name

Choosing a name for your pet is not an easy task. It's the name that will stick with them for the rest of their lives, that'll make them come over when you say it (or totally ignore you when you say it if they're a cat). So, you wanna get that name decision right. Or not. 

A bunch of tweets that wet viral show that even the simplest, least inspired, least creative name can be a good one so long as its given by people who care about the pet. TC seems to be a name that people enjoy giving their cats, and guess what it stands for? The Cat. Yup. Simple, accurate, catchy and hidden in plain sight. You'll never suspect what it stands for unless you ask. 

We've an update about one of the most positive stories to come out of 2020, and the update is just as wholesome as the original story. The (tiny) giant panda cub that was born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo three weeks ago has finally gotten a name, and it is the most appropriate and cutest name of all. Xiao Qi Ji is his name in Chinese, but it translates to 'little miracle' in English. 

The little giant panda has gone absolutely viral in the past couple of weeks after a video of his miraculous birth was released by the zoo, and since the world fell in love with the cub, the zoo decided to let the world participate in naming him. Of course, the internet does not disappoint when it comes to baby animals. 

We were given a choice of 4 names, and after three weeks and nearly 135,000 votes that have been cast, the adorable name 'little miracle' was chosen. The long waiting period was not an accident, it is part of Chinese tradition to wait 100 days before naming the cub. We wish the little cub luck and prosperity, and for his mother, Mei Xiang, to have many more adorable healthy cubs in the future!

Story via The Associated Press.

We all have that one (/one hundred) weird name we call our pets. I call my cat "Bellybutton" sometimes, I don't know why or how it happened, but she gets it, the smart kitty. Well, apparently I'm not the only one who gives suuuper strange names to her adorable pets, and twitter has decided to prove it to me. 

It all started with one tweet by @eef_nestor that went viral that stated: "what I call my dog Spencer" followed by some of the most ridiculous names we've ever seen, names that put even my "Bellybutton" to shame. And twitter users jumped in, writing down their own ridiculous pet names with pictures to go with them, and a thread that started with one dog ended up an enormous thread with hundreds of replies that are all endlessly entertaining. 

Ever find yourself not knowing the group noun for an animal? Happens to us nearly every day it seems. And while a majority of group names do have a basic underline understanding as to why they were named that... some names don't hold that obvious clarity. 

Actually some group names leave us feeling completely baffled. And some just seem like missed opportunities! Six years ago, there was a petition to change the group noun of Squid, which is Shoal, into the clearly superior option -- Squad. Seems like the petition worked. 

A group of bats is called either colony, camp, or our personal favorite -- cloud. There's so much to learn every day! 

One question by @BiggenSnow started the cutest thread on twitter - using only photos, people shared who (or what) their beloved pets are named after.

These will fill you up!

Much is known about the ability of dogs to communicate with humans, but researchers in Japan decided to investigate how well domestic cats could discriminate between different human words. The study claims to be "the first experimental evidence showing cats' ability to understand human verbal utterances". 

A London-based business has named an amphibian with limited eyesight and a capability to burrow its head underground as Dermophis donaldtrumpi. The namesake shares several characteristics such as its ability to see "the world in black and white" with the US president, according to the company EnviroBuild. You can only imagine how the people of twitter reacted. 

Over on Twitter @mooseallain got people thinking about what they called their pets vs what they REALLY call their pets. These poor pets had no idea what they were getting into when they came home to their forever homes, and they might have thought twice if they knew what the names they would get would be. At least some of the names are pretty original, though some seem to repeat themselves.... How many people can call their dog or cat boo or booboo until its just too. much. But no matter how creative these pet owners were with their companions' names, it pales in comparison to these unfortunate names for people that definitely has some malice behind it.

Via: Purrtacular

Congrats, it's a boy!