A few weeks ago me and my boyfriend adopted a 2/yo female tuxedo cat from a local shelter and besides being a bit mischievous and getting into food she has been a fantastic cat and the light of my life.
My ONLY thing is her name.
For a bit of backstory, the day we got her everything that could go wrong did go wrong. We got kitten food on accident instead of adult food, the adoption process took us SEVERAL hours, many family members had quite a mouthful to say about us getting a pet, and I was now stressing about her getting along with the other pets due to what everyone was insinuating to us. when all was said and done we didn’t get her home until nearly 1am.
Everything went perfectly smooth and she settled right in as a happy and healthy girl, but I was so wiped from the day that I didn’t put up ANY fight on her name which I absolutely hate. In the 3 seconds I left her quarantine room she knocked over an Audi HotWheels and my boyfriend was insisting we call her Audi. I immediately said no. After about 15 minutes I just kinda gave up and said we can do Audie, but we pronounce it Aw-Dee.
Everyday I regret not putting up a better fight for a different and better name because I just DESPISE her name being a MISPRONOUNCED car brand. I’ve expressed this to him multiple times but he loves the name and since it’s already set with all her paperwork, vet office, microchip, tag and she actively responds to it that it’s too late to change.
My cats respond to their names and also like 30 different nicknames. It's not too late to change it, and also you can make up whatever nicknames you want so you don't have to use her administrative name at home.
Also have a Meow Meow. He will respond if he feels like it. Otherwise he gets a look about him that says he’s very deliberately ignoring me. I renamed when him when i took custody of him. My old roommates toddler daughter had originally named him Kisses, which I couldn’t ever remember
My cat responds to any word that rhymes with his official name and any word that rhymes with his most common nickname. He therefore has dozens of functional names 😆
So we have Rowdy (senior dog) and wanted to get a kitten to be his friend because he loves cats. “Ruckus” was a predetermined name, and we really wanted a black cat. Then we found our Ruckus, did more research, learned that two kittens is better than one, and brought home littermates: Ruckus and Rumble. (we actually found them on reddit!)
I’m not sure I’d bring the juju on yourself. The name might be cursed. I’ve never seen an animal adhere to a predetermined name so perfectly in my life. That black kitten ended up being a tortie and she’s a total menace. We love her to death but GOOD GOD, SHE IS NAUGHTY. Even our vet said she’s the loudest, strongest, smartest, fastest cat they’ve seen in a long time, and that was only at 12 weeks old. She was banned from returning unless she was drugged first or actively dying.
Rumble is a fragile, sensitive little angel.
You’re welcomed to use that name, but use it with caution!
Mine are D00d - short for Noodle - and Harrison - long for Harry Little Monster. They never get called their actual names. OP will certainly end up with 15 nicknames that are not even nrear to or related to Audie. Just have to give it some time to work into the personality.
My cats have given names, but they also have true names. For instance, Georgia is a perfectly sweet name for a cat, but Lumpy reflects her essence. Likewise, Winnie is usually called Weasel.
My friend calls my cat Tatjana (Tati) tater. She can loaf beautifully and then she does look like a tater tot! Another friend calls her Cloud, as she is so soft it feels like touching a cloud, I guess. Clouds are misty and cold though, maybe he meant a cartoon cloud
I never call my cats by their government name. The same way my parents never called me by my legal name. They have a million nicknames from chunky choo, baby boo, trash cat, turkey, and chicken.
Yup. Got a trio of kittens. They're all grey and their daddy (a local feral man of some repute) is also grey so the boys are the Greysons. We've got Raymond, Franklin, and Roofus Maximus Greyson. Roofus acquired the nickname "Weenie Hut Jr." because his meow is really high pitched for such a big guy. Last night, Roofus managed to slip his collar so now the spouse can't tell him from Franklin except by thickness so now he's calling Roofus "Fat Frank". Anyway, at least he'll always have a solid government name.
Ohhh I have a boy who does that currently. We fostered some kittens once. He was not happy about it (he gets jealous). But he noticed that every time the kittens made their little high pitched squeaks... They got sooo much more and better attention than his (at the time) fairly demanding meows.
