The Naming of Cats

I have always had cats, and after Tybalt  died early last year, it was only ever going to be a matter of time! Once I felt ready for another cat, I did put it off a little while as I was moving house, but once I had done that, and having returned from Amsterdam, I felt the time had come. 

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or are friends on facebook will have noticed that there has been a net increase in the number of kittens in my life.

Meet Small Kitten and his sister, Very Small Kitten.

Very Small Kitten

Small Kitten

They came home with me on 10th September, from a small local rescue - Very Small was the runt of the litter, and although it's a little hard to tell from the pictures, she was only about 2/3 the size of Small, and weighed just 1 Kilo (2.2lbs) to his 1.5 Kilos. 

Kittens find a comfy seat

And although when I went to chose which 2 of the 4 kittens would come home with me, that they were all black and white, it's clear that Very Small is actually very dark brown, with some tabby swirls if you look closely enough.

Very Small Kitten  and envelopes

Unlike Tybalt, who was always rather shy and jumpy, and who took months before he would sit on me, the kittens took about half an hour, and quickly established that my shoulder and chest made suitable perches for small cats.

As, indeed, does my lap, my laptop, the windowsills, the bookcases... you get the picture!

They were so very small when they arrived that it has taken a while to determine their names. 

I had thought about Shakespearean names again, but while Very Small could, perhaps, have been an Ophelia, Small lacks the dignity and darkness needed for Hamlet, and although they have the spiky affection which would suit Benedick and Beatrice I'm not overly fond of Beatrice as a name...

So then we considered other literary inspirations, not forgetting the fact that, being cats, they are of course (at the very least) demi-gods.

The Naming of Cats, is, after all, as T.S. Eliot knew, a serious matter, and Mr Gaiman has explained that Cats don't need names, as they know who they are, so I felt we could could take a little time to get it right. 

And I think, now, that we have come to an agreement.

His Lordship, Loki Calcifer Benedict Cat

Small Kitten may now be addressed by his human minions as Loki Calcifer Benedict.

Her Ladyship, Coraline Sekhmet Ophelia Cat (She Who Mauls)

Very Small Kitten will allow herself to be spoken to as Coraline Sekhmet Ophelia. 

Being cats, they of course ignore their names, but I feel they ignore them in a way which makes it clear that they ignoring them specifically.

I don't speak fluent cat, but I think they have names me "Hey You, Minion".

In Which there is Breakfast, Bengals, and Kittens

The main Fiend weekend draws to a close

Jess, Paul (Mr Jess) and I checked out and met up at 9, saying our farewells to Siri, whom we met in the parking lot, as we left, and then headed to Chateau Quiche for breakfast - Chantrelle, Ralph & Nathalie were chief chefs - an excellent arrangement!

We were in introduced to the kittens, and to Mim and Venus, who were remarkably un-fazed by the sudden invasion of their home. Even Magic came to look at us from the Screamed Porch. He really is utterly beautiful, and it was wonderful to see him being curious, and confident enough to come out of hiding to watch us, albeit from the other side of a window and from a safe distance!

Chantrelle makes a great frittata (including herbs and such chopped with the Famous Exploding Knife, no less) and Nathalie had made some strawberry preserve, which was also excellent.

Venus & Mim used the extra staff to get some feather-stick action and some outside exercise, and we admired the purple flowers planted and nurtured by Beez. The Royals came to to their window to watch us in walking the cats, and Mim tried very hard to climb things. Magic came out onto the porch to watch, too.

Spooky House is a lovely place, although some would say it needs more skeletons.


After delivering Jess & Paul to the airport I managed, after several failed attempts, to get into the Sofitel car park - I spotted the hotel without difficulty, but the spent some time circling it, as I tried to home in on it in the hope I might actually make it into to the entrance.

Once I made it, however, it was most impressive. The foyer of the hotel is a giant atrium, there is a footbridge across it to get to the lifts (and a grand piano lurking below) and some funky lights - it is all very impressive to someone such as myself, who is unaccustomed to fancy hotel. Actually, I am not very customed to hotels in general.

The room is large, and very nice - as well as a vast bed, I also get a chaise-longue, desk and more full-length mirrors thn I can shake a stick at. Also, L’Occitane shampoos and such in the bathroom. I begin to see the appeal of having money. Although not having free wi-fi in the rooms at these prices is Just Plain Wrong. Why, I have to go all the way down stair to the lobby to check mail and Twitter, and that means I can’t blog in bathrobe and slippers (which, by the way, are white and fluffy and feel highly decadent)

After I had finished checking in and swooning at the room El picked me up and we met Gayle & M, One Sock Short, Vampi, Ticia and Beez at the Park (Minnehaha) where there is a waterfall. It seems that while I was gone, Vampi has been taught to knit, which is most Impressive.

Then we went to hunt down an independent feminist bookstore, which sadly was closed, so after browsing a little, and meeting up with Aleta, we went for dinner - soup, quiche (well honestly, what else could I chose?) and many desserts shared between us . The Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie remains my first love, but the vanilla bean cheesecake the pumpkin bar and the Very Chocolatey chocolate cake thing also deserve honourable mentions.

It was another good day. I did hear that the others had a late and alcohol-fuelled evening, but of course I would never repeat gossip. .