What is in a name? A cat by any other name is just a cat, right? Wrong!!!! We see all kinds of names- funny names, silly names, names you're not sure should be said in close company and names that leave you to wonder.....? Human names are becoming more popular for pets. We see a lot of dogs named Jake. You can almost always bet when you are scheduling an appointment for a cat named "Pumpkin", it is orange and "Shadow" is almost always black. From Carrie Bradshaw (love this name) to a dog named "CAT" the names often say a lot about the client.
Let's say for a minute you have a new orange kitten and you want to steer clear of the more common names like, Garfield, Pumpkin, Mango (very popular). What is a new pet owner to do? Well, we looked to our life style for inspiration and we actually contemplated naming our new kitten "WORK"!!! Our kids did not think that was a good name. We thought "Rotten" might be a good name and our daughter suggested "Orange Cat" (simple is good). I thought we should stick with our travel theme, Pikes Peak, Rome, so maybe Spain....which got me thinking. This is always a scary proposition in the Head household and usually spells TROUBLE!
You see, if you asked Dr. Head what his favorite food in the world is, he would tell you cheese- mild, smelly, creamy, it doesn't matter, he loves it all. I, being allergic to dairy, stand by jealously watching my family eat cheese in great quantity. There are never less then 5 different types of cheese in our house at any given time. Our family can always agree on two things without any dicusion at all and those are cheese and bacon. Combine the two and you may just have the perfect food. I know, I know, Dr. Atkins would be so proud.
As we sat around thinking of a name, we established a theme- Cheddar, Gouda, Swiss, Cheeto, Dorito, Carrot (okay, that has nothing to do with cheese but you get the idea). My children got very cleaver with "Sunset" and "Cream-sicle". I thought of Carmel, Dolce and then I remembered he was... well... a he. Pizza was up there for a bit as were Pepperoni and Salami. We are a very food-motivated family, can you tell? Finally, it came to me. It was so simple; I can't believe the creative process had taken so long. I almost wondered if my brain wasn't so busy digesting the delightful food we were naming it forgot to actually be objective..... We should name the kitten, BACON!!!! NO, not really, I just really like bacon, crispy, greesy, so bad for you, BACON!!! Like cheese is to Dr. Head, bacon is to me. If I had to choose between chocolate and bacon, I wouldn't. I would dip the bacon in the chocolate and enjoy.
Seriously though, the kitten did get a name and it is a food, or to be more correct an entire food group. We named him "Queso Gato" or cheese cat. We think it describes him perfectly- creamy and soft, a little sharp, mixes well, adds flavor to anything, pungent, portable, and most importantly, dairy free. Who says there is no good dairy-free cheese out there? He is also the perfect combination of sweet and zesty. This ah ha moment was like that scene from Castaway when Tom Hanks is jumping around intoxicated by his ability to make fire (another good name). We were giddy with our ability to give our new family member a proper moniker. As we sat there watching him explore his new house and his new family, I thought we should take a picture of our newest member, on the count of three, everyone smile and say cheese. Ready? 1, 2, 3, QUESO!!!!