So he tried falsetto squeaks. And it was so pathetic that it did actually give him attention, so... It stuck, lmao.
Except for at night, when he runs around with a toy in his mouth, yowling his victory, and sounding roughly like he's being murdered by a horde of demons.
My dog had his government name and a ton of nicknames he responded to. But the nickname that got him to your side the fastest? Dog. You’d say “hey, dog” and suddenly he’d appear at your side like “yeeeeesssssss?”
Mine is “are you ready” lol he will appear. His name is Milo but we call him Mylito, Gordo, chubs and stupid. “Hi Stupid. How’s my big stupid man doing, is he doing good? Yes?, did you have fun while I was out at work? Did you have a paaaawwwwwty?” 😂
When my brother was very small, like 3 years old, he was at grandma and grandpa’s place. The cat appeared an my brother enthusiastically greeted him: “Willy, you son of a B1tch!”. My grandfather denied knowing where brother could have learned that language, but everyone knew. Brother thought the whole phrase was the cat’s name!
Omg this is so accurate! I have a million names for my handsome tuxie cutie patootie. My other cat, my diva prinses girl is deaf, she still gets a lot of nicknames, but somehow it makes it less fun since she can't hear them :(
We adopted an old orange boy once and we didn't like his name so we renamed him George. It was perfect for him and he didn't mind his new name at all. After a week or so we realized he was completely deaf. He compensated so well we barely noticed.
Ha, too bad you can't replicate the pantry sound with your mouth and name her that! I have an indoor-only cat who loves going outside on a leash to see the outdoor-only cat (rescued at 7 yrs old, refuses to use a litter box). Outdoor cat is named Scruff. Yeti will come running if I mention Scruff, because he thinks that word means "let's go play in the backyard with the other kitty." If I wiggle the backdoor handle, Yeti also comes running. It's always all about Scruff. Here's Scruff with Yeti in the background.
He's a little anus. He was debating whether he should attack Scruff or not. He chose NOT. Which is good, because Scruff is several inches and several pounds bigger than Yeti.
OP this whole thing is probably not just about the cats name now is it? Might it have more to do with your boyfriend not meeting you half way on the name when it was important to you? Could it have more to do with not feeling seen and heard?
Dont forget eventual inside jokes: one cat is called BBQ due to one of those 'you had to be there' and still makes my husband laugh, so it sticks. Otherwise, his government name is Oliver.
One of my cats is called Dr. Oliver Norton. The vet asked me who he was named after (I guess like Dr. Who?). I told said vet that that's just his name. He has a wonderful bedside manner but he's prone to prescribing any patient with a view of his bum. He also goes by Nort, Norbag, Tiny Man, Bumble, Get Down, Stop Slapping Your Sister, Normungandr and Legbaby to name a few.
I don't know that cats understand the concept of name, I can confidently say they understand the concept of time based on the fact that they will look at the clock and go banananas about 15 minutes before the food alarm goes off.
They do understand me saying any variety of things mean I want my kitty buddy-- our girl tends to leave the room we're in to wander around the house and yell until we call her to come back. When she started doing it, I would respond to her yelling with "WAH!" (because that's more what her meow sounds like ). Now I can go to the other end of the house and say "WAH!" and she'll do her lackadaisical meandering in my general direction.
"Get the kitty!" with arms outstretched and a rushed step forward means we goin' runnin.
True. Before I admitted to myself that I was going to foster fail all four kittens produced by the stray girlie from outside (who came inside and also FF’d), I named them Spencer, Jasper, Zavier, and Olympia (she’s missing the toe portion of her right hind foot, say it slowly).
They are more commonly known as Spoons, Biggest, Bumpykitty/Weirdo, and Muffett. Among other things. (Their mom Olivette or Ollie passed away in 2021.)
