PeaceBang
The manic mind of the minister -- Auntie Mame Meets Cotton Mather. Blogging about Unitarian Universalism, UU Christian spiritual practice, occasional cultural and political ravings, and the inner life of ministry. PeaceBang is the alter ego of a small town pastor serving an historic New England Unitarian Universalist congregation.
Jellicle Cats (and Dogs)
August 12, 2008 on 3:41 pm | In Cat Blogging, Max Blogging |I’m not a fan of the musical “Cats” or of its source material from T.S. Eliot, but I was always intrigued by the idea that cats had a secret “jellicle” name that its people didn’t know. Anyone who has ever lived with a cat knows that they are regal creatures at heart, little gods and goddesses among us, and that they really need names that suit them or they may sulk about the indignity of being called Fluffy for the rest of their lives. You just don’t call a Mungojerrie or Rumpleteaser “Kitty” and Mr. Mistofeles should not be called into the house under the moniker “Muffin.”
When I met my Ermengarde in the shelter she was called “Durgin,” which was just the wrongest, wrongest name possible for her. It was parochial (there’s a popular Boston restaurant called Durgin Park) and way too masculine and heavy. DURRR-GIN. Clunk, clunk. I adopted her, took her home, and waited for her name to emerge. I had it in my mind that I’d like to call her Penelope after Odysseus’s wife, and her nickname would be Nell. I tried that out for a day or two. She didn’t respond much to that name or to Durgin, for that matter. In fact, she seemed much more interested in ordering ME around, pestering me with vocalizations day and night until I translated correctly and provided what she wanted. One afternoon she was putting up such a wailing fuss that I said in exasperation, “ERMENGARDE, stop snivelling!” It’s a line from “Hello, Dolly” (the musical number “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” actually, and isn’t that fitting for a parsonage cat, now that I think about it!?) and is spoken by Dolly Levi to the perpetually crying and whining character Ermengarde, the diminutive but noisy niece of Horace Vandergelder.
She ran to me and I scooped her up for the first time since she had come home to live with me. “Ermengarde. For heaven’s sake, is that your jellicle name?” It most certainly seems to be close enough, because she comes when called and seems to take great pride in her ridiculously lengthy title. Her middle name is Otis, named for Miss Abigail Otis who gave this house to the church to be its parsonage — on the condition that they re-cast the church bell so that she would be able to hear it from this far away. They did, and this home has housed the ministers of our congregation since 1875.
I’m so not a Durgin, please.
When The Former SweetieBang and I adopted Max in March, he was already one year old and I don’t think it’s fair to change a dog’s name if they’ve already been trained to know and respond to theirs. It can be done, of course, and it works better if the new guardians choose a name that’s similar to the old one, but Former SB and I thought that the name Max suited our doggie very well. He was Max like the kid in “Where the Wild Things Are,” and, coincidentally, like my great-grandfather who came over from Romania.
But as you know, Max is a very popular dog name. In fact, some days it seems that Max is practically EVERY dog’s name. If Max had a more jellicle name I wanted to know it. Yes, I call him Hamhock a lot because he smells deliciously like smoked ham. I call him “Dr. Beaglestein” on occasion, and “Mr. McGumptshul” sometimes (don’t ask, it’s a family thing), and Snootch when he’s being naughty. (Snootch is more of a noun, as in “Don’t be a big snootch.”) I call Max Snoopy now and then, and sometimes Snoop-Dog and also Mr. Speckledy Pants (Ermengarde is Miss Tiger Pants). He also gets called “Underdog” by neighborhood kids, and Mr. Bologna Ears or Mr. Velvety Ears on a frequent basis.
And then there are the variations on Max. I tried them all. Maxwell, Maximillian, Maximus. None of them stuck.
But this morning, Max and I were outside and he was delightedly playing in the tall grass and looking at me with his big beagly brown eyes and suddenly a name popped into my head, “Oh!! MAXFIELD! I get it! MAXFIELD PARRISH!” (Only, of course, he will be Maxfield PARISH, keeping with the Church Dog theme of his life — his former guardians were clergy, too!!!). Max hasn’t been feeling well lately (a cough, nothing to be worried about) but he trotted over to me and flang himself at my feet for tummy rubs. Maxfield. Too much.
