Wel, I can't really take much credit for naming my crew, as the
upstairs neighbor, long since moved away, named two out of three.

She named the scrawny little pregnant cat which was coming to my
outdoor feeding station for neighborhood cats Little Bit. I assume
she had owners (she had a flea collar), but none were ever found, so
guess she had gotten lost or abandoned. LB graduated from ocassional
diner at the food bowl, to temporary resident (as long as she didn't
bother my cockatiels) when there was a bad ice storm. The idea being
that once it warmed up she would be going back outside. She had her
litter before it warmed up, so of course she had to stay until they
were old enough and found homes. By the time the kittens were old
enough, she had convinced me she had no interest in cockatiels, and
that I needed some cats. On a side note, I doubt that LB would be
named that today, since despite being spayed 3 years ago people just
meeting her sometimes ask if she's pregnant ;-)

The neighbor met the kittens that day after they were born, and gave
them their names (after all, at that time I wasn't planning on keeping
LB or any of the kittens. Sammy was originally going to be given to
the neighbor, but her older cat, Pumpkin, hated the idea of sharing
the apartment with a newcomer. By the time the kittens were old to go
to their new homes, Sammy was my favorite and had convinced me that I
needed to keep her as well as her mom.

Rocky is the only one who I can take credit for naming. He was feral,
and a long time visitor to my patio cat cafe. For the longest time
all I saw of him was his white tail vanishing over the fence. So his
first name was Whitey. Eventually he was tame enough that I was able
to catch him (he'd been trapped once by a different neighbor who was
trying to trap a neighborhood possum, and after that would not get
near a trap). I hauled him off to be neutered and planned to rehome
him with a friend as a barn cat. But, while recovering from the
surgery he convinced me that his wild days were over, and I ended up
keeping him. He was named after Rocky Balboa, from the Rocky movies,
since he seemed kind of dim-witted and had the street scars of a tom
cat living on the streets for 6-8 years (as estimated by the vet).
I've since learned that he's not nearly as dumb as he likes to act, no
real surprise considering he survived as long as he did feral.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

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