What shall we call her?

Names are tricky aren't they? Whether it's a new baby or a new animal coming into the family, there's a huge burden of responsibility to get it right. After all, they'll have the name for the rest of their life. Names do matter. If they didn't, why would we spend so long thinking about them?

So why do they matter so much? Well, whether you realise it or not, a name gives a whole sense of identity. It's more than just something to call out when you want Buster to come in, or it's food time. There's meaning behind names, and we want to make sure we've got the right meanings. It's often something to live up - or down - to.

The name has to suit the animal, say the right thing about it. I've just mentioned Buster. When you hear that name, what sort of animal does it conjure up in your mind? How do you see their character? Or say you decided to call your cat Fleur....... try that one on for size. See what I mean? Perhaps the way that you see Buster is different to the way I see him - and clearly Buster is a name for a boy, so already there's some meaning there.

The thing is, once you have a sense of what this name means to you, every time you use it, you'll bring that meaning in. Meanings carry emotions, feelings, vibrations - and animals pick this all up. This will have an effect on their character, and also the relationship you have with each other.

At Animals in Distress, there's a continual struggle to find names for the animals who come to stay. Some come in with their own names, but mostly the staff there have no idea what an animal might have been called before. Ideally the names should be new, not used before - in practical terms that causes less confusion, but it's also because each animal deserves a name that's right for it.

A little while ago, when it became clear they were starting to find it difficult, I decided I'd do some thinking. And came up with a list of over 200 names!! Some were more suited to dogs, others to cats, and some more to rabbits or guinea pigs. Again, there's a sense of meaning that comes through here. I thought about all the animals I'd known, those I care for now, and even found myself scouring names on the credits of TV programmes! Trouble is, once I started I couldn't stop, and even now in unguarded moments I find myself thinking about names for animals. Drives me mad!!!

The reason I knew that Animals in Distress were having difficulties was when I discovered they'd called a cat Grubbi. Admittedly she'd come in looking rather dirty around her face, and at first wasn't wonderful at keeping herself clean. But if you looked through that you could see she was really rather beautiful. The name Anna jumped out at me, so to me, that's who she became. They're used to me renaming cats to something I think is more appropriate!! The problem with carrying a name like Grubbi is that whenever one of the staff go to talk to her, they're just reinforcing this sense of being dirty, and that's how she'll feel. Giving her a name that carries feelings of femininity and beauty means that she might just feel that way about herself - and start to take more pride in her appearance. All makes sense, doesn't it?

My cat's called Bella. I decided that was going to be her name before I even found her. My maternal grandmother was my favourite person when I was a child, and despite the fact that she really didn't like animals at all, she had a lovely sweet face, just like a little cat. So, I wanted to name my new companion after someone who was so lovely herself. Bella found me, so must have decided that this was to be her name, and she would live with me. And of course, in Italian, Bella means beautiful.

I'd love to know how your animals got their names, so please all join in and share your stories!