I had hoped to call Max “Max Moses” after Former SweetieBang’s mother’s maiden name, and because it is so finely Biblical, but I gotta say: that dog is about as Mosaic as an Easter egg. It never stuck. He needed a lighter, funnier name, a punny name, and a name with the outdoors in it.
My friend Amy is the best namer of animals I have ever met. She has Milliemoss, a cranky, curly little dog, Little Compton and Big Cookie, her two adorable sheep, and Goodwin the sweet beagle. Among others. Pettibone Smith was a favorite, now gone onto doggie heaven. And I think there was a Peaseblossom in the past, too. She’ll laugh so hard when I tell her about Maxfield Parish.
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We name our cats alpabetically.
“Agatha” was stolen by my parents and lives with them. (Long story)
“Boris” had a heart condition and is dead.
“Cool Disco Dan” usually goes by “Dan” so he counts for two letters. He lives with us.
“Esperanto” lives with us.
and we also have a cat named “Ursus” who was abandoned by our ex-housemates.
CC
who has seen the same sweet black cat available for adoption the last two times she went to the pet store. He may become “Fandango” yet.
Comment by Chalicechick — August 12, 2008 #
Too funny. I remember reading recently that Max is, in fact, the #1 doggie name, or at least the #1 doggie name for boy dogs.
I used to have a cat (a shelter cat originally named “Baby”–ugh), and had heard that cats will let you know what their name is. I tried lots of names to no avail. This was in 1990, and a friend jokingly suggested “Hillary.” “Hillary!” I called, and she came running right over. So her name was Hillary Rodham Kitten. Everyone thought I was trying to make some sort of political point, one way or another–except the people who were catwise enough to know you don’t argue with a cat about its name.
I share your tendency to Judaicize pets … Milo is Milo Milostein a lot of the time. (Also Little Big Dog.)
Comment by Miss Conduct — August 12, 2008 #
But… but…
T. S. Eliot is a FAMOUS UU! He even attended my church!
And… and…
The owner of Durgin Park STILL DOES!
Comment by fausto — August 12, 2008 #
My former (now deceased) cats were Sappho and Emily. Emily became Emily because she showed up at my dad’s moorage and he named her Miss Piggy, which was just not anywhere near dignified enough for a cat with a tail 4 inches too long for her body and eyeliner for goodness sake.
The current crop of cats are Lucy (because if I had a third child, that would be her name, gender willing) which gets extended to Lucy loo, Lucykins, Lucy goose, and during her biting phase, Lucy-fur. The boy cat is Smudge, a siamese who was supposed to be Sapphire but turned out to be male. My daughter named him and it fits, he’s a mischevious little guy with a face like he got into the ink.
Comment by marcia — August 12, 2008 #
I don’t have a cat/cart myself, but my parents named their cats (which I spend time with weekly) Emily and Eddie.
Eddie (or Edwin, formally) was my Mom’s father (my grandfather). Emily was the woman who lived in my parent’s 100+ year old home almost her entire life. The names have stuck, and the cats seem to respond to these names.
When I do get a cat (can’t have one now in my present living situation), I’ve like the idea of giving pets a music related mane. So far, I like the idea of Oscar for a male cat (so named for Oscar Peterson-pianist and Jimmy Smith-organist whose middle name was Oscar. Both of these musicians died in 2007).
Another idea I had was naming pets after the “four brothers” of the saxophone section in Woody Herman’s Big Band of the 1940’s. The four brothers were Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz and Serge Chaloff. I especially like Zoot and Serge!
Comment by Jim B. — August 12, 2008 #
Pardon my spelling mistakes above.
Just remembered, I have an aunt who used to live in Princeton, New Jersey who named her cats Daphnis and Chloe. Apparently D & C didn’t get along very well, so Daphnis found his way down the road to the Westminster Choir College. He apparently liked hanging out with the students so much that he decided to live at the college more or less full time.
Maestro Ravel would have approved.
Comment by Jim B. — August 12, 2008 #
We had a cat named Cynthia — a large neutered male. He was Cynthia III, actually, because my DH’s daughter had two other previous (male) cats named Cynthia I and Cynthia II. All three Cynthias looked rather alike (white, with brown and black blotches), and she didn’t know the difference at her age when Cynthia I came to her!
I only knew Cynthia III, who was an animal of wonderful personality and presence; if Cynthia was not his Jellicle name, and I’m sure it wasn’t, he was much too self-secure to make a fuss about it.
