The names we earn

We have the names we give. L, for example. And my paint mare G. And..Oliver. He's been here 6 months now and the name he's earned? TLB. The Little Bastard. I *know* why he got dropped off in the driveway! He's broken almost everything in the house that's breakable. I've come home to find pictures taken down off the walls. I've had to fashion catproof latches from coat hangers for closet doors. After coming home one day and finding an entire closet emptied with its contents scattered all over the house. And then there's the afternoon I found my Rolex in the toilet! I feel I'm being watched. Then I hear a tiny little tinkle sound. He's on top of the kitchen cabinet behind the stem glass rack waiting to pounce. What ever possessed me to bring home a kitten?!

The Little Bastard
He's a pretty cat. And he was two things going for him. I'm tolerant. And he's funny. Funny counts for a lot.

For a few weeks he'd pop out from behind things, stand on his hind legs and wave his paws in the air with a ferocious look on his face. And often times he'll walk by, stop, come back, slap the back your leg and pound off like he's satisfied he just made some kind point.

I read that using empty cans is a good way to discourage your cat from going where he's not supposed to go. You put some empty cans on a table top. Cat jumps up, knocks over cans, gets scared and runs away. Doesn't go back. Well that's how it's supposed to work. Here in my house I just have a cat chasing cans around the house in the middle of the night.

I really think he's going to be a great fat old lazy cat. If he survives kittenhood...

Edited to add:

For a long time L's name around the barn was "Cuckoo Brain". She earned that. I remember warming L up on the ground at a show some years ago and someone watching said to me "so...do you...ride that horse?". Very funny. Although it really is fair to say she was quite the handful for a while there.

L outgrew that. Thankfully. Well. Mostly. She'll still break a cross tie now and then if you let her. We still call her Cuckoo Brain sometimes. Affectionately.

And G? We still call her "Psycho G". She won't outgrow that. She would have by now if she was going to!