Cool Names for Your Black Cat

I don't know what it is about naming a black cat that makes us so perplexed. Perhaps, it's the color — there is so much fear and uncertainty associated with darkness. Then again, maybe it's the history of the black cat itself — there is so much rhetoric associated with witchcraft and bad luck. If we also take into consideration the nature of the cat, a sleek, beautiful assassin of small animals that somehow knows it is better than humans, then we have a unique animal that makes choosing a name quite a daunting task.

The names below will, hopefully, make the choice a little easier for you. I wish I had a list like this about 15 years ago when I first got my Clover, a Bombay cat that lived for almost 18 years. I named her within an hour and regretted the name after a few days, though it did eventually grow on me. Maybe that's the way it was supposed to be all along? Thanks for giving the article a chance and good luck on choosing a great name for a pet that will watch over your for years to come.

• Most people only concentrate on one-word names. If this is your strategy, try looking into the history of the breed you own to come up with something more unique and unusual related to its role throughout the time of it's existence. Many important and powerful people have owned felines.
• Two-word names will definitely give you something different from the norm, as most owners don't go in that direction. You can even shorten the two-word name into a one-word name if you want. You will still, more than likely, end up with something unique for your feline friend.
• Play and interact with your new kitty. The way he or she acts may give you inspiration for a new moniker. For example, if your new pet is especially lazy, you could name them after a character like "The Dude" from The Big Lebowski.
• The most useful tip I ever got for coming up with creative pet names is to not choose too quickly. Take a few days and make a list of possibilities; don't worry if your list is more than one page. After sufficient time has passed, systematically go through your list and start crossing off names until you pick out your favorite ten. Now the choice must be made.

• Binx from Hocus Pocus (a witch's best friend?).
  
• Cat from Coraline (The cat itself said it didn't have a name and didn't need one.).
• Felicia Hardy from the Spiderman comic.
• Felix the Cat.
• Isis from the Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth".
• Lucifer from Cinderella.
• Pluto from "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe; you have guts if you name your new pet this, as anyone who read the story will testify to.
• Salem from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
• Scratchy from The Simpsons cartoon.
• Snowball II from The Simpsons.
• T'Challa is the black panther character from the Fantastic Four comics.
• Winky from Escape to Witch Mountain.

• Owning a feline friend can lower the risk of heart attacks or strokes by a third.
• A group of cats is called a "clowder" (thought odds of hearing this term in public is quite unlikely.
• Ever wonder why cats get stuck up trees so much? It's because every claw on a cat points in the same direction. Because of this they can't climb down head first as easily as they went up; they can however back down if they so wish.
• Cats developed meows to communicate with humans. You hardly ever hear adult cats meowing to each other.
• Both humans and cats have similar areas in their brains that are responsible for emotions. Dogs do not. I wonder if that helps or hinders cats from being better pets? This might also explain why cats are harder to "handle" than other animals.
• Black cats are actually considered good luck in Australia and the U.K.
• Cats can hear about five times better than humans. Pay attention when they hear something.
• They are also natural hunters and have actually caused the extinction of many species of birds, mammals, and reptiles. Anyone who owns a kitty knows this is true as they will often bring you dead things as gifts.