I miss him terribly, he died just before we moved to our new house across the country from where we lived with him.
Comment by Theodora — August 12, 2008 #
I love that picture of Erm. That is such a cat expression right there.
I named my cat Maggie after the lead in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” and then my sister told me that Maggie was crazy in the play. Well, my cat’s crazy too, so the name fits.
Jane over at Acts of Hope has one of the greatest cat names ever: Maya Pavlova. An elegant name for an elegant feline.
Comment by Kitten — August 12, 2008 #
Well, Nicholas was called Owen by the beagle rescue society. I didn’t think that it made any sense. My friend’s dog is Alex - for Alexandra. So, there you have it — Nicholas and Alexandra. And yes, they are absolutely devoted to one another.
He is known as Czar of all the Russias when he is in an imperious mood and trots off to his crate or favorite pillow in a huff. He is also known as Nicholas the Ridiculous — which needs no explanation.
BJ
Comment by BJ — August 12, 2008 #
We currently have a little calico who was originally named “Tabitha.” We felt that was inappropriate because she’s not a tabby (and because it was just a little too pedestrian; my mother said that even my dad recognized Tabitha as being a rather overused cat name, “and I’m not ever sure Dad knows much of the world other than fishing and motorcycles”). My husband and stepson seemed utterly unable to call her anything but “Callie”–which I also thought was pedestrian but was forced to surrender. We settled on “Kali,” short for “Kaleidoscope.” She’s the girl with kaleidoscope eyes. As it turns out, she’s quite the little goddess of destruction as well, so the spelling is eminently suitable.
My stepcat (inherited when I married my husband) is “Mouse,” so named when he got her almost 14 years ago as a tiny thing who fit in his hand and looked like a little gray mouse. She’s long-haired and dignified and serious, and the name doesn’t seem *quite* right to me. I often call her “Mousse” because she’s fluffy and luscious; “Moosika,” Sanskrit for mouse (and a homophone to “Musica,” from a round we often sing–now to her–that repeats “Viva, viva la musica”); and “Mausele,” Yiddish for “little mouse.” Had I the naming of her, she would have been Lady Jane Gray.
My “heart cat” who died last year was “Digory,” largely named because she arrived during spring break my first year in grad school, when I was anxiously awaiting an interlibrary loan of a book by Terrence Diggory that I desperately needed for a paper I was writing, or so I thought. I opened up the door to check the mailbox for the notice from the library, and there she was. (She proved to be much better than the book.) I don’t quite know why I went for the one-g spelling; wasn’t particularly influenced by C. S. Lewis (the only other Digory reference I know). She was asexual enough to carry it–kind of like Hemingway’s Lady Brett Ashley, said my former fiance, and so was called “Lady Digory” or “Digory Jane” on occasion.
My other dear departed was “Moon Sammy,” named after a song by Soul Coughing. I’ve heard that the Moon Sammy of the song was actually a fat black night watchman, but if you ever hear the lyrics, they’re very catlike (”and I wonder with great admiration”). She also had very moon-like eyes.
I harbor a secret ambition to have two males named from “The Usual Suspects,” one of my favorite movies: “Verbal Kitt” and “Dean Kitten.” I also would love to name a sleek black male cat “Neo” after the character from “The Matrix.” He could even say his own name.
Comment by martinet — August 13, 2008 #
I’m pleased to see the fondness for people names for cats, which I share. I had to give mine up for marriage, though I found a {shudder} “no-kill” shelter, and I fantasize that they are seated on catnip-stuffed cushions, and dining on tuna and cream (which probably works as a Happy Meal in their kingdom).
I have a literary bent - Tonio, from Thomas Mann’s story “Tonio Kroeger”, Eugene from “Look Homeward, Angel” and “Celie” from “The Color Purple”. Didn’t ask their permission. Assumed that getting them to come when called was an insult to their divinity.
Comment by Rev. Gidget — August 13, 2008 #
Bean got her name from the way she used to jump - like a Mexican Jumping Bean.
Joe used to have two cats named Julius and Alexander. Julius’ nickname was “the Fat Bastard” because he had that squished fat Persian type of face. This was long before the Austin Powers movies came out.
And Julius had an obsession with Doritos and corn on the cob.
Comment by Tracie the Red — August 13, 2008 #