It’s interesting how we often give each other nicknames, or shortened versions of our own name. We also have other names dependent on our roles and relationships: wife, mother, brother, son, friend, acquaintance, and of course we always have our ‘given’ name, in my case Mandy. When I was younger I always wanted to be Amanda, as I felt it was more sophisticated and grown up. Now I’m happy with Mandy because it makes me feel young.

The funny thing is we’ve given our cats different names. I think this is because some of them are rescue cats and come with names that are, maybe, just not quite them (see Colin); or sometimes their personalities seem to develop and they become the opposite of what they are called (see Cuddles).

So here are a few of the names of the five cats that live Underbeech Wood, by The Cat Lady (and Cat Man)…

Cuddles

AKA:

Bag Lady – because of her wobbly belly,

Cactus – because she does not like cuddles at all,

Black Mamba,

Belt – because she likes to wrap around your tum while you watch TV.

Samson

AKA:

Sammy,

Samsung,

The Boss,

Bonzai Tiger – he’s our very own miniature wild cat

Pepe

AKA:

Gunther – named after the evil Penguin on the TV animation series ‘Adventure Time’,

Rabbit – he tends to hop around a lot and has rabbit legs,

Oreo – just like the black and white biscuits

Tinkerbell

AKA:

Vanellope von Schweetz – named after a character from the animated film ‘Wreck-It Ralph’,

The Glitch – the other name for Vanellope in the above film,

Burnt Toast – because she looks like a piece of burnt white bread toast,

The Kitten – this being the most popular name, but not very useful at the vets!

Colin

AKA:

Mr Darcy – named after the character played by the actor Colin Firth in the TV adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’,

Mr D – short for Darcy,

Owlee – because he has a large nose which makes him look a little owl-like,

COLIN – when he gets told off for fighting