Twin by Name

The two Lincolns share a shelf - DW

When we welcome newcomers to the Sanctuary, various things come into play with naming them.  If we know nothing of the cat in question, it’s usually up to the med staff to choose a name – preferably one that’s not already used, and one that begins with an alphabet letter that’s not too well populated.  The cat may be named after someone responsible for catching it (like Zimmer) or if it found its own way to us, it is given the name of a TV detective (Magnum, Kojak, Cagney, Watson...)

Sophia (top) & Sophie (bottom) - BC

But if it comes in to us with a name in place already, we try not to change that – we don’t know how much cats recognize their own names (though they certainly recognize voices). And so, inevitably, we have a few naming duplicates.

Orange & tabby Hannahs - MW

Our two Hannahs both live in the back courtyard.  Neither shows much interest in the other; tabby Hannah prefers people to other cats – vice versa for orange Hannah

Tabby & b/w Lucys - PH

Both our Lucy-cats are ladies of solid proportion, and again, both are back courtyard cats. Tabby Lucy would rather stay in the warmth of the laundry- or tea-room, unless the sun is out, in which case she sunbathes happily; black-and-white Lucy is usually found somewhere round the entrance gate

Cinnamon Bun Lincoln is less elegant and pushier than his long-haired "twin" - MW

The two Lincolns are Double-wide cats who occasionally visit in the back courtyard; both love human attention.  Handsome Lincoln can usually be found posing on one of the DW shelves;  Cinnamon Bun Lincoln (named for his curled tail) can be pushy when it comes to getting human attention, and is occasionally known to make his pee-mark!

Sophie/Sophie/Sophia - MW

 We have several Sophies: there’s tubby Sophie in Pen 2, who’s ready to greet all visitors; tortie Sophie in the Single-Wide; sweet Sophie of the beautiful green eyes in the Moore House – and there’s Sophia, also in the Moore House.

Calista - front (MW) - and back (BC)

Calista is not the most common name – but we have two of them, and they’re both shy. Front courtyard Calista is Renee’s sister; she has her favourite people, but tends to stay out of the way when there are too many visitors around. Back courtyard Calista is still pretty feral, but volunteer Marty has been working with her, and she’s allowing feeding, and (finally) a little petting.

WobblyBob (BC) & BellyRub Bobby (MW)

At one stage we had four or five Bobbys – the only ones now are Belly-Rub Bobby in the front courtyard, who loves everyone (but especially volunteer Chris) and Wobbly Bob in the back, who really only loves people when they have chicken in hand!

Mary SW (MW) & DW (CF)

Mary in the SingleWide is a sweetie; a former feral who has lost her shyness and enjoys attention. Her namesake in the DoubleWide is still very feral, and prefers to stay hidden up on the cage-tops.

MadMax & New Aids Max - MW

Mad Max, also in the DoubleWide, is something of a misnamed boy – neither mad-angry, or mad-crazy; Max is very shy, and wary of humans unless they have something worth hanging around for – he’s another chick-aholic. Beautiful orange/white Max in New Aids is something of a newcomers, and has not had his Neko-profile done yet – watch this space!

Princess with BFF Spike (DW) / manx Princess (MM)

I guess Princess is a fairly common name for female cats. Our royal trio in the Sanctuary includes the beautiful girl who is Spike‘s BFF and hangs about near the med cage, the little black and white manx in the Moore House – less beautiful but entirely lovable – and the elegant Princess Diva, who is the cat who walks by herself in the back courtyard.

Her Highness, Princess Diva - MW

Repeated names -  but all very individual personalities – there’s no confusing one of these cats with his/her “twin”!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Claire Fossey, Phaedra Hardman, 

Marianne Moore, Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright