photo from The New York Times
The Naming of Cats
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter, It isn’t just one of your holiday games; You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES. First of all, there’s the name that the family use daily, Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo, or James, Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey— All of them sensible everyday names. There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter, Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames: Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter— But all of them sensible everyday names, But I tell you, a cat needs a name that’s particular, A name that’s peculiar, and more dignified, Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular, Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride? Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum, Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat, Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum— Names that never belong to more than one cat. But above and beyond there’s still one name left over, And that is the name that you never will guess; The name that no human research can discover— But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess. When you notice a cat in profound meditation, The reason, I tell you, is always the same: His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name: His ineffable effable Effanineffable Deep and inscrutable singular name.
-T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
NYT 9/24/19
Dogs are man’s best friend. They’re sociable, faithful and obedient. Our relationship with cats, on the other hand, is often described as more transactional. Aloof, mysterious and independent, cats are with us only because we feed them.
The NYT article goes on to say that after serious research worldwide, experts can’t determine whether it is better for the species to live their lives outdoors or in.
At Merry Mount, we have solved the issue. The cats may live inside the barn or roam freely through fields of beans and corn.
The Barn at Merry Mount: A Place for felines and other species
When we purchased the property nine years ago, we noticed a couple of feline residents at the barn that looked at us with curiosity from afar as if we were intruders. For several months we observed one another, but as Winter approached and we turned our attention to refurbishing the barn, we grew closer to one another and the cats were named.
T.S. Eliot’s point is that a cat’s mannerisms requires a specific name and one must spend enough time around the selected cat before launching an appropriate name. Not wanting to spend the requisite time, we decided to choose names that begin with the letter “M”, and, therefore, have fed Mouser, Moocher, Maude, Magnus, Mittens, and Milo.
Moocher
Maude
Magnus
Mittens up the willow tree
Mittens at dinner
Milo
Malo, Malo! Malo than a naughty boy. Malo, Malo in adversity. Malo, Malo, Malo, Malo, Malo...
So the next feline marauder who decides to make Merry Mount home will probably be called Macavity.
From Eliot’s Macavity, The Mystery Cat:
Macavity’s a ginger cat, he’s very tall and thin; You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in. His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed; His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed. He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake; And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake.
CPW
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