questionswhat should i name my new rescue kitty?


Not Camry. Just doesn't fit an animal.
Oreo is a solid neutral name and kinda cute.


I've known two Oreos (a hamster and a cat, both with the appropriate markings for the name).

I don't especially like Camry or Cricket.

Can you post a photo?


Booger (short for WoolyBooger). It's the name I lovingly gave our cat. He gets compliments for it all the time



Of the names you posted, Camry works for me. Then again, I have a friend who was aggrieved when his parents sold the car he was born in on the way to the hospital.
My sister had an "Oreo" I called him "Zero" 'nuff said.
Cricket - meh

But that's just me. Kudos for adopting a rescue (all of our dogs are/have been rescues).

Also, FWIW, naming a cat is kinda irrelevant, as they don't come when called. Besides, most pets wind up being called other things anyway, depending on what they've done this time...

I had a friend who named his cat Eighty-Six. That was how much he had to spend at the vet the first day he had the cat. This was 20 years ago, and we were both in school. Rent was $300, so $86 was a good chunk of change back then. And now I feel old.


@barnabee: Lol..Barnabee would actually be a pretty cute name for a kitty cat. Much better than "A Bitter Woman."


@belyndag So happy for you! Neat rescue story, too.

Vanilla-Inky Referencing the white (Vanilla) and black (Inky). Also w/a nod to @inkycatz. When you determine the gender you could call it 'Nilla if it's a female, Inky if it's a male. OTOH those names are interchangeable. ;-)


Lucky - so many sadly do not find a forever home.


What is the make of the engine in that car? (Because she/it was so desperately trying to imitate it....)

I dubbed one of my past rescue cats Evinrude (aka Rudy) because he was found on a boat and purred like an engine almost nonstop.

Oreo is much too common/obvious, IMO. I do like Camry, though.

Get the actual veterinarian (not just the techs) to visually 'sex' the kitten. It can be done very young, but takes much skill and experience to do so accurately. If it was old enough to have gotten vaccines, it s old enough to be accurately sexed by someone who knows how to do so.


Oreo's a little too cutesy for me. It would also make me want to eat nothing but Oreos.
Camry doesn't really roll off the tongue--Cameron, maybe? Or expand the possibilities: What street was it found on? Who is your favorite singer?

Or if it's a girl, you could name it Car-ly.

Or maybe Phoenix. . .it didn't rise up from the ashes, but it came out from an intense engine heat.

I prefer human names for pets, myself--the less pet-sounding, the better. If I knew it was a boy, I'd call it Stewart.

You can also wait till you know the sex. As you probably know, cats don't usually come when you call them anyway. :)

Congrats on your new rescue!


@reginafilangee: I agree. My guy was about 12 weeks, and I'm guessing yours is probably smaller, but it can definitely be done. In fact, if you posted a picture of its, um, parts on here or on a cat message board, you'd probably get an answer pretty quickly.


@captainsuperdawg: That is my cat's name for the exact same reason!


A+ for Camry. Unique. Fitting.
Congratulations and many kitteh snuggles.


@75grandville: I have two cats who come when called. Well, one of them comes when I call either his name or his brother's, but that's because he just really wants attention. But they both definitely know and respond to their names.

Both my kitties are black and white. The smaller one is Doc, the larger one Iggy. They came with the names Franky and Igor (pronounciations from Young Frankenstein). Growing up we had a female black and white named Moose (it worked for her). My sister's family had one named JR who was the coolest cat ever, would play fetch, stole food off your plate if you weren't careful (he loved shrimp and steak). They currently have a black and white named Apollo.


A suggestion: don't name the cat just yet. Let it declare itself.

We had adopeted a grehound and named it something dumb for the first week we had it. The following weekend we were sitting outside on the front step with the dog and Forrest Gump was on TV. It fit so perfectly, he became Forrest Gump (Forrest, or more commonly Gumpie).

After that we waited a bit. Starbuck, Sebastian, Allie Rose, and Montana were all named by waiting at least a few days to find one that fit. Don't be in a rush. The one exception was the second grehound to go with Forrest. She was named Jenny (which also happily turned out well. Forrest was a Forrest and Jenny was a Jenny).


@gmwhit: =^.^=

Grats on the new kitty! I say you take all these ideas, and see what kitty responds to. That's how I named my current cat. :)

Of course realize that "GETOFFTHERE" is also a legit name and likely to be used more than anything you name the kitty :D


I'm in for +1 on Camry. Congrats on the new cat!


@wilfbrim: One of the rescue pups who adopted me happened to be a Chihuahua. Please don't judge me----i am SO 'not' a chihuahua person, but he wormed his way into my heart and now I've become the type of dog owner I used to make fun of. Anyway.....

We went through a whole naming ordeal with him, too----nothing seemed to fit.

