Murmur as a nickname if you decide to stick with Gossamer. Lovely kitties!
posted by Leona at 7:24 AM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]


Aww she's adorable. My new shelter kitty is pretty similar: loving and sweet, with killer farts. A name that we considered was Smellerbee - it's a name from the Avatar: the Last Airbender cartoon that my husband and I love, but it's also just kind of cute.
posted by ashirys at 7:32 AM on September 24, 2015


I love Lucy! and you should rename Johnny Utah Desi.
posted by txmon at 7:41 AM on September 24, 2015


I think the farts must be a standard shelter thing--several times when I've gotten a new rescue they fart up a storm before we either settle into a regular diet or go to the vet and get worm meds.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:28 AM on September 25, 2015


Response by poster: i'm still debating on this! no idea why i can't decide. it's between Clover and Gossamer at this point. i really do like the looney tunes Gossamer though, that makes me like the name more. nothing really needs to be decided about names yet until we get the tags engraved on their collars when we take them back to the vet for their vaccinations. thanks for all your help!
posted by cristinacristinacristina at 8:54 AM on September 26, 2015 [2 favorites]


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