Today was the day. The local kittens are six weeks old, and I was finally invited to interview them.
As I had hoped, one chose me. He left the pile of kittens in the basket, ran up my leg and sat on my shoulder, when I said, "OK! Who wants to win the lottery? I have an opening for a CAT!"
He will remain with his mother for a couple of weeks more, yet, then right to the Vet, and home.



Names, names. Because he is a Tuxedo Cat, I wanted to name him "Linux", as in , but this was vetoed by my niece, who said, "If you name him after some Geek Operating System, I'll never talk to you again!".OK.
His father is a HUGE cat, so maybe:
Dreadnaught?
Catapotamus?
Magnus?
A friend suggested "Hiram". I made a wisecrack about him teaching the cat a certain Handshake, and we left it at that.

This requires more thought. I am grateful for the two weeks.

Because for the last few decades I have always rescued "Used Cats", I had not seen kittens for a long time. I must have laughed nonstop for fiteen minutes! I needed it, because of course there will always be an empty place from Miles.
A whole basket full of clowns who have had WAY too much coffee!
This is his proud godmother, the Employee of the Mother Cat..(Who will be spayed thereafter! A limited time litter offer!!)

Oh, Jon....................he is absolutely adorable! And he REALLY sat on your shoulder? How perfect is that? Sounds to me as though YOU passed the interview

Okay, I understand your feeling about Linux since I understand computers.. but if your niece vetoed that one..what did she suggest?

Naming kittens was never my strong point...Witness my 3...Little Guy, Little Girl, and Keeper.
But the names fit and felt comfortable.

So I guess you can see his personality for a name, or his looks, or what you feel like calling him when you see him. At least you have a couple of weeks to think about it. And, you may get some good suggestions here to ponder.

The important thing is you are going to have him with you soon.......it is really exciting. One cannot look at his picture without just grinning from ear to ear! My 3 had a huge daddy cat that I saw one time and the boys were good-sized but I always thought of them as my teddy bears with their long-haired fur. How about Black Bart? Sounds dangerous, don't you think? That just popped into my mind. You could call him BB for short.

I love your "interviews". You obviously have a winner and what a winner!

When you get him, take lots of pictures. We want to see this baby boy again and again.
I am so very happy for you, Jon. This news is just perfect. Thank you so much for sharing!

Judy

What a cute little guy! My first thought was to name him Bogart since Humphrey Bogart always looked snazzy in a tux. Congratulations on the new furkid. Let us know how things work out.

All the best,
Ken Albin

He climbed on top of my head, he tried to get into my shirt pocket, he was all over me, I melted and cooed like a little girl..then "OOpps! Gotta go wrestle my brothers!!", then the Cat Lady was trying to herd them so I could get a picture, and they were bouncing all over the place and scurrying around with Attention Deficit Disorder, and it was absolute chaos...a madhouse.
I cannot wait to complain about "He found a hidden jingle ball at 3:00 AM!"


Oh, she did not have a suggestion. She graduated College two years ago and Knows Everything™. I love her and am terribly proud of her, but sometimes she is very like a cat.

We have arguments all the time about...Well...

I will be on pins and needles. I feel like an expectant father who has just seen the ultrasound!






I just read this Tribute Page. I made me happy to see a story like that. I had made up a few special songs featuring Miles, that I used to sing to her, and am relieved I was not the only person to do that! Haha, some of my closest people told me it was "Abnormal"...and they are cat lovers!!!
The tribute, of course, was very powerful to read....And I know it will be next year, and the next, and the next...

CONGRATULATIONS JON!!!! I am so happy to hear you have found another love. Your excitement comes right through my screen. Offhand a name does not come to me for this kitty. No doubt one will hit me sometime in the middle of the night where it seems I do my best thinking.

How are you going to withstand the anticipation for the next 2 weeks while you wait for this new arrival? I'd have to be drugged or something to get through the waiting.

I must tell you something Jon, though I was not going to say this in public view yet. But, we adopted a puppy from a rescue shelter yesterday. So I definately can share in this excitement of joy you too are feeling. Gosh it feels great doesn't it? Life is good!

I'm with Beth in this one- I would need to be drugged. Hopefully the next two weeks will fly by. And, of course, you could probably still visit him with his mom. Best of luck, Jon! What happy news!

Then you know.
I was in the moral dilemma of "replacing" someone special. It sounded heartless to me.

Then I remembered this story about losses and replacements.

