You've just arrived home with an adorable furball.  One of the first things that you will want to do when getting kitty settled in is to name him or her.  How will you come up with a suitable name?

 

First, you may want to name the cat after a physical characteristic.  A cat with a dark coat and white legs may be "Mittens" or a black cat might be "Blackie."  A tabby could become "Tigger" or a gray cat "Smoke."  If these names arenl't original enough for you, try looking up synonyms in a thesaurus.  A black cat could be named "Ebony" or "Midnight" or other names that mean black.

 

Another method of naming a cat is by behavioral characteristics.  For this one, you will probably want to observe the cat for several days to learn its personality.  "Spooky" might be a name for a cat that startles easily or "Houdini" for a cat that is always escaping from his or her cage.

 

Maybe you had a prior beloved cat and want to give your new pet the same name such as Felix the second.  This could get confusing if you have other animals that remember your prior pet.  Plus, you may unconsciously expect the new cat to behave the same as your other cat if they share the same name.

 

Naming your cat after the circumstances that brought him or her into your life is another option.  A shelter kitten might be named "Lucky" or a cat found outside during a thunderstorm could be "Stormy."  If you got the kitten in another town, you might use the town's name as the kitten's name.

 

Searching online specifically for cat names could help you find a name.  Or, you could search for human baby names, either online or in a book.

 

You may have favorite TV characters, people, hobbies, or other interests.  Any of these could be a source of a possible name for your pet.  

 

If your new kitten is pedigreed, your registration certificate will have a name already given to the kitten.  This name will probably be too long to use, but you may be able to use a derivative of this name as a call name.  

 

If you have kids, they may want to choose a name for the pet.  Keep in mind that once the kids have decided on a name, they may resist changing it if you don't like their choice.  A more diplomatic method might be to have the kids suggest several possible names, letting them know that you have the final say.

 

Some cats are named after the sounds they make.  For example, "Meow" is a fairly popular cat name.  

 

Naming your cat after a famous cat is another possibiity.  Sylvester of Sylvester and Tweety fame and Felix are popular kitten names.  

 

Give some thought to the best name for your cat.  Try calling the name out loud to see how it sounds.  You may find that you feel silly yelling "Meow" and decide that a different name might work better.    

 

Whatever name that  you choose, be sure to use it when calling and playing with your cat.  If you use many different names to refer to your kitten such as Sylvester, kitty, meow, etc., the cat may never learn his or her true name.

 

If you use the name ideas mentioned above, you can find the perfect name for your cat.

Copyright 2008