T.S.Eliot Naming of Cats

The naming of cats is a difficult matter, It isn't just one of your holiday games; You may think at first I'm mad as a hatter When I tell you a cat must have three different names. First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,Such as Victor, or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey-- All of them sensible everyday names. There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames;Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--But all of them sensible everyday names.But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,A name that is peculiar, and more dignified,Else how can hekeep up his tail perpendicular,Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,Such as Munkustrap, Quazo or Coripat,Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellyrum-- Names that never belong to more than one cat.But above and beyond there's still one name left over,And that is the name that you will never guess;The name that no human research can discover--But The Cat Himself Knows, and will never confess.When you notice a cat in profound meditation,The reason, I tell you, is always the same:His mind is engaged in rapt contemplationOf the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name: His ineffable effableEffanineffableDeep and inscrutable singular Name.

--------------------------------------

This is my cat Bilbo, a.k.a. Bilbo Bey because he is a very grave gentleman. His full name is Bilbo Baggins Boduroglu if you're not into the brevity thing. It's Bombili Bilbom Bilibilibom or Boboli in a playful mode. He is my pride and joy. He's been my house companion for the last six years. T.S.Eliot is right. It is a very tricky matter to name cats. When I first met Bilbo, he was a squeaky, mousy, little fellow with exceptionally pointed ears. Despite his appearance, I named him after my favorite poet Dante. After a few weeks, though, I realized he was being overwhelmed by this weighty name, so I felt compelled to change it to Tolkien's hairy, lovable, playful, adventurous character Bilbo in the Lord of the Rings.