Over the forty years we have been together, my wife ended up with a lot of jewelry. She was recovering from surgery, se we had a cleaning service come in for about a year..
We finally got to leave for a vacation. She put her jewelry in a box and meant to hide it. When we got back, the box was not out. Many months passed and she went to get the jewelry box from her hding place. It was all gone, and we could not prove anything. Much of it had sentimental value.
She was heartbroken. Because I cut all the stones, of course there were never reciepts. We fired the service and changed the locks.
Quietly in secret, for about a year, I replaced every single item. On her birthday, I walked into her studio, and handed her a carrot. "I said, I wrote a note to myself last year to give you one of these, but I may have misread it, so it's either this or...
This: 1 Carat, Tokarsky perfect cut, PVVS Color G, set in 18K wth a platinum head. "This inherits all the sentiment of your lost diamond, but with one more story added".
I then proceeded to hand her one after the other the replacements. "This replaces your Gilson emerald, except this one is Natural and came from Colombia, and has twelve diamonds around it." "This replaces your Linde Star Sapphire, except that this one is natural and came from Sri Lanka, and has sixteen diamonds".
"Each one of these contains all the sentiments the originals had, but all are better, and all have a more powerful story now". One after another, the boxes came out.
It worked.
She was VERY happy and said the Three Magic Words.

We we lose a friend, we walk around with a Love Surplus that we can transfer some day.

I like your story, Jon...very much. Thank you for sharing it.

What you said about "love surplus" is so true. As one of the crowd that really loves these babies, we are blessed with a surplus of love which is really limitless and that is why when one is taken from us, we are able to open our home and heart to another who needs the love and caring we can provide, which we can easily do when we know we are getting that unconditional love that only these babies can give..so we always feel we can continue to be blessed by finding them..while at the same time we know we will never forget or stop missing what we had.

Now...on to the new names...you still thinking of any yet? We are on pins and needles. That picture makes me smile each time I scroll by it.

Judy

First, a word from the litter:

MINE is not in this picture..he is busy elsewhere, runnng around like a demented slot car.
I am getting frantic...this is going to be a long two weeks!

Well, no real ideas yet because I have not gotten to know him, but he is the most energetic one of the litter. Since the Cat Lady told me his father is an "Enormous" cat, this should help a little. Since I am so eager, I may go overboard in superlatives, and sicken even the most hard-core cat lover.

Some VERY tenuous ideas:


Magnus
Tiberias
Hadrian
Augustus
Claudius
Vespasian
Titan
Atlas
Zeus
Grendel
Thor
Nightway (Healing ceremony..JUST what I need...)

Normally, when I know them the names jump right in....like a wanderer years ago, was "Gypsy" when she showed up.

Okay...in looking over your list of names and also your remark about Gypsy's name.

Right now, I am thinking of Zeus so you can tell him all the time that he was
a "gift from the Gods".

Those names are all so great! I love mythology names. I came this close to naming Duffy Loki. I like Zeus, though. Judy, you always have such great ideas.

But that tells him he IS a god! There are endless pantheons we could explore though.

Manitou
Rama
(I always thought "Neptune" was hilarious, but it is Murphy who likes water..)
Nodonn
MORRIGAN
AONGHUS
DAGDA
CERNUNNUS
ABANDINUS
Baal
Frey
Baldr
Loki
Brama
Vishnu
Siva
Jupiter (Hmm.)
Vulcan
Saturn

But this is like that internet list of 2,000 cat names! One gets bogged down....

I once had a cat named "Arwoo". It was simply the first word I heard her speak...

Jon, your mind must be running like mad in trying to name this sweet little kitty. Personally I happen to like Linus. The only other name I thought of was Tennessee, from that goofy cartoon character long ago. He was a very unique penguin that made me laugh alot.

Keep us posted on what's going on. I DEFINATELY know and feel the thrills of joy that a new addition to a family brings. You are going to be one busy Dad when your beautiful blue-eyed boy comes home.

By the way..........In your first pic kitty is saying "ICAN." What does that stand for? Just curious like a kitty I am.

Hey! That was my attempt at a LOL CAT! "I CAN HAS...JON!"

The ICANHASCHEEZEBURGER Website! (LOL CATS)

Such as:

Maybe you should name him Ican then. Hahahahahahaha!

Jon: So Zeus is out......don't want him to get a big head about being a God.

You said the Dad was big...so maybe Titan (on your list) would work or you could call him L.T. for Little Titan.

Still thinking.............

Hi Jon!

Congratulations on being adopted by that adorable precious furkitten ! I'm sure that you can't wait to bring him home.

Thanks for the link to http://icanhascheezburger.com/. Here's another fun site to check out -- http://www.stuffonmycat.com/ . Check out the little guy in the hat (about 4 precious kitties down). Resembles one of the kitties in the litter your furbaby is from .

