New City, New Kitty

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

When my "soulmate cat" Stringer Bell died of a stroke last month, it sent me into a bit of an emotional tailspin. As I dealt with diving into my still-newish job, preparing to move to a new state, & traveling to both New York & Ohio in the weeks before the big move, I was wildly unprepared to deal with the unexpected death of my furry best friend on top of it all. I'm not kidding when I say that even now, a month later, I occasionally break into spontaneous tears at the thought of my little man, whose ashes now sit in the living room window of our new apartment overlooking the Navesink River (more on our new place later).

Yesterday, just one day after I moved into our new place (remember, Nathan was here for a few days before me), we decided we'd head over the Monmouth County SPCA to adopt a new friend as a gift to one another on our two-year anniversary. Based on our experiences with Stringer, we had only a few requirements: friendly, adorable, not elderly. We spent a couple of hours with Sylvia, our adoption counselor, who was likely rolling her eyes at us internally after awhile because oh my gosh, we were so indecisive. Lots of cuties, but no one really struck our fancy... until she took us to see her last prospect, Pharoh.

That's right, Pharoh - like Pharaoh, but spelled incorrectly. My trained grammarian's eye was not pleased with this name, nor were my Jewish roots, which dictate that "Thou shalt not name thy cat after oppressive historical dictators." Three-year-old, short-haired, tuxedo-wearing Pharoh jumped right off his faux-tree perch to be petted, & Nathan & I agreed almost immediately: He was ours! After taking him home, we bandied about a number of new names, including:

  • Moses, the Biblical foil to Phar(a)oh
  • Matzah, a relatedly Passover-themed moniker
  • Beeker, the Muppet with the squeaky voice because our little dude is a squeaker
  • Toast, in honor of our favorite Portsmouth restaurant, The Friendly Toast
  • Riggins, after "Friday Night Lights'" main man of our hearts
  • Taco, an homage to our favorite meal to cook together
  • Pepper, a nod to Nate's favorite band, The Beatles

We slept on it... & woke up with nothing... until, with today's holiday in mind, Nathan suggested we check out the IMDB cast list of "Independence Day." From there, the choice was easy. Ladies & gentlemen, meet President Thomas J. Whitmore, or just Whitmore for short - Bill Pullman's fictional leader of the free world in the face of the worst alien attack in the history of Earth.

From pharaoh to president, it's safe to say that we're setting this cat up for a lifetime of ego & success.

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