A Name Is Just A Name?

 Polo spent his first night inside. I slept lightly on the alert for any sound or movement that would indicate the kitten needed help. He stayed in bed with us all night until the canines decided it was time to get up.

I took him out with the dogs and put him out in the front yard while the dogs took care of business in the back yard. He scampered off in search of Lucy. He seems to have adopted her as his new mother. Silly cat, does he not realize that I am his new mother?

Today we will venture out into the cold snowy weather to purchase a litter box. Where will I put a litter box? Even a small one will take up valuable space. I will need to enclose it to keep the dogs out but allow a cat to gain entry. I am hoping to find inspiration as I shop.

Polo seems like a wrong name since it needs Marco to go with it. I will try not to think about the fate of Marco and Gray Lady. Does Polo know that his name is Polo? If I change it, will he be confused? I use his name when I call him, just like I use all the cats' names. Should I choose a new name it will need to sound like the old name. When Cujo came to live with us his name was Josie Wales. Many names popped into my head for the little red doxie. I chose Cujo for the irony of naming him something that would be the opposite of his timid personality.

Now I sit here with a sing song "Polo" running in a loop in my mind as I search for a new moniker for our little feline. Needs to sound like his old name, while capturing his personality in a new name. His is not timid by any means. He is growing, but I do not think he will be nearly as big as Martha, the boy cat. He is confident, but not confrontational. Not once has he extended his claws of hissed and spit at any of the dogs. 

The first time Gray Lady brought her kittens out from under the shed and let us see them, he reared back on his hind legs and hissed and spit at me. I was reaching out to pick him up and quickly changed my mind. There was his brother, Marco, perfectly amenable to being scooped up and cuddled. I used a towel to cover Polo and pick him up. After that he was fine with being held and cuddled. He purrs so loud I can hear him across the room.

You will recall that I warned my husband not to feed the cats, because he would become attached and want to put them inside when the weather turned. Keep in mind that these cats were born in the wild and were used to finding a place to stay warm. 

Then came the cat dominium that is vacant, and the pulling away of the panels that enclose the underside of our home. Gray Lady took her kittens and moved there to avoid Marble, the painfully homely cat that is a rival. Lucy, having been abandoned by Mousy Tongue, whose fate is unknown, tried to ingratiate herself to Gray Lady and become a family member. It wasn't until Marco disappeared that Gray Lady succumbed and let Lucy eat and sleep with her and Polo. Now Lucy is always close by when Polo is playing.

Now that Polo has been spending so much time inside Lucy must be lonely. She doesn't care for the company of Marble or Scar, and she was waiting by the door when I put Polo out this morning.

Now the three canines are standing at the door to go out. They are not in need of a bathroom break, they are looking for their cat!