Like everyone else, I'm looking forward to more pictures and hearing what you decide to name him .

Much peace, happiness & love to you and yours,

Denise

Titanette? Titania? Titanium? "Six Four"?(The usual conmmercial alloy of titanium.)


I am hoping he will be medium to long, but I'll suffer very little if he is a shorthair, too. Or if he's bald. Or..
I never had a tuxedo cat. The only one I met was so nasty that her owner considered taking her back to the shelter as a kitten..she always was like that, and had not been mistreated. This cat was the only cat I ever met who _hated_ me. Her mistress told me, "That's just the way she is. If I do not feed her on time, she bites my ankles." She does love the cat very much, and they have been together for sixteen years, and they DO get along finally, but anyone else is shredded.
Happily, all these little tuxedos were completely delightful and friendly! Usually a cat can look at me and know I am a Cat Person.

you said: Titanette? Titania? Titanium? "Six Four"?(The usual commercial alloy of titanium.)

You are not making things easier, Jon, but then I have a sneaking suspicion you are having fun with all this....and that's not a bad thing.

You can't use "ette" "ia"..you have a boy...those are ending for girls. I looked up Titan and it said a person or thing of enormous size, strength, etc. I guess it might scare the kitty to get such a big name.

Titanium is out as apparently it becomes a dark-grey powder (doesn't sound like a tuxedo).

I see what you mean about Zeus..not only was he a God...he was the Chief of the Olympiad Gods..boy would your little one get a very big head with that name

I liked Ken's suggestion of Bogart. He did look good in a tux.

HOW ABOUT CALLING HIM "Tuxedo"? and call him Tux for short. Can't be more original than that one.


See...........you ask for suggestions and just look at what you get....................

Anymore ideas from your end? Sometimes your ideas can trigger something here as a thought.
You already eliminated your list so we need a new one.

The real test will be when you finally get him. You just might wind up calling him something cause of something he did or reminded you of when you see and play with him.

After all, my Little Guy got his name cause he got sick as a kitten and we put him in a cardboard box on the 4th of July to take him to the vet. I asked my husband..what are we going to do with this Little Guy? The name stuck. His twin, Keeper, real name was Housekeeper (I felt bad cause I thought that was a girl's name so I shortened it) but it was originally Housekeeper because as a kitten he checked 6 litter boxes and if someone hadn't covered up, he got in the box and did it. Very neat boy.

So we never know where the name will come from but I'm sure you will like a few to have ready for him. I remember a black cat named Midnight. Yours is black and white so he is a combo of black magic and white magic...maybe call him Combo.

It's gonna be a long............two weeks, Jon (but it's fun, isn't it? It feels good to have good feelings inside).

Judy

P.S. I can't wait to see your response to these suggestions!

First I am going to tease us with his "Formal Show Stance" picture. I cannot WAIT to bring him home! I am going crazy!!


Titan. Hmmm. Saturn's biggest moon.

Moons.
Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto

Saturn:
1. Mimas ..NO!
2. Enceladus
3. Tethys
4. Dione ...Anyone know the "Dionne Reel? I'll play a few bars.."
5. Rhea
6. Titan ...Big Boy
7. Hyperion ......Squirrell on crack.
10. Phoebe .......Hahahaa
11. Janus ............Hey, the god of good beginnings.

15. Calypso ....Come Mister Tally Man.
17. Atlas .........."Who is John Galt?"
18. Prometheus ...Fire Bringer, Algonquin: chipmunk
20. Pan ...Haha, IΩ ╥an!!
...

Gems and minerals:

Onyx
Jasper....?
Obsidian
Jet
Anthracite

Stars:
Vega
Sirius
Vega
Capella
Rigel
Procyon
Betelgeuse
Altair
Aldebaran
Antares
Spica
Pollux
Fomalhaut
Deneb
Regulus
Castor


See why I get nowhere? How many NAMES are there???

This is from my nutty artist wife's page..I just thought of it now.
We went through this YEARS AGO 0when she had to name her car:


"The naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games.

When you notice a Cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
Her mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of her name:
Her ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name."


With appreciation of T.S. Eliot in helping name Jon and Mary's Leaper, most definitely a girl, please meet the magical Jaguar, Misstoffelees.
Jaguar (JAG-you-uh)n. A large, fierce, pavement-eating member of the cat family. Just About the Greatest, Ultimate, Automobile on Record.

Jon you are cracking me up with all this excitement of yours. The name will come to you when you least expect it to. Just reading your lists gets me so excited I probably will have difficulty in sleeping again tonight. LOL one of these days I am going to learn not to come here at night before I go to bed.

