Naming an Orange Cat

Orange cats are special. Some people say they are more affectionate than other cats. That seems to make no scientific sense, but if you know any orange cats you may agree. Recently we were adopted by an orange kitten. I nearly ran over him one dark night, picked him up and took him home. Posters, newspaper ads and lost and found reports failed. No one was looking for this little orange baby boy.

My husband and I are not rookie cat parents. We have adopted, raised and loved many cats in our 20 years of marriage but naming a cat is something we do not take lightly. It was a full month before little orange kitten had a name. During that time we tried out many names and nicknames, trying to figure out exactly what fit.

It is a scientific fact that most orange cats are male so most orange cat names are either boy names or androgynous names. First, it is easy to look at famous orange cats and come up with a few names right off the bat. Garfield the cartoon cat and Morris the Nine lives cat are both famous orange felines. We have a cat named Sunny who looks exactly like Morris. Sunny, Sunshine and Sol are great names for an orange cat. Keeping the color in mind, Citrus, Cheddar and Cheeto all fit an orange cat.

If you have had cats before, there are names you may need to eliminate because they have already been used in your extended family. We have had the following Orange cats: Punkin (named for Halloween), Buddy (called my little buddy for weeks before adopting him because no one else would), Gilley (named for Vince Gill), Garth (named for Garth Brooks), Buster (my husband’s brother’s orange cat), George (named for my hobby www.wheresgeorge.com and because he looks like a George), Peaches (a female orange barn cat who was Punkin’s mother) and Sid (my uncles cat).

Once you figure out what you can’t name your orange cat, you can begin the thought process for finding your orange cat name. Some cats just name themselves. They have behaviors, habits or a history that just provides their name. Bear sat on his back legs with his paws up like a bear and was named for this trait.

Some cats, like our little kitten, are just a blank slate. I asked him what his name was, but he wasn’t talking. We considered naming the kitten for the intersection he was found at – Rambling and Winchell. Winchell is a lot of name for a little kitten, we considered Chilly and Ram and these just didn’t fit. We turned to the internet and looked through lists of cat names and lists of baby names. I’m sure some expectant parents have been more decisive than we were naming this cat.

In time, one of his nicknames began to stick. We realized he had been with us a month and didn’t come when he was called because he didn’t have a name. So we settled for Bubba Junior. It takes time and effort to name some cats.