Our pets are beloved members of our family. We name them and then form attachments to that name, lovingly referring to our pets by their name. Your pets become accustomed to their names, too. They will respond to it readily. If someone else shares their name, things can get confusing for both you and your pet.
This is the situation that Redditor gorgonzoila found themselves in when their sister wanted to co-opt one of their cat’s names for her child.
Angry and defiant, gorgonzoila took to the popular subReddit “Am I The A**hole?” or “AITA” to get some reassurance they weren’t being unreasonable.
“AITA for not changing my cats name for my sisters baby?”
Our original poster, or OP, set up how stressful this situation has been for them.
“I swear I’m going crazy with this.”
“I have two cats, Tonks and Dio. Tonks named after the HP character and Dio’s name is a little funny; named after digiorno pizza. Just liked Dio and my mom and i thought it was funny.”
When OP’s sister started trying for a baby, the trouble began.
“So now my sister has been saying she’s gonna start trying for a baby.”
“Im like cool okay congrats (not a big fan of kids myself but good luck to her). Fast-forward three months and she’s pregnant and starts talking baby names.”
“Well her boyfriend’s friend texts me yesterday saying her bf’s family has a tito Dio and would appreciate if I rename or (and I cannot believe this) rehome my cat.”
Shocked by this, OP did not react kindly.
“Friend said he COULD TAKE him. Like wtf? No you’re not taking my cat, and no I’m not renaming him so that’s what i tell the friend.”
“Like two hours later my sister calls me and just says something like she can’t ever be over at our (mine and moms) house with a cat named after her son. It’s disrespectful. Like I cannot understand how she’s functioning rn mentally this is so stupid.”
OP’s mom and others around them started trying to placate OP’s sister.
“My mom said something like ‘well we can call him deedee or d, he’s already 11.'”
“That’s even more reason for me to not change his name he’s f**king 11. He’s had this name for a decade???? I know I SHOULD care more about a nephew than a cat but this is like my kid.”
OP already doesn’t trust their sister.
“I don’t want him to be confused and scared for the last half of his life. and i know my sister. shed bring her son over and let him f**k with the cats and call it cute and take pictures even if i tell her to stop.”
“I didn’t even change the cats’ names because I already told my sister mostly all of this, it’s just she and my mom are really putting pressure on me to just chill.”
And is left with one inevitable question.
“AITA for not renaming/rehoming my cat because my sister likes his name?”
Reddit helped OP decide where guilt belongs by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
Nobody could see a reason why OP would be at fault here.
“But how can she ay the cat is named after the kid? I mean, the cat existed 11 years before the kid, so obviously you cannot claim that the cat was named after the kid.”
“It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but in now way should you have to rename the cat, just because her hubbies family has someone with the same (nick) name.”
“You either choose to call the kid that and accept that there is also a cat with the same name or pick a different name for the kid. Simple as that.”
“(our neighbour had a dog with the same name as my nephew, which could make for funny interesting situations when calling out, but other than that, neither the kid nor the dog were annoyed at having the same name).”
“NTA.”~LadyBake82
“NTA.”
“I would actually suggest changing his name to ‘Dio, The First Of His Name,’ though. Just to be clear to anyone who may ask in the future about the order of priority.”~_its_only_forever
“I had a dog named Jack. When he was 10, my cousin had a son and named him Jack. We never had any issues.”
“We also have an uncle Jack. NTA.”~anonego7
“NTA It’s the other way around – she’s naming her kid after your cat, as her baby (who might even be a girl) is born so many years later than your cat.”
“This is ridiculous. Stand your ground, OP.”~SoCuri0usAmI
With such a ridiculous argument that OP’s sister seems to be perpetuating for no reason, nobody is taking OP’s side.
“NTA. If someone casually told me to give them my cat because they didn’t approve of it’s name I think I would absolutely lose it.”
“Your sister and her boyfriend are out of their damn minds and in response to this behavior I would extend my cat’s name to match their baby’s middle and last name also.”~mightymikek7
“NTA and it is completely ridiculous that a friend of her bf would have the cheek to text you to suggest something like this.”
“It wasn’t even your sister or her bf that started the convo, which makes it even weaker of an argument from their side.”
“I’ll never understand people who legitimately think they own a name once they’ve chosen it for their baby. It’s as if that decision automatically translates to a patent in their mind.”
“The petty side of me wants to suggest you start referring to the unborn nephew as ‘Dio’s namesake,’ but that would cause more drama than its worth for you.”
“Keep the name, keep the cat, and hope that eventually your sister and the rest of them get past their nonsense.”~Cinder9653
“Oh God. NTA.”
“You would also not be the a**hole if you created some personalized items for the cat.”
“I’m envisioning:
- A cat bed in the corner with a calligraphy wall decal spanning both of the adjoining walls: Dio’s Domicile
- Throw pillows with his picture printed on them, embroidered with ‘Dio’s Digs’
- Personalized food and water bowls labeled ‘Dio’s Dishes'”
- Litter box labeled ‘Dio’s Droppings’
- A cat door labeled ‘Dio’s Door'”
“I mean, this cat obviously needs his own wall placard with his name and paw print, a personalized collar, personalized cat carrier, and anything else you can possibly think of with his name on it.”~Demetre4757
“Just tell them you’ve changed your cat’s name to Tio.”
“Then continue calling the cat Dio. They sound exactly the same, so nobody can tell the difference.”
“Oh, and NTA. Duh.”~xXxLegoDuck69xXx
People are coming up with all sorts of ways for OP to take petty revenge on the name-thieves.
“Start raging because she’s stealing your cats name.”
“Tell her she’s going to need to rehome her kid because you can’t handle watching them call their kid that in front of your kitty. NTA”~Rachael_hutch
“Your sister finds out only 3 months into her pregnancy that her bf has an uncle named Dio and she’s decided she liked it so much she’s gonna name her baby after it?”
“Even though she already knew a cat who has been named Dio for the past 11 years? Like why is it so meaningful that she’s so insistent?”~saturdaybloom
“NTA my neighbors I was really good friends and shared a driveway with adopted an old dog with my same name…”
“It was very confusing at times. I’d ignore people thinking they were talking about or to the dog, or I’d go to someone saying my name only to realize they were talking about or to the dog.”
“The dog would also come when people were saying my name. It was confusing…”
“But the dog was old and had her name, and I’m a person and had mine, yeah it was confusing but oh well. It’ll be confusing for hopefully years to come. It’ll be a joke and an endearing memory.”
“Everyone needs to chill TF out.”~cdiddy19
“NTA. They are seriously jealous of a cat? Like how entitled can you be. You had your name first. If she doesn’t like it she can pick another name.”
“Besides, there really shouldn’t be an issue here. Your sister is completely out of line! Plus personally I don’t think Dio is a good name for a child.”
“Nickname maybe but it’s not like your cat’s going to get confused when their name is called. They aren’t even the same species!”
“Leave your cat’s name how it is. Cats are family too, ask her if she would ask you to change your child’s name because she wants the name. Btw I love the name Tonks. Hufflepuffs 4 life!”~CrazyNaturekitty
All of Reddit uniformly agrees asking someone to get rid of their pet simply because the name clashes with what you want to name your baby is entitlement to the extreme.
We hope OP and the cat stay safe, and hope that Dio gets plenty of love for his little name.