We named 2 of our 4 cats.

In late October 2002, when we adopted our first, Bailey, he was a 4-6-week-old stray (1.5 lbs and sickly, but beautiful!), and we couldn't figure out a name for him - we didn't know he was a he at first, but we assumed he was. I was looking at our Bailey's Irish Cream collector's tin, and thought Bailey would be a good name, and it stuck. His middle name is Copland (after Aaron Copland, the composer), since my husband and I are both musicians.

We adopted our second cat while still living in Louisiana - May 1, 2003 - she was a feisty, sweet, 5-month-old tabby girl who we thought would complement our Bailey nicely. The rescue group who had her at PetSmart had already named her - Leila. We thought that was cute, and we gave her the middle name Martini, in keeping with the musical/alcoholic naming scheme (Leila isn't actually the same spelling, but we thought the musical reference could be Eric Clapton's "Layla," which is a great song. She turned out to be quite the crazy girl, but also quite loving - she loves to play, fight, chase, etc., but then also loves to be petted and loved on her own terms and snuggle with us at night.

Our 3rd cat came to our attention in April 2004 in St. Louis, MO. We were thinking we might eventually adopt a 3rd and 4th, but we weren't sure when or where. We were at PetSmart, and this wonderful, big, orange tabby boy (1-2 years old) was out of the cages in the cat room, roaming around, making great noises and rubbing against us. His name was Red Baron at the time, b/c of his reddish orange fur, but we changed it to Leo, b/c we thought it was cute. We had to adopt him - he sat on our laps at our first meeting and was sweet the couple of times we visited after that. We didn't quite make his middle name official, but his full name is something to the extent of Leopold Garfield or Leopold Garfield Anheuser (for St. Louis - Anheuser-Busch). He looks a lot like Garfield from the 2004 movie.

Our 4th cat came along sooner than expected - Leo was just starting to get used to his siblings and vice versa (Leila is the bully/queen in the house - she shows everyone who's boss), when we were at PetSmart and met the most beautiful little snowshoe mix baby girl (they estimated her at 1 year at the time, but I'm still not sure - she's so small and sweet, she's always going to look young to me) - this was late June 2004. Her name was Claudia and she started purring as soon as we laid eyes on her. We were talking to the rescue group coordinator, who I started communicating with after adopting Leo from them, and they were putting Claudia in the adoption area that day - she was so beautiful and friendly, we couldn't pass her up - we visited her that week one more time and then the next time was the time we took her home - we decided that if she had been there the next weekend, someone would've gotten to her before us, so we're lucky we saw her when we did. She's just wonderful - playful, cuddly, purrs louder than any kitty - she's also the most loyal thing, following us around the house, etc. Ironically, we haven't settled on a middle name for her either - like Leo - they all end up having many nicknames, so it doesn't seem to matter that much what the official name is. I keep calling her "Claudia Jean" for Allison Janney's character, "CJ Craig" on The West Wing, but I have also called her "Claudia Jane" and Smiley before. They all have countless names.

I'm rather attached to the cats my husband and I have, as you can see. In fall of 2003, my mom and dad were adopted by a beautiful Birman/Himalayan stray that came to my dad's auto dealership/shop - he was tiny and sickly at the time, but he came to the right place. They called him Smoky b/c of his grey paws and face (he's a polydactyl, too, which is cute and unusual). In December 2004, I adopted a 3rd cat from the same place Leo & Claudia came from - a beauty of a girl - unusual looking - probably a strange mix of shorthair breeds - white with a little bit of black and tall ears - her name is Belle, and she's close to Smoky's age - they're both about a year and a half or so. I adopted this cat as a X'mas present to my mom, who wanted a friend for Smoky. Mom & Dad now say that the name the rescue group gave her - Belle - is perfect b/c she runs into the room anytime any toy with a Belle is lifted or moved! It's kind of amazing how the names work out, and how the cats eventually do seem to sort of respond to or know their names (in my experience, anyway).

=^..^=