Thursday, September 13, 2007

How I got my name


My good pal Millie has started a meme on how we kitties got our names. My story goes back a long time......

You see, my real name is Butterball. No, its not coz I came to my forever home the day before Thanksgiving. No, its not coz I had a cute lil' belly when I was a kitten. It goes farther back than that.

When mine mombean was a little girl she used to spend a few weeks every summer on her Grandfather's farm in Rhode Island (click on the link to learn a little about the state), and there were 3 kinds of cats on the farm.

At the top was Smokey a gray pure breed Persian who lived in the house (mostly the living room). He was fat and spoiled and never went outside. He was cranky-hissy and did not like little girls. He would run and hide when he saw mine mombean or her sister.

At the bottom there were countless (every year mine mombean would try to count them, but she never could) feral and semi-feral "barn cats". This was a working horse farm and the barn cats were an essential part of the functioning of the farm. They kept the field mice and critters out of the horse's feed-grain, the tack room and hay loft. They had the run of the barn and fields and there was always a big bowl of water that was filled twice a day when the horse's water was filled, and kept where it wouldn't freeze in the winter. They also had crunchies to eat, but as Eric and Flynn will tell you fresh caught mouse is darn good to eat! They slept in the hay loft out of the rain, cold and snow. As hard as she tried she could never catch and pet and play with these kitties.

But, in the middle was Butterball "the kitchen cat", a big ginger and white man-cat. He would go outside and catch a mouse now and then, but mostly he napped on a chair in the kitchen (he wasn't allowed in the rest of the house) where he could see all that was going on and get choice tidbits like fresh caught Bass from the pond and fresh milk along with his crunchies. He was kind and gentle and liked to have mine mombean pet him, hold him in her lap and even carry him around. He would purr and purr and never got hissy or ever tried to scratch her. She would even play dress up with him and put hats and doll clothes on him but he never got upset; even though you could tell by the nicks on his ears and a scar on his nose that he wasn't the type to run from a fight. Oh, sometimes he would have enough with a little girl's play, and go out side to nap under a bush in the yard or some secret spot. Mine mombean and her sister made up lots of nick names and songs for him. the best was "B-ball, baby and I don't mean maybe!"

He was well loved by all and lived to be a very old cat before he went to the bridge.

When mine mombean first saw me she thought of her old friend from long ago when she was little. So, to honor a grand cat she named me Butterball after him.

Of course, I was just an 8-week old kitten and full of the kind of mischief a kitten is full of. I had a lot to learn about, well, everything! Like not to chew and play with electric cords, not to unroll all of the toilet tissue or knock over the trash can in her study or scratch on th Futon. I heard the word "NO!" a lot. First it was, "Butterball, NO!" but by the time she said all that I had run away. So, then she tried calling me "B-Ball", then "B-B" and "Bees" and finally she said "Beezer". We both knew right away that its was the perfect name for me, and I've been Beezer ever since.

I tag:

Eric and Flynn

Ping

Kellie

All gorgeous Gingers to tell the stories of their names.

22 comments:

Team Tabby said...

We really enjoyed hearing how you got your name. Butterball is okay but Beezer is a cool name.

purrs,
Moe & Mindy

Millie said...

Hi Beezer,

Thanks for the terrific story! I think this is gonna be a great meme!

The Meezers or Billy said...

that's a greeat story Beezer!

Unknown said...

I think you have a really cool and unique name.

Zippy, Sadie, Speedy and M'Gee said...

Beezer is a furry kewl name. Butterball was Butterball but yoo are certainly a Beezer.

Lizzy said...

I had a gorgeous ginger named Mouse - rescued in a blizzard at 3 - 4 months old. When I took him to the vetz they asked me his name - he said Eep, and I said Mouse - he grew to 25 lbs and was only ever plump, not fat...

Dragonheart, Merlin, Devi, and Chloe said...

Wonderful story as to how you got your name! Beezer is a very cool name. :) The original Butterball sounds like he was a wonderful cat.

Samantha & Mom said...

Wow, we like learning how our furiends got their names. That is cool how you got yours, Beezer is perfect for you.
Your FL furiends,

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

Beezer:

I have nefur been chosen for a meme before until this week and I was lucky and got two! I am going to do my mancat post on Monday with both!! I am so excited. FANKS for tagging me to play. Because as you know I LOVE to play.

Your buddy
Ping

Daisy said...

What a great story behind your name, Beezer! I loved reading all about it, and the original Butterball.

The Crew said...

Gosh Beez, what a great name story. Butterball sounds like he was a good cat and would have been very hard for an 8 week old guy to measure up to.

We think Beezer is a fine name for a Mancat like you!

Unknown said...

Thank you Beezer for tagging me. This looks like a fun meme. I like the name Butterball, it is very cute. Funnily enough, my Mum almost called me Buttercup : )

Anonymous said...

that's an excellent story! we love your name too!

The Devil Dog said...

What a great story. I really liked reading it. I also liked seeing you on that gorgeous gizzy quilt. It shows off your colors very nicely.

Mr. Hendrix said...

what a great story. i really like how you got your name. it is an honor to be named for such a great kitty and then have it morph into one perfectly suited for you.
you have great orange furs and i love your gizzy quilt.

The Devil Dog said...

Hi Beezer. I think I will do that to my mom as soon as she is done with her post. I am glad you think Millie's mom is a great srtist. My mom thinks so too, and anyone who thinks my mom's sister is great is great in her book. She is very proud of her sister, my mom is, and wishes she could be half as good at quiltmaking as Millie's mom is.

Shaggy and Scout said...

Our mom had a neighborhood tom cat come live with her when she was little too. He had his share of fights too, but he was moms best friend for a long time. He was pure white and lived a good long life too.

The Fluffy Tribe said...

well they say all cats have more than one name it's common knowledge :) We luv your name story ~The Fluffy tribe

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Oh no! We left a comment the uvver day but it must haf got lost. We haf been gitting lots of connection problems lately so mebbe that's why it didn't show up.Fanks furr tagging us, we hope to do ours on Tuesday. Yours wuz a furry inchresting story of how yoo got yer name. We reely enjoyed reading it.

The Devil Dog said...

Hi Beezer. I don't know if I like noodles (pasta) or not, mom and dad won't leave any where I can get at it. The boy LOVES pasta, maybe I can get at his plate, except he never leaves his plate when he's eating pasta. Hmmmm will have to think about this.
Roxy

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Hi Beezer, we haf done our meme now that yoo tagged us for.

Big Piney Woods Cats said...

Wow, now I know how my boyfurriend cat got his name! What a lovely story. Our Momma had a big grayboy she used to dress up like that and push in a babybuggy (they didn't have strollers back in the olden days)

You can come ofur anytime and hold my pawsie, but make it after 10:00 in the morning, cuz before that, I am running around like my butt is on fire. I need 4 hours to unwind and calm down, as Momma calls it.

Your....

Precious Flower aka Squirt