Q. I was contacted by one of our customers. I had previously spoke with her older female cat Sophie (posted Friday Jan 9/09). The family found a new little brother for Sophie. He came with the name Lincoln. The lady was having difficulty getting used to this name for him. She disliked even more that her husband had started calling him Linky.... she, herself, was leaning towards the name Simon for him. She also mentioned that Sophie wasn't much liking all of the attention from her new little brother (who had already surpassed her in size)... even though he just wanted to play with her...
A. Now, keep in mind that I have spoken with a good many animals in the 3+ years that I've been doing this. I've always found it important to keep an open mind and to never assume that I know what the animal is going to say.... That being said... sometimes, they make my jaw drop by what they do say! Now, keep in mind that Lincoln is only about 8 months old.... and, you'll get an idea of an animal's version of 'reality'.... a reality that would seem very foreign to most of us... but, for them, is commonplace.
Lincoln wasn't that keen to speak with me. I did a bit of small talk with him. I wasn't hearing him particularly well. He told me that I was smiling and what I was wearing... so, I knew we had 'connected' well enough... He wasn't that enthusiastic about talking about himself or his sister... It wasn't until we got to the topic of 'names' that he really perked up.... Hang onto your girdle... you won't see this one coming!
He said he liked his sister. 'She's alright, not bad, fine'. Described her as 'big heart, fat head, fuss pot'. Described himself as 'handsome, debonaire, big heart, made to run, fast talker. I asked about the last one..'love to converse'. I asked him who he converses with? Her mostly... his sister.
Asked whether he likes his name Lincoln? 'It's alright, it's a respectable name, smart thinker name'. He liked the name 'Linky' saying 'it's cute, it's comical, it's practical'. I asked him to explain 'practical'... he said 'nice, short, concise name'. He didn't really like the name Simon, saying 'not smart, too common, nothing special there'.
I asked which names he'd prefer? 'Theodore, Teddy Roosevelt'. Why did he like that name? 'Distinguished, smart, implies something'... implies what? 'something smarter, unique, unusual, uncommon'.
Other names? 'Jimmy Carter'. Why? 'Sounds great, means something'. What does it mean? 'leading figure, importance, acceptance'. I asked if he knew who Jimmy Carter was? 'Yes, exceptional man'. Did you know him? 'Yes'. How? 'Incarnate, was with him'. When? '50's'. What color were you that time? 'brown mostly, some white, speckled, spotted'. What did he call you in that life? 'life friend'. Did he have another name for you? 'Marty' (Sounded like Marty.. that was as close as I could make out). Why were you in his life that time? 'help him through it.' What? 'life with dad, the loss, the heartache'.
I asked about other names that he may like now? 'Scottie'. Why? unfamiliar, stands out rather well'. Does it remind you of anyone? 'Scott Klassen, go for gold'. (Not sure if I spelled that right?) He also liked the name Barnaby, saying that it was 'strong,powerful'.
I asked if he liked his big sister? 'She's alright'. What do you say to her? 'Lets play, go outside, climb, chase after me'. What does Sophie say to you? 'Buzz off, go away, don't want to play with you.' Does she like you? 'Not bad. She'll come around.'
Do you like Sophie? ' not bad, could be better.' What would you change about her if you could? 'not such a girly-girl, a little bit tougher'.
When asked if he wanted to ask me anything? 'Where are you?'. Told him I was at home. Why? 'Cats everywhere!'. ( I have 4 cats at home. I usually do my animal chats in front of my woodstove and they usually pile on the sofas not far away.'
I asked if he knew Teddy Roosevelt? 'Yes'. What did he think of him? 'big man, not much of a talker, a quiet man'. I asked what he thought of Jimmy Carter? 'Exceptional man, extra-ordinary man'. What made him think so? 'Big man, big heart, big home.'
(Now... as interesting as this all is... keep in mind that little Lincoln is only about 8 months old... currently). I think it's the first time that an animal has given me a first & family name... they usually just give a first name.
