Why we named our kitten Sonsie

Naming a new pet is rather important, after all, he or she has to go through life with that name. Some people immediately know what name to give their pet, others throw a few suggestions back and forth, while others still wait what the pet is like and then give him or her a suitable name.

Where it came to naming our new kitten, I knew I wanted to call her Sonsie. In Gaelic, Sonsie means bringer of good luck and good fortune, but that has nothing to do why I chose that particular name. No, the reason lies elsewhere.

Many months ago, I started listening to audiobooks. Authors had I followed for years had nothing new on the market, so I sampled various authors and what they had to offer. In due time, I came across the Agatha Raisin mystery novels, written by M.C. Beaton, and narrated by Penelope Keith. I liked the first story so much, I listened to a second book, then a third, and eventually worked my way through to the whole series. Thirty three books altogether.

When I was done with the Agatha Raisin series, I went looking for other titles by M.C. Beaton and came across the Hamish Macbeth mystery novels, narrated by Graeme Malcolm. I was in for a treat, there were no less than thirty three novels about the Scottish policeman.

Not only did I like Hamish Macbeth, while listening to the audiobooks I became familiar with all the inhabitants of the fictional town of Lochdubh in Sutherland. Not to mention Hamish Macbeth his pets, first his dog Towser, and later his dog Lugs and wildcat Sonsie.

While the kitten we adopted is by no means a wildcat, I liked the name Sonsie, it’s unusual. While some people call their cats or dogs Fluffy, Snowflake, or Runner, I like to give my pets proper names. My current fur kids are called Holly, Halley, Greyson, Nic, now joined by Sonsie.

Giving my cats proper names wasn’t always the case though. I named my very first cat Fluffy, because that’s what she was, a little ball of black and white fluff. She was so small that, when we took her to the vet to have her checked out, the vet said she probably wouldn’t make it through the week.

Bad news because after only a few hours, Fluffy had already crept firmly into our hearts. I bottle fed Fluffy every few hours, made her a cozy warm bed, and constantly kept an eye on her. Not only did Fluffy make it through the week, she lived just short of twenty years.

As for Sonsie, she’s been with us a little over 24 hours now and Holly, Halley, and Greyson are slowly warming up to her.

When we first arrived with the little one, the reaction of the four resident cats was very different. Nic immediately took a shine to Sonsie; Holly hissed at her; Halley took one look at the kitty and seemed to wonder … what is it? while Greyson ran from the room as fast as he could. Now, some one day later, Nic has become Sonsie’s big ‘brother’. Where Sonsie goes, he goes. When Sonsie goes to sleep, he keeps watch. As for Holly, Halley and Greyson … saying that they're on their way of becoming friends would be stretching the truth, but Holly no longer hisses, Halley looks at the little one less wary, and Greyson no longer runs away.

If that much progress is made in just one day, I’m sure that giving time they’ll all become good friends.

(To be continued)