My two cats are the babies or the kitties. When I want to call them to their food dish (if I’m giving them a little fish, poultry, or meat), I call “Babies!” in a high-pitched voice.
Well, three dogs, two cats and a cockatiel that all want dinner at the same time every night are usually referred to as the “various starving lifeforms.”
When dividing up the species it’s “all the durn dogs,” “GD cats,” and "freakin’ bird"respectively.
I have two cats. They both come when I call “Kiddens!” Sometimes I will greet them individually that way, “Hey, kidden.” It’s not “kid’n”, it’s “kidden”.
No, I’m not calling them “kids”; the D sound is how my French grandmother always pronounces her Ts. I called the oldest cat that once when she was an only cat, my husband overheard and thought it was hilarious, and it just kind of stuck. They answer to their own individual names, as well - one won’t answer to the other’s name. But they both come running when I call out “Kiddens!”
First thing when I walk in the house, and I know there are no other people around, is to yell “Kittens!”
So, collectively, they are “kittens” even though one will be 13 soon, another is a 5 year old fat beast and only one actually qualifies as a kitten. And he’s pushing it, having just hit 6 months.
My god. That’s exactly how I refer to the little fuc…um…cats! It used to be “the girls” but now we have a boy, too…so it’s “the kids” or “the softies” or “the troublemakers” and sometimes…yes…“The Little Fuckers”.
Individually, I call them by their names or one of a dozen nicknames. The dog knows all his names (and responds to them), and all the cat’s names, (he’ll look at the cat or go find him.) The cat only responds to a couple of his names and only knows the dogs given name.
When I was growing up, we always had a bunch of dogs and cats around the house. My dad called them the Livestock.
Dog and a ferret (more than one ferret at a time in the past).
We usually refer to them as the Animals, or the Beasts.
They both have their cages in a middle room that borders on the stairs. When I put them in their cages for the night and head upstairs to bed, I usually call out, “Good night, Beasts.” Or, alternatively, “Good night, Beast” (to the dog) followed by “Good night, Least Beast” (to the weasel).
When all of the animals I’m referring to are the same species, I use that. Otherwise, it’s generally “critters,” as in “It’s bedtime, are all the critters in?” or “Did you feed the critters?” I often make distinctions between the “indoor critters” (cats, iguana, dogs) and the “outdoor critters” (horses, goats, cattle).
“The Feline Biomass”. Or “The Cats”. The two males are “The Boys” and their nine month old irritant is “The Kitten”, and probably will be for the rest of her life, unless we bring home a younger one someday.
My mothers pets, which aren’t all the same species, are “The Critters”.