Tuesday 6 January 2009

A cat by any other name...


My garden cat, who I originally thought might be a girl and so called Luna, is a Tom.

I woke up yesterday morning to see snow covering my garden and to hear a cat meowing pitifully at my kitchen door. I opened it to find my garden cat begging for food. The cat has never got this close to me before. In the past it always backed off a safe distance while I put the food down and only approached the food after I had retreated a few yards.

Cold and hunger must have made my adopted stray bolder. I put food down just outside my door and while it was eating I managed to get a good look at the cat's behind. Definitely a boy.

So, I am left with trying to find a good name for a boy cat.

I originally called the cat Luna because Jenny, who reads my blog, pointed out that the cat has a moon-shaped face. Riverwolf left a great comment that if the cat is a boy, I might call him Sin, which is the name of a Sumerian moon god from Mesopotamian mythology. Sin was worshipped in the ancient city of Ur and is depicted as an old man with a flowing beard. He is also known as the Lord of Wisdom.

While trying to find out more about Sin, I came across another possible name - Sinaa, a South American jaguar deity thought to have great knowledge that he bestowed on medicine men.

Another possible name derived from a lunar deity is Chandra, the Hindu god. He is described as young and fair. Every night he rides his chariot, the moon, across the sky. Mind you, as Chandra is also the protector of rabbits, I'm not sure it is a good name for a predator who would eagerly catch and eat a rabbit given half a chance.

What do you think would be the best name for my garden cat now I know he is male? You can leave a comment below.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin_(mythology
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/south_american-mythology.php?deity=SINAA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandra
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/12/cat-and-fox.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/12/cat-and-fox-food-fight.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/12/my-garden-cat.html

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.sacred-texts.com/astro/ml/ml12.htm

Call the cat Herr Mond?
Lunus?

http://waylandermyth.multiply.com/journal/item/39

Mani?

Badwitch said...

Thanks for those suggestions and for the links. Any of those names would be great for a cat.

Unknown said...

Since he had you convinced he was a girl until you discovered his bollocks, I think you should call him Lola :-).

Anonymous said...

I like the jaguar deity aspect of Sinaa. Very appropriate for a kitty!