I remember when my sister gave birth to her 5th babygirl (The last one. Thank God!) She had picked her name out before she was born and decided on Tillie. The entire family tried to get her to consider other names, but she was very adamant about it. So, we shut up and respected her choice of names. After all, it was her baby. Well, lo and behold, that name grew on all of us. When I look at her today so grown up, I can't even imagine a more perfect name for her.

On the other hand, before I brought my newest puppy home this last weekend, I had decided between 2 names for him.(Or so I thought) As it turned out we did not wind up choosing either of those names. We brought him home on Saturday and did not name him until Sunday. Then suddenly it hit us that Browser was the perfect name for him.........even though I call him lots of other names like, Lil Dickens, ShortStuff, PeeWee etc. etc. etc.

Show me another list please LOL. It sounds like the names are what is keeping your mind busy while you sit on pins and needles. Just wait til he's home with you.........the excitement really heightens then. I am anxious myself to hear about the stories you will tell us about this little kitty who wears a fur tuxedo.

Enjoy!

Hey.

You don't suppose...

He will grow up to look like...



????
Look at the markings! Oooooh!

Come on May 15!!!! I am going nuts.

News Flash!
My sister-in-law, a true Cat Lady just called.
She likes "Jasper".
Any votes? She clucked and cooed over it.

Jon: That Formal Show Stance picture is really priceless. It looked to me like he was so cute I wanted to say he has a button nose...the kind you like to touch. How about Buttons?

Jasper? Does he look like a Jasper? Does it sound right to you?

It sounded like you were introducing him as Jaguar....

I know Bogart wore a tuxedo but when I think of one...I think of the old Fred Estaire movies..how about Freddie?

May15th? What a darling you have found, Jon. Your kitten Interview was everyone was at the right place at the right time and it felt right. How perfect is that?

You could also search the www.petfinders.com on the Internet and see the names Tuxedos have gotten..maybe one of them will remind you of something.

I have one..when I think of a kitten...I think of the energy and as you have seen from Ken's Elvira and Ellen...,they love to get into
mischief.

How about calling him Mischief? I'll bet he lives up to that name.

Judy

Ooooh...What a doll! But MY kittie to be has white further up his face, giving him a (Squealing like a little girl ) LITTLE PINK NOSIE!!

Ooooooh! (Melting)


2 more weeks.
I think I am going to slow down posting on this till he is here because I am going to drive everyone else besides me crazy!!!!

My wife says I should name him a Big Male Cat name like "Spike". My niece suggested "Jeeves"...so the domestic name wars have begun.
I kind of liked "Jasper", myself, but my wife said he would die of shame and be effeminate. (Well, Damn! I am going to have him neutered, of course!! Does the term "Vienna Boys' Choir" mean anything to you???)
(She was being humorous. Since she is left-handed/right brained we forever tease each other about the Engineer/Artist Communication Problem- Never mind BOTH my parents were artists! THEN Things deteriorate, I tell a blonde joke, and she reminds me that she is a certiifed firearms instructor & Etc.)

NOW I get an email from my Sister-in-Law, "Does he have a brother?? Because I just lost my dear old Steven!" I fear this litter will go like hotcakes.

I hope the cat lady keeps her word and he is there for me May 15! If not, there will have to be a new support topic..."Found and Lost"!

hi, Jon730
i like your thread, and i am feeling with you, beeing excited and happy, waiting for the little kitty.

how about "Bastet", the agyptean cat-goddess, many thousand years ago.

maybe you know Erich Kästner, a german writer (+1974)
one of his wonderful poems is wondering about the names of cats ( and how cats deal with their names..)
that cats do have always 3 names !

one like Bastet, Zeus, Saturn,
one like Baby, Honey,
and the 3rd name, this name, only the cat knows!
Eva

i think, Erich Kästner was a big cat-lover and did know a lot about cats.

PS.: what about the "Vienna Boys`Choir" ?
i have no idea, i could do a little research, since i am living in Vienna
something to do with "neutered" ??

It is used as a euphamism, because the Vienna choir is so well known but actually, neutered males were once used in Rome in great numbers. Why spend a fortune training a singer, only to have their voice change? I don't think it has to do with them spraying...hahaha.

Bastet is a name I had once considered, but he is a boy cat, and his father is a giant...hence the suggestions like "Titan".

Fifteen more days......

Wow- all such beautiful cats! Jon and Joanne, you are really selling me on tuxedos- they are beautiful...although, I do have to be fair, I love all kitties-they are all beautiful! Jon, we are all waiting in suspense with you!

