The Whisketeers

Pumpkin, Punker, & Squiggleworth

Pumpkin has a lot more than 3 names if you include nicknames like, “Pampukin”, “Wiggler”, etc, but these are his top three.
Happy Caturday!

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, 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.

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7 Comments

  • Reply
    Sarah
    16 Jun 2012 at 11:40 pm

    When I was younger (and all right, today too), I used to wonder what my cats’ actual “name” were. 🙂 TS Eliot’s Book of Practical Cats is brilliant, ha.

  • Reply
    Dottie
    15 Jun 2012 at 10:03 pm

    Beautiful, light-filled photos.

    I’ve always loved this poem. My cats have many nicknames, as well. 🙂

  • Reply
    Kathryn
    12 Jun 2012 at 10:44 pm

    wonderful poem and of course, Pumpkin is a sweetie. 🙂 Our puppydog also had multiply names.

  • Reply
    Samantha
    11 Jun 2012 at 7:20 pm

    I will have to come up with 1 more name for my little conquerer now… poor thing only has 2! Love the poem and the light in those 2 photos!

  • Reply
    Emily
    11 Jun 2012 at 6:38 pm

    I love these photos. He looks like a cat I once had. 🙂 <3

  • Reply
    Ashley
    11 Jun 2012 at 2:54 pm

    I love that poem. I have so many nicknames for my cat depending on my mood and his mood.

  • Reply
    Vickie
    10 Jun 2012 at 7:46 am

    adorable 🙂

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