Toby

Tobias Aureus or Tobias Aurelius

b. April 1988, d. September 28, 2009. Red DSH, classic tabby markings.

Named around the same time my school was staging Menotti's one-act opera The Medium, but not really named for the mute child in the work. Aureus (sometimes I prefer Aurelius) because of his golden coat and eyes. The first cat I got after moving out of the dorm "on my own," more or less came with the apartment. Faithful companion throughout all of my graduate school days. My master's thesis is dedicated to Tobias.

Toby died at the ripe old age of 21.  For the last few years he had hypothyroidism.  He got his thyroid medicine every morning, as well as Cosequin for his arthritis, and was spry up until the end.  After getting pudgy in middle age he now had trouble maintaining weight, so I would feed him as much as I can.  I miss him curling up by my pillow and purring. 

Duncan

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Date: 07/08/2006 Views: 311

Duncanus Longus

b. April 2005.  Brown ticked tabby, DSH.

Adopted Duncan when we still had Toby and Rufus--he drove the older cats nuts!  He was unfazed by the dogs.  Between his markings and his confident attitude it seemed appropriate to give him a name that means "brown-haired warrior."  After we got the triplets he seemed to have a little middle-child syndrome and became friendlier with mom than with me.  When mom moved out she was able to take one small pet so Duncan moved with her.  He now enjoys being a spoiled only-cat.  (Not sure how "small" Duncan is at 15 pounds--but no complaints yet from mom's apartment.)

Nero

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Date: 04/14/2007 Views: 289

Nero Pesalba

b. April 12, 2006.  Black and white DSH (tuxedo cat).

The eldest of the three triplets.  His mom was black and white, but with more white.  All three of the kittens appear to have gotten white spotting from their mom--they all have white lockets and white feet.  That's pretty much where the similarities end.  Mom named Nero from the Italian word for "black" - though we pronounce it like the name and not the Italian word.  Nero is the sweetest-natured of the three; he loves his siblings, he loves the dogs, he loves people, he loves the tables and the chairs.  He can be very vocal when it's time to be petted.

Claude

Claudius Pesalba

b. April 12, 2006.  DLH, chocolate point with white spotting (looks like a Ragdoll).

Tula

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Date: 03/17/2008 Views: 265

Tula Pesalba

b. April 12, 2006.  Tortoriseshell DSH.

The last one of the triplets to be born, and she's been making up for lost time ever since.  Can be very affectionate, but don't try to pick her up or hold her!  Expert at opening cabinets and drawers, and at removing contents of same.  She has quite the scream when unhappy.  A total pest, but darn cute.

Rufus

Rufus Dulcis

b. Fall 1987, d. 2006.  Cream/red DLH, faint markings.

Rescued by some good friends, but didn't get along with their cat. Adopted by me when he was around 6-8 months old. Wonderful cat, but he and Toby merely (barely?) tolerated each other, for about five years. After the death of Charlie, Rufus moved in with my parents and became spoiled rotten. After dad died mom wound up moving in with me, and Toby and Rufus were reunited, though they got along better this time because they each had their own person.  Died at the age of 18.

His name was a happy accident. My friends who rescued him named him, not realizing that as a "yellow" cat he would be considered red, that "Rufus" means red, and is a Latin name.

Sydney

Sidneius Pulcher

b. 1979, d. November 1984. Blue DSH, white locket, green eyes.

Previous owners named "her" Cindy, hence Sydney. Love at first sight--he was in an abusive situation, around 6 months old, when I met him, and I begged my parents to let me adopt him (at the time we had Bonnie). Muscular and strong, but timid and gentle--and afraid of everyone except for his family. The most beautiful cat I have ever seen. Unfortunately I never got a good photo of him, since he was always hiding under things.  I've never seen a Korat in person, but I think he must have looked a lot like one.  After I started college I was looking forward to going home for Thanksgiving mainly because I missed Sydney.  A few days before the holiday mom told me he was gone.  Apparently he escaped from the house during hunting season. 

Charlie

Charla Parva

b. January 1980, d. 1992. Calico DLH (mostly white with color on her ears, face, tail, and a red spot on one shoulder).

