“Tibby”
Case closed. Over-and-out. It’s a wrap.
…Alright, in the spirit of fighting ignorance, I’ll elaborate…
For starters, and I sincerely hope this doesn’t come across as being offensive in any way to anyone in particular, but each and every name proposed up to this point has been incredibly bad, just terribly awful. But, be that as it may, I have no desire for Tibby to win by default; it will win on its abundant merit.
Tibby, a name which congers up feelings of strength and majesty, is the only sane choice for naming a cat—any cat, really, be it housecat, alley cat, feral cat, hep-cat, lion, tiger, cheetah, ocelot, leopard, jaguar, or even hyena (being phylogenetically close to felines and all).
I inherited my mother’s conventions concerning animals and she, being British, has always regarded the naming of pets as a duty of prime importance. Giving pets silly or cutesy names was never an option for mom; she labored long and hard to affix our pets with no-nonsense, respectable names. This tradition predates my birth. From the maternity ward I was brought into a home that included twin dachshunds named Sookie and Pookie, a guinea pig named Frederick and an orange, tailless Manx cat, bearing the moniker, Tibby 1st. Let me tell you, he was the cat’s whiskers.
That Tibby started the ball of yarn rolling, so to speak; unraveling over time into a succession of Tibbies reaching Tibby 5th. There were a couple of Libbies along the way who cohabitated with Tibbies (having two Tibbies at the same time would be catastrophic). There were, of course, lines of Tibbys going back in time to our ancestral past, but the numbering system resets for each family offshoot. This system continues on as new braches bud off from the family tree and new Tibby lines begin again and again ad infinitum. So, as should be apparent, in choosing the name Tibby for your cat, you tap into a long and regal procession of, dare I say, aristocatic felines. Consider that my family’s gift to yours. Just follow the rules and start with Tibby 1st and don’t skip any numbers from that point on.
As if that weren’t enough, there is another convincing reason to name your cat Tibby. As you know, cats require a lot of nicknames for a variety of circumstances and situations they stumble into. Well, sir, “Tibby” is chock full of sanctioned variations that cover all bases: informal: “Tib”; formal : “Mr. Tibbs”; professional: Dr. Tibbs; Sporty: Tibbster; Italian: Tibberto; Spanish; “Senior Tibberino”; German: “Herr Tibbler”; playfull: Tibby-dibby-doo; affectionate: Tibbly-wibbly-woo…the list goes on and on. And, as a bonus, stressing either syllable is acceptable and pleasing to the ear: TIBBy/tibbY.
Hmm, I just clicked on the photo of your cat and I must say, I kind of wish I clicked on it before investing this much effort. Again, I mean no offence to anyone and your cat certainly looks like nice, comfortable sort of feline. But, with that rather befuddled looking smirk on his face, I’m just not certain he can pull off being a Tibby (he sort of looks like the court jester to the throne of an authentic Tibby, if you know what I mean). But, you know what, I made the offer and I’m not reneging…Tibby is yours for the taking.
Qadgop, this leaves you with but one question to contemplate; tis a noble question which may make your mind feel though it’s suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. What question, you ask? Tibby or not Tibby, that is the question!