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I'm going to be adopting a cat over the next few months from a local shelter.
All of my life, I've had kittens from birth and then have named them accordingly, so names were never a problem.
However, I know that cats at shelters more than likely already have names. I'm more than likely going to adopt an older cat (no kittens for me right now!).
I'd like to change it, but not sure if this may be problematic.
When you've adopted cats in the past, do you usually keep the name given to the cat by the shelter? Or do you change it?
Have you had success with calling the cat by another name?
Is it traumatizing to the cat to change their name (eg start calling it by another name)?
First of all, kudos to you for adopting an older cat! That makes me happy.
See if the cat you're looking at even responds to his/her name. I know people who don't call their pet by their name that often, so they don't really respond. If that's the case here, no problem changing the name.
You could also choose a name that sounds similar or starts with the same letter, to make the transition easier. For instance, Sandy could become Sophie.
Now, I took in a stray kitty.....who we called Momma. She was called Momma for over a year. She's now in her forever home with my cat sitter who renamed her Floki. She responds to Floki just fine.
My cat Charcoal, aka Charles Oliver Charcoal Cholly..............was a stray I took in. He responds to any word starting with a CHa sound.
First of all, kudos to you for adopting an older cat! That makes me happy.
See if the cat you're looking at even responds to his/her name. I know people who don't call their pet by their name that often, so they don't really respond. If that's the case here, no problem changing the name.
You could also choose a name that sounds similar or starts with the same letter, to make the transition easier. For instance, Sandy could become Sophie.
aww thanks!
as much as I love kittens, I often think about and feel sorry for the older cats who are sitting in shelters, being adopted. So, I think it would be good for me to get an older cat and give it some tlc.
My last cat, although I had him from when he was a newborn kitten, stayed with us for 1 years before he passed away from a feline stroke.
I can just imagine all of the love that the older cats need, yet they're kept in cages and ignored.
The shelter called Electra Brenna. At the time we had Brandy and we thought it would be too confusing with Brandy & Brenna. And she was only about 4 months old at the time so we figured it would be ok. Then we got Andy (who's "real" name was Andromeda) so we had Brandy & Andy. That was followed by Elvira-so now we have Electra & Elvira. So would Brandy & "Brenna" be as confusing? lol.
Side note: We got Andy, who was black, from my husband's daughter. When we asked her why she named him Andromeda her answer was, "Because he looked like a galaxy." It was her ex-husband who called him Andy so we did, too.
From my experience, I think a lot of the time a cat will respond more to the tone of your voice more than the actual word/name you use. I'm sure most cat guardians have various nicknames they use as much as the cat's actual name, and they still respond. So again, it's all in how you say it. On top of that you have the cat's infamous 'selective hearing' to contend with, so it may be hard to tell what they recognize more.
Go ahead and rename your new kitty, doubt if it will be a problem. Adding a big to you for adopting an older cat.
as much as I love kittens, I often think about and feel sorry for the older cats who are sitting in shelters, being adopted. So, I think it would be good for me to get an older cat and give it some tlc.
My last cat, although I had him from when he was a newborn kitten, stayed with us for 16 years before he passed away from a feline stroke.
I can just imagine all of the love that the older cats need, yet they're kept in cages and ignored.
sorry meant to say we had him for 16 years, not 1!
I'm going to be adopting a cat over the next few months from a local shelter.
All of my life, I've had kittens from birth and then have named them accordingly, so names were never a problem.
However, I know that cats at shelters more than likely already have names. I'm more than likely going to adopt an older cat (no kittens for me right now!).
I'd like to change it, but not sure if this may be problematic.
When you've adopted cats in the past, do you usually keep the name given to the cat by the shelter? Or do you change it?
Have you had success with calling the cat by another name?
Is it traumatizing to the cat to change their name (eg start calling it by another name)?
thanks
When we got Cailleach from the Shelter they had named her "CeCe" what kind of name is that for a cat.
She was very young though, just old enough to be spayed. She took to her new name very quickly and she does know her name.
From my experience, I think a lot of the time a cat will respond more to the tone of your voice more than the actual word/name you use. I'm sure most cat guardians have various nicknames they use as much as the cat's actual name, and they still respond. So again, it's all in how you say it. On top of that you have the cat's infamous 'selective hearing' to contend with, so it may be hard to tell what they recognize more.
Go ahead and rename your new kitty, doubt if it will be a problem. Adding a big to you for adopting an older cat.
I call Electra "Squeak" a lot and she knows it just as she knows "Electra".
Cat
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to you for adopting an older cat.