Adopted as a kitten. Originally a small cat, but in later years she outgrew her surname. One fateful day she escaped and had a litter, which included Runt and Dicere. Afterwards, she was never the same, but gentle and stayed close to home. Eventually became a grouchy old lady. One of my dad's favorite cats (though he would never admit it).

Runt

Parvus Parva

b. c. 1980-1981, d. late 1985. Red tabby DLH.

Charlie's son. The runt of the litter, hence the unimaginative name (and why we kept him). Extremely cute and affectionate. Very good at "flopping"--just look at him and he'd flop on his side and roll over. Occasionally flopped off a chair (not very bright, either).

Dicere

Dicere Parva

b. c. 1980-1981, d. early 1985. Black and white DLH.

Very loud voice, which he did not hesitate to use (hence the name, which is Latin for "to speak"). One of the most unusual cats I have encountered. Not known for his grooming, and hated by the other cats in the household (including his mother Charlie), but much loved by the humans. Full of personality and spunk.

Bonnie

Bonnie Blue Eyes

b. ?, d. January 1980. Seal-point Siamese.

Given to us as a present from my brother and his wife. Bonnie was there during most of my childhood, and the first cat we had after Junior died (the gap between Junior and Bonnie is the only time since I've been born that either my parents or I did not have a cat). She had one litter, from which we kept Scrawny.

Scrawny

Scrawny

(born and died while I was too young to keep records) Chocolate-point Siamese.

Bonnie's first-born, we kept him because of his hernia, the one flaw on this beautiful, sleek, long Siamese. He and my dad would have long conversations.

Junior

Junior

(born before me, d. c. 1970) Red tabby DLH.

My nanny and playmate. He liked to play hide-and-seek with my brother, and was extremely patient with me. Mom says that when I was a baby and cried, if she didn't respond quickly enough Junior would insist that she check on me.  She also says I'd take him for rides in my wagon, something which he did not enjoy, but tolerated.  He also liked to drape over people's shoulders (like a stole) and sleep on top of the TV (and fall off in his sleep).

If Junior hadn't been so wonderful, I probably wouldn't be the cat fanatic I now am. According to my baby book, my first three words were "mama," "dada," and "kitty."  Considering that mama was recording this information, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some bias in the order in which they were written down.

Appendix: Naming Conventions

Since a high school Latin class, I have been giving my pets Latin surnames, usually descriptive of the animal, but not always. (Disclaimer: I only got to take one semester of Latin, many years ago, so I could make embarrassing blunders without realizing it. With names, I just stick to a nice, simple, nominative case nouns, or, in Dicere's case, a simple infinitive.) After Charlie had kittens, I decided that feline surnames should be passed on from mother to children. It would not be practical to try to use the father's name as a family name, since the father is not always known (and one litter may have more than one father). Thus I decreed that Charlie's surname became the surname for her sons. This means that family names would have feminine endings. But if I do not know the mother's name (which usually I don't), then an assigned surname will have the same gender as the cat. I also like to at least have some Latinized version of the first name, so Toby became Tobias, Sydney is Sidneius, Charlie is Charla, etc.

Duncan broke the rules, when I decided he had to have a Celtic name.  He was so fiesty in standing up to the dogs, and since his core color is brown, a name that means "brown warrior" seems most appropriate.

The triplets are surnamed Pesalba because the one trait they have in common is they all have white feet. (Their mom had white feet and a lot more of the white spotting gene than any of her children.)  As best I can tell Pesalba is a Spanish name, but for me it's pes (foot) plus alba (white).

One of my favorite names that I came up with was for a pig that we had--dad was determined to name her Suzie Q., which he felt was the only name for a brood sow--I was willing to go along with this as long as we understood that Suzie Q. was short for Susanna Quinerius. Quinerius is a corruption of Quirinius, governor of Syria mentioned by Luke in his account of the Nativity--I was just trying to find something Latinate that started with a Q. You will note that the ending on Suzie's name is masculine--pigs don't have to follow the same rules as cats.

My dog Jim is actually James Boethius, so that we could call him Jimbo (though we never do).  He, of course, was named for Kirk.  If we're on a walk and happen across roadkill, I can say, "he's dead, Jim."