Picking a purr-fect pet name

AFTER choosing your new pet, selecting a name is an important (and often a difficult) decision.

Quite often when I see puppies and kittens for their first vaccinations the name has still not been finalised. Finding inspiration can be difficult and so this week, I have come up with some ideas to get you thinking.

Do you have a favourite actor, celebrity, sports personality, singer, author, book character or song? At the Donaldson’s clinic we have had an increasing number of pet names from popular books and TV series such as ‘Sansa’ from Game of Thrones, proving popular for female cats. I have recently seen two rabbits called Ant and Dec and last week I saw two Bull Dog puppies belonging to a Mr and Mrs Mitchell who were called Phil and Grant ... think about it!! Try searching your shelves for inspiration!

Take a leaf out of Julie Andrews’ book and think of a few of your favourite things! This could be absolutely anything; a sport, food, drink, perfume, flowers or brand.

If you want a human name for your pet, have you had a flick through a baby names book? They can be a great source of inspiration. After all they are your baby too!

Alternatively if you are looking for something more unusual why not try ‘Google Translate’ – for example if you have a German Shepherd set the language to German and experiment by translating a few of your favourite things.

What about a geographical inspiration? Where did you purchase your pet? The city, street or county might lead you to the perfect name. This is also a nice way to commemorate where your pet came from. Ask your friends and family for their ideas. Think about your pet’s personality for inspiration. Do they like running, jumping, playing or barking? Finally, how about posting a picture of your pet on social media and asking for suggestions? Feel free to post on the Donaldson’s Facebook page and let the Donaldson’s community come up with some ideas for you.

We might even chip in with our own thoughts.