The Naming of Cats

One of the reasons my cat doesn't yet have a name...

THE NAMING OF CATS
by T.S. Eliot

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, or 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.

Pet Portraits by Ron Krajewski

I love this artist's work. This watercolor was done by Ron Krajewski. I hope to be able to contact him and commission a similar portrait of our new cat.

The Cat and the Moon

If you're wondering about the name of this blog
-- nearest-kin-of-the-moon --
it's from one of my favorite poems about a cat.

THE CAT & THE MOON
by William Butler Yeats

The cat went here and there
And the moon spun round like a top,
And the nearest kin of the moon,
The creeping cat, looked up.
Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon,
For, wander and wail as he would,
The pure cold light in the sky
Troubled his animal blood.
Minnaloushe runs in the grass
Lifting his delicate feet.
Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?
When two close kindred meet,
What better than call a dance?
Maybe the moon may learn,
Tired of that courtly fashion,
A new dance turn.
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
From moonlit place to place,
The sacred moon overhead
Has taken a new phase.
Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils
Will pass from change to change,
And that from round to crescent,
From crescent to round they range?
Minnaloushe creeps through the grass
Alone, important and wise,
And lifts to the changing moon
His changing eyes.

New Maltese Cat

After being petless for almost a decade, we now share the house with a gorgeous maltese* cat. It's a she, and she is about 2 years old. She is absolutely the best pet I've ever had, and I love her already!

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(*) Just as "tabby" refers to a striped cat, "Maltese" refers to a solid gray (aka blue) cat with short hair. It is not a breed, but rather a description of coat color and pattern. Of course, a "Maltese cat" can also refer to a cat born on the island nation of Malta, regardless of coat color and pattern.