Mews Of Change
Posted by terrepruitt on August 10, 2016
Sorry, I couldn’t resist (Mews Of Change). One of my most recent posts was an “update” about our cats. It really wasn’t an update because there was nothing new to share. It was more just a report or an excuse to post cat pictures. If you are a pet owner and anything like me, you take hundreds of pictures of your pets. I mean, they are just so cute, right? “Oh, look! She’s upside down.” “Oh, look, she is pawing at the shadow of the bird.” “Oh, look! She is covering her face!” Seriously, basically anything they do, right? So, I do love to share my kitty pictures. But this time I really do have an update. A couple of weeks ago there was a post on my Facebook feed from PureWow. It was 15 Irish Baby Names That We’re Totally Going to Steal. I saw two names that interested me. My hubby has not been fond of the name Smokey for our cat, and I have not been fond of Esmeralda. It is not the names per se; it is those names for our cats. When I saw this list I thought a couple of these names fit the girls better. So John and I had been toying with the idea of changing their names.
I wasn’t sure because I feel as if 
they recognize their names. They are cats, so it is not as if they come when they are called, but they KNOW their names. So I thought it might not be nice to change them. But, they just seem to fit better. And my husband is doing a really good job of calling them by their new names. I was calling them both, trying to get them used to it. I was still unsure.
But then . . . I was put on the schedule to teach yoga at The Dancing Cat and part of the announcement includes information about us living with two cats that we adopted from The Dancing Cat. And it lists the cats’ names. So, I thought, well, if we are going to change them, we might as well do it now. We might as well let The Dancing Cat and the people that worked with Smokey and Esmeralda that we are now calling them something new. Something more fitting – at least to us.
So we are now calling Smokey Teagan, which means beautiful. She is really a beautiful cat and I call her Beautiful half the time anyway. I also like the name Teagan. She could never get a big head because she is the sweetest girl. And we are calling Esmeralda Nessa, which means ambitious and/or fierce. Now that is not a bad thing at all. She is very ambitious and I feel that she can do anything she sets her mind to. She has fierce passion. I have been looking into Nessa a bit more to find information to make me certain of the fit and I found Baby Names of Ireland.com:
“Nessa was the mother of Conchobhar (Conor) Mac Nessa, king of Ulster. A powerful and beautiful woman, ambitious for her son, she tricked her second husband, Fergus, into giving up his kingdom to his stepson, Conchobhar (Conor), for a year, but Conchobhar (Conor) ruled so wisely and so well that the people chose him to be their permanent king.”
I could totally see Esmeralda as powerful and beautiful and SMART.
So, there you have it an ACTUAL update on the cats. Some news, yet also a post where I can post more cat pictures.
If you are local and you want to come take a yoga class in the presence of cats, check out my page where there is a link to register at The Dancing Cat. You will be able to hang out with the cats after the class. So your donation includes yoga AND a cat visit.
What do you think about the new names for our cats?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Michele Moyer said
I love the mew names! They are beauties! I did hear that the best way to get an animal to recognize a new name is to use both for awhile…but like you said they are cats, they might know their names but not respond anyway!!
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terrepruitt said
Ha! You did it, too! Ha, ha, ha, ha! I like the new names, too. But it is kinda a struggle to call them the new names. I have to really think about it. Hopefully it will become second nature soon. I think – I know I can be imagining it – but I think, Teagan likes her name. She might not have been fond of “Smokey”. I am not sure Nessa likes her new name. I will have to explain it to her more. 🙂
Well, I was using both of their names saying, Smokey-Teagan and Esmeralda-Nessa. For a week or maybe two. Not sure how long you are supposed to do that. So, now I am just using their new names. Every once in awhile I will say them both again, but I am trying to stick to just their new names. As I said, I actually think Teagan likes her new name, but I am not so sure about Nessa.
Teagan actually came when I called her — twice, today. She has never responded to Smokey. Nessa used to respond to Esmeralda, but has not really responded to Nessa. And by “responded” I mean looked at me and acknowledged that I was talking to her.
Love ya!
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Ann Miller said
Loved your newest pics of your cats. If you intuitively feel the new names are a better fit to their nature, go for it!!
Ann Miller
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terrepruitt said
And, thank you. As I said, I have HUNDREDS of pictures of them, so I like to share some of them sometimes. And, thank you for the encouragement. We do feel the new names are a better fit. Well, I am POSITIVE about Teagan, but not so sure about Nessa. I mean, WE like it, but I am not sure SHE likes it. I think Teagan likes her name, but Nessa . . . she might not understand what a great name it is. 🙂
Thanks for reading and commenting, Ann!
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Tokeloshe. said
I love their names and they are beauties. 💞
Our dog has many nicknames and he knows them all. 😂
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terrepruitt said
Ha! Right? So many nicknames for pets sometimes I wonder why we actually name them. Took me a year to find names we liked. And, yes, in the meantime they acquired many nicknames. I would probably end up calling Erik “BB”. It would start out as Beautiful Boy, then get shortened at times to BB. 🙂 What ARE some of his nicknames?
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Tokeloshe. said
Hee-hee 😂
We are Afrikaans, so they are names like Babatjie (Baby) Seuntjie (Boy) Mammie (Mommy) and others I won’t go into. 😂
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terrepruitt said
Awesome. I love that pets know all their names. They also seem to know when they are being talked ABOUT. They also learn other things, like when I say “Nah-uh.” They know I mean, no/stop. So funny. They also know “What are you ladies doing?” said in a stern tone means I am going to stop them from doing whatever it is they are doing. Ha! The more you say, the more they know!
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Tokeloshe. said
That is so true. 🐱
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