If naming a cat is a huge responsibility, renaming a cat is even more epic. This is not a task we take lightly.

But, sometimes, the cats simply leave us no choice.

We’ve already talked about the 4 Oreos of Ringoes. This month, we narrowly avoided the freaky fate of having two Callies and two Lillies…all in the same room. With all apologies to Doublemint, this did not seem a good recipe for double the fun.

Normally, we’d just rename the newcomers. No harm, no foul. But this time there was a twist: Cali II and Lilly II had lived half a lifetime with these names. How could we, in good conscience, mess with their monikers in their golden years?

We had the unusual advantage of knowing the girls’ backstory. While most Tabby’s Place felines come from high-volume shelters with mystery pasts, gentle calico Miss Callie and black-and-white beauty Lily were beneficiaries of the Guardian Angel Program. Along with their bashful sister Mia, they’d been well-loved for a lifetime in the home of a wonderful mama. That mama had gone so far as to plan for her girls to come to Tabby’s Place if she should predecease them, which, sadly, she did this summer.

So, even though we already had a Cali and a Lilly, could we possibly bring ourselves to rename our newest residents…Miss Callie and Lily?

Yes. But before you start pelting me with rotten tomatoes, let me try to explain.

Callie II and Lily II were blessed not just with a wonder-mama, but also with an extended family of friends. One friend, in particular, has become a fond and faithful visitor to the girls on a near-daily basis. Having known and loved Lily and Miss Callie for years, this friend was the perfect person to ask: how set-in-stone were the girls’ names?

Turns out, the friend assured us, not so set-in-stone at all.

Add this to the fact that neither Lily nor Miss Callie seemed particularly responsive to her name, and we felt it would be okay to rechristen them after all. Besides, no one wanted to face the wrath of Cali I and Lilly I when they heard the news that they were no longer the one-and-only Cali/Lilly pair Casa Tabby. Lilly - Lilly I, that is - once punched a nice old lady in the eye as the nice old lady was writing out a donation check to Tabby’s Place. Imagine what she’d do to the poor soul who introduced her to the “new Lily.”

Still, we didn’t want to change things too drastically. Miss Callie didn’t become Guadalupe, and Lily didn’t become Sister Spangle-Stars. (Note to self: do not, under any circumstances, name any cat Sister Spangle-Stars.)

So Lily became Lola. L-O-L-A, Lola. She’s still so new to Tabby’s Place that I don’t have a photo for you, but take it from me: she is every inch phenomenal.

“What about a new name for Miss Callie?” Jonathan asked.
I suggested, “Cola?”
No one justified that with a response. I suppose that was the kindest thing they could do.

We tossed around variations on Callie and Lily for awhile, and finally Danielle came up with the perfect name for this lovely, ladylike feline: Lilac.

And so there is peace in the valley. Lilly I has actually moved on up to Denise’s office in the hospital, where she serves as a sort of mascot (and gets to entertain the fantasy that she is the only cat in existence - just what she always wanted). Back in Adoption Room #3, Cali I holds court with Lady Grey, Ali, Jade, Cola Lilac and Mia. It’s possible that Lola will join them as soon as she clears from Quarantine.

Call it the Girls’ Dorm Room. Call it the Little Old Lady Suite. Call it what you will. But I warn you: one visit to these seniors, and you won’t want to leave. Ever. I don’t know exactly what it was that made The Golden Girls so popular for the 400 years it aired (and I know I’m not the only one who was bummed when it ended), but that same factor is at work in Adoption Room #3.

And that’s the truth whatever we name it.

Tags: Cali, lilac, Lilly, lola, mia

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