So his actual "real" name is Nacho Cuervo Bandito Burrito Guacamole-----but I call him Waldo for short. That's because he "blends" into the ground when outside because he has a Cloak of Invisibility he can turn on and off at will, and I was constantly asking the other dogs, "where's Nacho?" even though he was standing not two feet away and he'd look up at me to say, "I'm right HERE.". Happened so often that it just started coming out of my mouth as "where's Waldo?" instead. So that's what stuck.


If it were my cat, I'd name it for an engine part. Maybe Piston.


@codex: Piston = Dangerous name. Might be a self-fulfilling prophecy. :-/


@baqui63: I've never tried using DropBox for photos before (and it's blocked at work so this is a workaround for me). Please let me know if this works. It's not a great photo, but it's the one my co-worker sent that told me I HAD to have this kitty!


So many great suggestions! Thanks, Wooters!

@capguncowboy: WoolyBooger is an old family joke for us, used in reference to many things. I hadn't thought of this as a name, although DH calls all of the furbabies "BoogerButt" on occasion. (Endearing, right?) Definitely adding this to the list!

I love all of the comments about cats not coming when called. I always tell people that the difference between dogs and cats is that dogs think of you as family, cats think of you as [u]staff[/u]!

DH usually names our critters, and has done a good job with one notable exception: She was 10 when we got the kids their first puppies and she named her border collie "Cuddles." Urgh! Poor pup. Imagine being a born-to-work herding dog with the undignified name of "Cuddles." DH is pushing to name the kitty "April" since she firmly believes it's a girl and that it must have been born in April. I'm not too keen on that one.


@inkycatz: One of my favorite cartoons I saved in my collection has a dog introducing himself to another dog by saying, "Hello, my name's 'No! No! Bad dog! What's yours?' "

@reginafilangee: There's nothing wrong with a chihuahua (unless you carry it around all day in a little pink puppy tote and let it yip all the time!) My grandmother always had one and hers were plain old dogs who just happened to be smaller in stature than their minds could comprehend. Chihuahuas are large dogs trapped in small bodies. Good "parenting" pays off with them. No judging from me!

I tend to like the suggestions that we wait to see what kind of personality develops. Right now he/she/it is bonding pretty strongly with me (hooray!) and, surprisingly, with DH (who always claimed he wasn't an "animal guy" but can be heard to actually say "Coochie coochie coo!" to the little critter). The kitty's biggest personality quirk so far is a desire to nap close to your FACE rather than in a lap. Interesting!


Link to pic worked fine for me. Not all that original of a name, but with that face, Freckles could work.


I have a black and white rescue we named "Cookie" instead of Oreo. Then we found out she was a HE. So, now he's Cookie Monster, and believe me, the name fits! He went from a tiny ball of fluff to a very large tuxedo cat. He also eats everything in sight, so the name is very apropos.

Other names for black and whites:
Double stuff

Why not call him/her Woot? :O)


I like Camry, but shortening it to Cam for a boy or Cammie for a girl.


Unique names also help at the vet. :)


@belyndag: My Border Collie's full name is No! No! Bad Dog Maggie! Yep, seriously. Maggie is the kind of dog that is ALWAYS into something. She just never stops. She's the third rescue Border Collie I've owned. We thought she would mellow out as she got older. Ha! She's eight years old now and still into everything.

So, barnabee isn't looking too good, huh? It would be a great name! Full name Barnabee--nick name Barney if a male and Bee if a female. Sounds good to me!

I used to have a big, overweight (yeah, fat) cat named Barney. Barney was not the brightest kitty cat; he couldn't find his way out of a corner--literally. He would get stuck facing toward a corner. We'd hear this pathetic little meow and we would have to go and pick him up and turn him around. He was a wonderful cat.

I still think barnabee would be a great name...


@barnabee: LOL! Barnabee is, indeed, a wonderful name. DD isn't buying it, but I'm adding it to the short list for DH and DS to review. They are still sold on Camry (Cammie, whatever), and DD is still pushing April, and I'm leaning heavily toward the "wait a bit more and see what sticks" theory.


Congrats on the new addition - hope you are healing and he/she is helping you find comfort.

Add me to the +1 for Camry. I'm still trying to figure out the name for my most recent adoption...he definitely fits the initial name of Spidermonkey, however that is one heck of a mouthful. We have shortened it to spidey, monkey, etc. My hubby calls him PITA (pain in the ...). Most of our pets usually have about 10 names each. But his official name is Spidermonkey, according to the vet. I agree with @inkycatz - it helps a lot at the vet if the name is memorable.


@belyndag: Oh, what a sweetheart! I'm not a cat person, but I'm in love with that adorable little thing! Congratulations on your new munchkin! Personally, I think "Camry" is a great name. @inkycatz has a great point about unique names helping at the vets' office (and at the groomers', for dogs). I'm not comfortable posting my dogs' names here, but they fit the same category as "Camry": words that people understand upon hearing the name once, but not common names for animals.

