A Moo By Any Other Name

Despite his frequent and vicious attacks on our toes, ankles, and hair and his semi-regular pooping in the sink, bathtub, trashcans, and laundry baskets, our kitten has found a place in our hearts. At first Will wouldn't go near the little fur ball for fear of getting scratched or bitten, but now they've developed a boy-and-his-dog relationship similar to the one he once had with Duke. (Hallie and the kitten have developed a girl-and-her-doll relationship similar to the one she has with…her dolls.) He's all we'd hoped for in a pet.

The kitten's name, on the other hand, isn't exactly what we'd hoped for. After a few weeks of calling him Moo, the four of us humans came to the conclusion that his name wasn't quite right. It didn't roll off the tongue the way we thought it would, and the kitten just didn't feel like a Moo. Last weekend we threw around a couple of new names - Lenny and Leo - but because we agreed that the decision to change the kitten's name had to be unanimous and Will wasn't sold on either one, we stuck with Moo.

The previous Friday, my friend Mandi's mom described the kitten as a Tuxedo cat. I thought nothing of it until Monday morning, when I walked into the house and without thinking called the kitten "Tux". I knew immediately that the kitten's name was meant to be Tux, and thankfully everyone else agreed with me.

Moo is out, Tux is in.

He celebrated his new moniker by dragging an entire roll of paper into the toilet and clogging it.