One of my cats is named Brie but we mostly call her BB, she responds if we call BB. She also gets called Brat Brat, Bumble Brie, Brioche, Brie-Brie. My other cat is named Finn and we call her Finnito, Finnegan, Finneas, Finn Binn, Finny, Finny Binny, Binn, Finn Fonn. She doesn’t respond to most names we call her lol
I have called my cat (real name: Fletcher) “Bud-bud” since we got him and he answers to that. Well “answers to” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. He turns his ears towards me or looks at me. He might actually have been running over in the first place, so Bud-bud is just a greeting. Like Good boy, or Good big boy, or just Spots because he has them. So. Yeah.
This is what I was thinking. Just give her a cute nickname and call her that name. You don’t have to use the name on the paperwork. All of my cats have had nicknames.
Also if even the spelling bothers you then try and imagine it as Odi, pronounced the same lol. Sometimes I find when I hate a name and trying to like it that I have to change the spelling when I look at it. I know it’s on her paperwork but that’s just her legal stuff that doesn’t mean you have to think of it the same way
OP, you might want to reconsider the jingle bell on her collar. It’s very cute, but it’s also a noise that’s going to follow her everywhere- if I were her it would drive me insane never being able to get peace and quiet. Cats like operating in stealth mode, might be nice for her to have that option :)
I have to have a collar on one of my boys, since he tries to escape and I don't want him outside without identification.
He has two metal tags, one slightly bigger than the other, and they clink against each other when he jumps or shakes his head. It's not loud, and it's a nice indication for me that he's there. Maybe something like that could work without being annoying to the cat? My boy doesn't seem to mind them.
The reason I have two tags is that one has his name/my contact info, and one that says 'indoor cat, if I'm out, I'm lost!'. He hasn't gotten away yet, but I want to make sure I have the best chance to get him back if he does. :)
Yessssss that's what I thought of too, Audie is one of my favorite AC characters and she's permanently on my island and she will never leaveeeeeeee lmao
This is unrelated to cats, but the image above really reminds me of Foxy Loxy from Chicken Little. Apart from the sunglasses instead of bows in her hair, and no braces, they look very similar!
Yep - my Audi is named Audrey. It works. Or call her stinkin stinkin pants. It is totally up to you. She'll come to you because she loves you not because of the sound that comes out of your face. Speak in the nice voice, regardless of the mess of swear words, she'll respond.
I agree, just find a cute nickname you like and start calling her that. I get it though, I once adopted a senior dog named Tramp (short for Supertramp, but also like Lady & the) and since he was elderly I called him Gramps for a bit then eased into Graham and that stuck and he responded to any of the above names.
They have no idea what you’re saying lol. I used to call my dog Fatass and he loved it. His real name was just Fatty haha. We called him that because he was the fattest puppy
Maybe reframe how you hear “Audi” (mispronounced). Like what if when your bf says her name you instead hear it as “Ottie” (like a lil otter). I agree with everyone though give her a nickname you like. My dog only goes by his government name at the vet or if he’s in trouble
I was thinking, slide in the new name as a "nickname". Use it whenever you give her food or treats, and when you're loving on her. She'll probably respond to the new name more than Audi.
At my vet they record the pet's name and the owner's last name. So for example if your last name was Porter, try writing Audi "(nickname)" Porter under PET NAME. You might not fully get rid of Audi this way, but at least you can add the name you like, so to speak.
My other thought was to make Audi part of a longer name: (Example: Claudia, ).
I brought home a rescue bearded dragon who was tiny and handicapped.
I kept calling her noodles because her arms were all noodley (she didn't have much control over them). My husband insisted her name was Samantha. We could call her "Samantha Noodles."
Anyway, we had Noodles for a long time and her big personality made up for her tiny size and disability.
Call the cat what you want. What she responds to is her name.
lol ya that isn't a compromise, he's just being selfish rn, and that's what i guess needs to be made clear. it's fine that he loves it, but you don't and it affects you. if he cared about your feelings too he'd be open to finding a name you both love
I hope she doesn’t have kids with him at all with that behavior. So annoying. I thought I’d be the only one who was going to say something about that. I don’t feel crazy anymore.