"Camry" is a word that can be pronounced very differently in different parts of the country. I'd say "CAM-rhee" with a soft-ish vowel sound in the second syllable. 'Round these here parts where I live now, I think the second syllable would be a much sharper sound that might be less adorable. So that might be one reason why there's varied reaction in this thread to the name...


Aww, I just saw your little kitty. From the angle of the picture, she kind of looks like Gizmo from the movie Gremlins. In case you never saw the movie, Gizmo was a sweetie, too--well, most of the time.


@belyndag @barnabee: When I took my older dog to puppy training, we were told to say the dog's name and the recall command once, and then do whatever it took to get the puppy's attention without repeating either their name or the command. The trainer's example was "Spot! Come! Puppy puppy puppppppppy!" Guess what the older dog responds to as a recall command...

Yup, "Puppy puppy puppppppppppy!" :)


@barnabee: Gizmo was one of the names my kids suggested. Funny thing is that the Shih Tzu, Lexie, looks like either Gizmo or an Ewok. All of our critters are black and white, too. It didn't start out that way intentionally, but now we find that we see a black and white creature and think of how well it will fit into our herd.


personally id name it woot! or jumbocat or something hahaha
but out of the list i would pick oreo, i had a cat that passed away a few years ago, so it has some meaning to me


@neuropsychosocial: And do you yell it loud enough for your neighbors to hear? Do they think you are crazy or do then KNOW it?

@belyndag: I collected black and white critters for a while, now I'm branching out to blondes (cat and Labrador). I have discovered that the blonde hair blends in better with my carpet.



It worked. Cute little guy, very similar to both of mine (though even my smaller one is probably eight or ten times his(?) size).

I'm thinking Oreo doesn't fit. I still don't especially like Camry either.

You said he(?) was making a lot of noise while in the engine compartment... Perhaps Squeak or Squeaky?

Though I'm also in agreement with those above who have suggested waiting a while so you can better pick his(?) name.

And both of my cats will come when called (not always, they are cats after all) but they are about as responsive as my daughters.


I'd vote for Camry as well, but as previously mentioned it will probably only be for records.


@barnabee: I have a Border Collie rescue, too. :)
Since you're on your third one, you really need to read this book:
Nop's Trials, by Donald McCaig
It has been out of print for several yrs, but I've ordered used copies from Amazon that have been in really good shape (I give them to people who have BC's.) I first read it early in high school, but it's something I've enjoyed re-reading as an adult. Awesome story that helps one understand how the mind of this particular breed works.



i know you asked for some sex-less names. if i had some good ones, i'd share 'em.
i agree - wait until the feline lets you know.
don't wait too long - lest you end up with some 15 yo cats named boy one and girl one ; )
female - blanche or zoey
male - stanley

if more ideas come, i'll post again


That is the most adorable kitty!

I'm awful at naming stuff, so I have no suggestions.

It is really a cute kitty!


@barnabee: Well, the black and white critters worked well when we had gray carpet. The hairballs were made of mixed hairs that blended nicely. Now that we've pulled that carpet up and have mostly bamboo floors, I hate to get rid of my critters just to go with my color scheme. Perhaps Lady Clairol makes something that will do the trick! Nah, guess I just need to use my Woot-purchased Roomba a bit more often.


@baqui63: "And both of my cats will come when called (not always, they are cats after all) but they are about as responsive as my daughters."

As Adrian Monk would say, "This made me LOL out loud."


@reginafilangee: The dog I recently lost was a border collie. We still have her sister. Thanks for the book link. I have read just about everything Jon Katz has written about his border collies, but I had never read Donald McCaig. I've added these to my wish list.


@dontwantaname: You think you're awful at naming stuff? Seriously? With a name like "dontwantaname"? It doesn't get much better than that!


I just realized how strange it looks that I'm posting so many responses in a row. LOL! Took my BIL out to dinner for his birthday and finally got a chance to read all of the great responses. Thanks, folks.

I just wanted to add a note about spaying and neutering your cats, and about the need for more cat adoptions. I got a call today from a coworker in one of our regional offices. She was trying to save some 2 week old kittens whose mother had disappeared (she assumed it was hit by a car). Although my friend was willing to bottle feed the tiny things, she had been unable to find the kitten formula at any of the stores in her area because, as she was told by several vets and pet supply store owners, there are just so very many unwanted kittens in that area that they just can't keep up with the demand. This is so sad. I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I wanted to pass that along. Please support spaying and neutering programs, and adopt those kitties!


@belyndag: I think you'll really like it, too, then. Let me know! I'll caution you that there are a few intensely emotional parts of the book, but wouldn't recommend it if that weren't crucial to the progression of the story, and makes the ending all the more worthwhile. The book is written from Nop's (the dog's) perspective, and he was a real dog----it's sorta like his "memoirs," as recounted through the imagination of his person/employer.