It’s Furious Balancing

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn’t just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

First of all, there’s the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey -
All of them sensible everyday names.

There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter -
But all of them sensible everyday names.

But I tell you, a cat needs a name that’s particular,
A name that’s peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?

Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum -
Names that never belong to more than one cat.

But above and beyond there’s still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover -
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.

When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

- T.S. Eliot
(from “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats”)

* * * * * * * * * *

* * * * * * * * * *

Aaron,¹ my plush pewter kitten, revealed his particular name to me yesterday. This is probably the second of Old Possum’s names from the poem — definitely not the last effanineffable, inscrutable name.

Aaron’s Name is Aaron Alastair Purrworthy III.

Christopher is still known as Kissy.

1. Yes, in the photo above — click for bigger version — Aaron is indeed sitting on top of the container that holds Gregor’s ashes. It’s a comfy perch, he tells me, and I’m sure Mr. G would not object. [↩]

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