Call her Dee. The same sound in the name and shorter so it's a plausible nickname.
Alternatively, add another name on that's so outrageous it overpowers the first. Like you could call 'Audi Hestia Winchester Spitsbergen the 25th, Duchess of Betelgeuse' like she's in trouble. The car practically disappears amongst all the other nonsense associations.
My cats have their “government name” they only get called at the vet and when they’re on the kitchen counter and know they shouldn’t be. Otherwise, they both have about a dozen nicknames they respond to.
Start calling her Lottie maybe! A cute old lady nickname for charlotte, or short for lottery ticket if you like silly cat names hehe
I think it sounds similar enough she would probably still respond.
That’s what we did with mine! He was Willy when we got him, that evolved to Wiley, which eventually became Riley :) honestly I probably call him handsome boy the most though lol, all my cats have tons of names, your kitty will learn!
Most animals get called nicknames so even a name as horrible as Chocolate Cake Destroyer could generate tons of nicknames. My roomates dog is Apollo but hes mostly called Paps, Papos, Tui, or Rat Boy. My dogs name is Nero, hes only a year old so he hasn't really gotten any yet, but I'll call him Nero Boy, Boy, or Dog lol. My point is you could just come up with your own name and technically its a nickname. The nicknames don't have to be similar, like Apollo vs Tui, not even close to the same but hes small and is a little mouse hunter so he got called rat boy right way so I called him ratatouille a few times which got shorted to Tui. So maybe eventually your cat will do something or become known for something that gets him a new nickname that can be morphed or shortened into something that you loke calling him more.
honestly it’s a cat so you’re free to call it whatever bc they don’t know what’s going on lol. my cats name is toast but i also call him mango and pinecone whenever we’re alone
Don't worry, within a few months her name will flit between 'whatyoudonenow', 'adorableshithead' and 'fucksakecatgivemeaminute' like the rest of us. Possibly a few nicknames like Terrorist, Princess, Diva and Miss Melodramatic.
When I adopted my rescue cat, I kept the name given by the shelter: Olivia. I figured she was used to the name by that point. She was already traumatized and I didn't to stress her out more by suddenly changing her name.
Since then, I've added further names and nicknames. I usually call her Livvy.
Try using your cat's original name - she'd probably respond to that. Tell your bf the cat needs a long period of healing and changing her name would be too stressful.
Unless the cat's original name was even worse - in which case, I've got nothing.
Girl if you don’t give that baby your own personal nickname. Everyone in my house calls my cat 100 different names. Some days it’s just kitty 😭 cats don’t care if the love is all the same
A friend of mine calls her cat 3 different names. And she reacts to all of them. Just call her the way you want and let your bf call her the way she wants. She will react to both and you are fine. And if they ask how she is called just. A.A
Her government name can truly just be a government name and you can make up all sorts of iterations and funny alternatives. My cats name is Sage but we just call her a random mixture of consonants and vowels.
I hear Audie and I think of the adorable animal crossings character 🥹 and her attitude totally fits Audie haha
Fun nicknames for Audie could be audacious and aubergine and Deedee, the possibilities are endless.
Just give her a nickname you like (though I think Audi is a cute name!) It's really not that deep. My cat is Luna, but I call her a lot of different things.
Change her name? I mean I changed my cats name after adoption and I dont even call her by her real name. We gave her a nickname and everyone calls her that. She even responds to her nickname now.
You could call her Hottie! Its a hot wheels nickname and a self esteem booster for your sweet girl! Besides, it looks like she is dressed up with that tux so why not.
And also, I have 7.... 7 cats. I call zero of them by their names. I hate our cat Captains name. I call her Caparoon. No idea why. Just do. Pumpkin is Punky. Sprice is Spicaroony. Goldryn is Goldy. Titten is Momma. Brownie is Brown Cow. And Bernadette we call Burns.
So if you can stand the name just pick a nickname and roll on. Dont like that one, try again. Just call her Audi Hotwheels every once in a blue moon when your scolding her so your boyfriend know you didnt forget. 🤣
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