" I refused because my cat had the name first , and Carrie call me selfish for respect a ' stupid cat ” over her daughter . I tell her that my cat is not dazed and that I would n’t mind if her baby shared a name with my computerized tomography … "
We’ve got another “Am I The Asshole” (AITA)Redditthread to discuss. Today we are talking cats, babies, and names. Let’s get into it…
u/RiverRiden(the original poster or OP) startsthe threadby explaining that they recently adopted a wonderful cat from a shelter named Millie. “That’s the name that the shelter gave her, I thought it suited her and she responds to it, so I didn’t change it.”
Well, the issue now isu/RiverRiden’s cousin. “The other week, my pregnant cousin ‘Carrie’ (who I’m moderately close to) posted a list of potential baby names on her social media and Millie was on the list. I commented to remind her of my cat’s name, and she DMed me to ask me to change Millie’s name because she and her fiancé really liked that name for their daughter.”
But, the OP said no. “I refused because my cat had her name first, and Carrie called me selfish for valuing a ‘stupid cat” over her daughter. I told her that my cat is not stupid and that I wouldn’t mind if her baby shared a name with my cat, but if it was an issue for her, she could choose a different name. She again called me selfish and said she had to go,” they went on to explain.
After feeling conflicted about the situation,u/RiverRidenasked their sister her thoughts about the situation. She said that while she understands where he was coming from, babies should come before pets. “She said that it would be really kind of me to change my cat’s name and that she knows how important a couple’s ‘dream name’ is,” they concluded, asking readers for their opinion.
Here’s what some people had to say:
“You’re not an asshole. Two beings can have the same name and the universe will not implode. Keep your cat’s name!”
— u / WelshBogart
“My brother adopted a dog with the same name as our sister. He called her to make sure it was okay and asked if she’d prefer the dog had a different name. She was like, ‘Why? My name is awesome, there should be more of us in the world!” It’s pretty obvious when someone is talking about a person vs. ananimal.”
— atomic number 92 / SquidLK
“The petty part of me insists that if you do somehow get blindsided or guilted into changing your cat’s name, you should change it to ‘Carrie’ instead or whatever cousin’s name is. They’re making this weird. ‘Outweird’ them.”
— uranium / intolerablefem
“My sister was pregnant, only immediate family knew, Daisy was on the girl list before my sister announced my cousin bought a dog and called it Daisy. My niece is still called Daisy, nobody cares, nobody thinks she was named after the dog. You were right they can either still use Millie or pick a new name, they might change their mind by the time the baby arrives. Also if she posts a list of potential names on social media, is she trying to reserve all the names until she picks?”
— u / HP1029
“My aunt and uncle had a dog with the same name as me. Somehow my parents and I both survived this extremely traumatic experience.”
— u / Sparrowonawire
“I’m trying to imagine a scenario where this could ever actually be an issue, but everything I come up with is absurd. The family shows up at a gathering to meet Millie and they’re all upset because they were expecting a cat. OP posts a picture of the cat somewhere with her name and grandma is concerned that her granddaughter has morphed into a cat. The vet accidentally sends medical records to the pediatrician and the baby is chipped and spayed in the world’s stupidest case of medical malpractice. All great prompts for a high school creative writing class, but nothing that a reasonable person would be concerned with.”
— atomic number 92 / farmkidLP
“If it is in a list of potential names, calling Millie ‘the dream name’ is a bit of a stretch. Also, Millie is super common and there is literally nothing stopping them from naming their daughter Millie. How much is this kid even going to be around this cat? How is this even an issue at all? The cat already had this name.”
— smokin - bear
“It might just be pregnancy brain, but your cousin is acting entitled. Your cat already has a name, it’s Millie. If your cousin doesn’t want her daughter to share a name with a cat she can cope. Your sister though, she’s off her rocker.”
— u / Chaos - in - a - CookieJar
“‘Babies matter more than pets.’ 🙄 Family is family, I hate when people dismiss the importance of non-human family members. Besides that, it’s just a name. This is such a lame thing for them to fixate on. Keep the name."
— u / magickconchshell
Well, it appears not many people are siding with the pregnant mom or the sister. But where do you stand?