QUOTE (jackjackbojack @ May 1 2008, 07:26 PM)

Sounds like he already is! There is so much laughter and joy in this thread, I love coming here. It's great to see people enjoying life!

One week down, Jon....

YUP!!! Not long to go now. I am anxious myself to hear all about him after you get him home. Anymore ideas about a name yet?

NINE more days. At C-Day Minus 2 I will make the Vet appointment and start getting his room ready and buy new toys.

Names: My wife suggested "Ignatius", so I could call him "Iggy".
And REALLY old people like myself can remember the cartoons of Ignatz, the brick-throwing cat; "Precious dollink, ever fetful". I am not really wild about it.

I had suggested "Welan", because I want him to grow up to be a magical craftsman like his Daddy. (Katzen11, Sie verstehen!)
My wife said, "No one will know what that means!" I said "HE will!"


I kind of like "Oreo", too, but it's Trademarked. It Means "Mountain" in Greek. I mean, his father is a BIG cat....

I like Oreo.

He is black and white. He is cute. He looks sweet. I would be tempted to call him Oreo and then I could tell him
he is "my little cookie!".

**********BULETIN*************

The Kitty Lady called and left a message! Some have already been taken by new adopters, so it looks like they are old enough and the mother is not too upset, so it could happen sooner. I am awaiting a phone call from her.

Vet appointment.
Ready.

new catbox.
Done.

Toys.
Get some new fresh ones.

Kitten food.
Tomorrow

Scratching post.
Or else.

I would add to that list:


Heart
anxious

Emotions
Very High

Love Ready?
Without a doubt!

nothing to add, how exciting !
Eva

My dogs and cats all became fast friends.

Other than that, there is nothing I can say on a Family-Friendly forum, except, "If they have a baby, will they kill the dog?".
Some people just do not Get It.

On the bright side, I had a dream about my new cat last night...This is getting mentally sick. I had better try to move the timetable up a littlle! I will try calling again tonight!

TUESDAY AT NOON I go get him!

Now it is looking like "Iggy", for "Ignatius".

Now THAT's really exciting. We are going to be very anxious to hear all about him and to see more pictures of him. What you have posted ....he is just unbelievably darling!

And, I know Miles is smiling about all this. That's what unconditional love is all about....wanting to see the one you love happy. I can feel that myself from my Little Guy..each and every time I look into his eyes in any one of his beautiful pictures.

The beginning of the road is just the start of the best times....we learned from our special ones that we need that unconditional love. Life just isn't the same without it.

And look at this little teeny baby you are getting who has love just written all over him.

As we have shared the pain so do we share the joy. We will be waiting for you, Jon, to tell us everything.

Well, it looks like the name will be ...
Ignatius. "Iggy"
It was my wife's suggestion. Her sister approved it, the Kitty Lady liked it, my niece liked it, to heck with him being MY cat!

SO: I wondered why my wife suggested it. She does not explain herself, because "Artists don't have to explain anything".

AND, well, well:


Too Weird: EATEN BY CATS:

St. Ignatius was arrested by the authorities and transported to Rome under trying conditions:

“ From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of soldiers, who only grow worse when they are kindly treated. —Ignatius to the Romans, 5. ”

He was sentenced to die in the arena. The Roman authorities hoped to make an example of him and thus discourage Christianity from spreading, but his journey to Rome instead offered him the opportunity to meet with and teach Christians along his route, and he wrote six letters to the churches in the region and one to a fellow bishop."

Hey Jon,
Tuesday would have been my Duffy's birthday. Now I am not a superstitious person but I would like to think that it will be a day of wonderful luck for you and so much happiness. I am really happy for you! Please take tons of pictures!

Tomorrow is your day, Jon!! We don't forget and we do expect to hear everything about that precious little bundle of fur..which you just teased us with...with that adorable picture.

Welcome, Iggy

Well Jon.............Goliath Aloysius would approve of Ignatius aka Iggy. Good luck tomorrow and have lots of fun. (LOL like I really need to tell you to do that!)

Looking forward to all the pics and stories I know you will bring.

I felt it was appropriate to start a new thread, because this one was betraying my overboard enthusiasm, and I feared it would become triesome for people, because there was really no News...

There is now. The little Tuxedo Fluffball curled up with his favorite toy, and snoozes till I visit. He has been handled a Lot! He purrs and purrs and wants his plump belly rubbed..I am TRYING to stay out of his room, and let him sleep before the Vet Trip.
I have not had a kitten in decades. Someone who loves old used cats has NO DEFENSE against this Cuteness Overload!!!