Sunday, June 29, 2008

What IS in a name?!

I wanted to update those of you I haven't talked to in a while. Remember the cute kitten we "adopted" recently and Madigan named Tinkerbell? (If not, see about 3 posts below) I've got a funny story about that cat...
After Madigan and I got back from my parent's house a few weeks ago, Tinkerbell was playing around and turned over on her back... and something caught my eye. It seemed Tinkerbell had some interesting "developments" while we were gone. Still not completely sure (and getting NO help from Ted who refused to look), I began to look on the internet to see how you could tell gender of kittens before it became obvious. Still not 100% sure (and a little overwhelmed by the conflicting information on the internet about it), I decided to just ride it out before really confusing Madigan who has been working hard on identifying people (and animals) as "boys" or "girls". So, we've waited and watched and sure enough... more developments. And so now, I'm ready to announce the addition to our family of a MALE cat. And that's where the real problem lies. While I am well aware that there are many gender neutral names out there, I just don't feel like Tinkerbell is one of them. However, Madigan is really fond of it. We opted to stick with the Neverland theme and just change HIS name to Peter Pan (or Pete for short), but Madigan is having a hard time with it. At least 90% of the time she still calls the cat Tinkerbell. Whenever she does try to use the new name, it comes out something like "Tinka Pete" or "Peta Bell". A few days ago, she came in the room talking about Peter Pan. Ted said, "Who is Peter Pan?" and Madigan responded with "Tinkerbell!" She occasionally makes a very concerted effort and gets "Pete", but those times are still few and far between. I think she's more concerned about us - "Man, Mom and Dad are losing it. Did they already forget our cat's name?!"
Oh well, it'll come eventually...(Sidenote: I took this picture after Madigan placed the cat in the bouncy seat, buckled him in, and turned on the vibrating button. The cat went fast asleep and remained like this for over an hour!!)

5 comments:

Mindi Tipps said...

I personally like "Tinka-Pete!" I'm surprised the cat was okay with being strapped in to the bouncy cat- seems like a sweet- natured cat.

Mindi Tipps said...

sorry, bouncy SEAT.

Chad Gardner said...

"developments" nice...

Look on the bright side. You'll never have to worry about a litter of kittens in the house. That's where I thought your story was going originally!

Zack said...

Funny story! Knowing animals correct gender is pretty important.
BTW, happy (belated) birthday to Ted! I hope and pray his 30th b-day was a very special day for every one! Love y'all! God bless.
Grace and Peace.

Unknown said...

This is hilarious! Your kitten stories are cracking me up ... glad to see you are all doing so well. :)