We’ve got a cat called Nobby
And he loves to roam around
With whiskers preened
And tail curled up
He hardly makes a sound
Sniffing at the dahlias
Or peering in the pond
Escaping through our
Privet hedge
To the perilous world beyond
In summer he likes sleeping
Stretched out in dappled shade
With dreams of mice
And tadpoles
And the birds on which he’s preyed
His instincts are deep seated
So killing's like a hobby
With claws unsheathed
And murderous teeth
That’s our darling Nobby.
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To be truthful, Nobby isn't actually our cat. He just comes in our garden from time to time and often wanders into the house. We have even found him sleeping in Shirley's wardrobe. And to be yet more truthful - Nobby isn't even his name - I just gave him that. I like cats to have unusual names. Our last cat - a black and white stray - was called Boris and the previous one was called Blizzard because we collected him from a cat shelter during a wintry blizzard in 1981. Other good names for cats are Brian, Adrian, Helen, Carol and Jenny...and how about Rufus, Betty, Walter, Margaret or Steve? Much better than Tiddles, Ginger, Albert, Sooty or God forbid - Wesley!
Your wonderful photograph reminded me of some of the greatest lines in all English literature:
ReplyDeletePussy-cat, pussy-cat,
Where have you been?
I've been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussy-cat, pussy-cat,
What did you there?
I frightened a little mouse
Under her chair.
Did William Shakespeare write that? Very profound.
DeleteMy sister's cat is called Kevin and I have a friend who called her cat Alex. Much better than Tiddles.
ReplyDeleteMolly would br a good name for a hamster.
DeleteYour post reminds me of one I wrote some years ago, "Sweet little serial killer":
ReplyDeletehttp://librarianwithsecrets.blogspot.de/2010/07/sweet-little-serial-killer.html
As for cat names, our cats always had names they listened to. And Mimi, who was more truly MY cat than any other I had before or after, chose her own name. "Mi-mi" was what she said when asked her name.
If the world followed your naming strategy Meike, all human babies would be called "WAAAAAAH!" I shall check out your old post.
DeleteGreat poem.
ReplyDeleteI like cats they keep vermin in check and keep birds on their toes.
Legend has it in northern Derbyshire and in various seaports around the world that you also kept birds on their toes.
DeleteAwwww...Nobby's a lovely fellow!
ReplyDeleteI love my two cats...Remy and Shama. Brother and sister....Remy (male - full name....Remy Martin...yes...of cognac fame) is black and white; and Shama is a tabby. Shama is shortened from "Shaman"...she is a wise little girl!
I heard tell that some pirates keep birds on their shoulder!
Though Adrian may look like a pirate Lee, he was a qualified mariner in possession of all necessary certificates and licensed by The Queen. By the way I think Remy Martin is a great name for a cat, maybe Shama should also have been named after an alcoholic drink (e.g. Victoria Bitter)
DeleteSimilar has sometimes been said about Blackbeard! ;)
DeleteBack in the late 70s into the mid-80s I had a 1959 MG Magnette Varitone - Grey & black...and I called my wonderful little car..."Remy Martin", too..."Remy" to those who knew him well. ;)
Lee would be a great name for a gerbil.
DeleteOur five cats are Bitty Boots, (who has lived out all of her 9 lives but persists in breathing anyhow), Baby Deeds (smiles continually), Tunyr (a lovely orange tom who likes to have his tail pulled), Tippy (the wild thing) and Clawdette, (who always looks as though she's gone out in her baggy pajama pants). All are outdoor cats and could roam the hillside & forest as they wish but seem to spend all their time in the barn or on the porch....
ReplyDeleteYour excellent and rather unusual cat names have passed the Yorkshire Pudding Approval Test. Well done ma'am!
ReplyDeleteHow did you know that my cat's name is Wesley?
ReplyDeleteGulp! No offence was intended Graham. It's just that Jan Blawat - my favourite chicken breeding blogger in Sloughhouse California - has a monstrous cat called Wesley and I was ribbing her. Graham would be a great name for a hedgehog - very prickly!
DeleteYou're ok YP I assumed there was an in-joke there somewhere. I don't keep domestic pets at all. Unless you count goldfish in the pond.
DeleteI don't count goldfish in the pond as I am not a predatory cat!
DeleteTS Eliot will tell you that all cats have three names ~ The Naming of Cats ~ I am sure you would have read him http://allpoetry.com/The-Naming-Of-Cats
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me of this poem Carol - not one on the syllabus when I studied "The Wasteland" and "The Four Quartets" at university.
Delete