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Phoebe the Magnificent – and why my boy cat has a girl’s name

So, I wanted to share some of my favorite Phoebe pics because everyone deserves a dose of this guy. Oh yeah, maybe I should explain this Phoebe is my male cat’s name thing.

phoebe phoebe

Everyone thought Phoebe was a girl. She was too young to be spayed when I rescued her so the vet visit was more of a test, prevent, treat thing. One night, about 2 months into cohabitation, we were playing and I noticed a lump near her backside. You know, the netherbits. I started to freak out thinking she had cancer or a prolapsed rectum or some kind of body eating parasite. All kinds of things were running through my head. So, I made an appointment with the vet. I was kind of embarrassed when he told me those were Phoebe’s testicles and that she, now he, was in perfect shape. But it did make sense since we had started smelling cat spray, we just thought it was a male lurking outside trying to get to my little girl cat.

phoebe the magnificent - and why my boy cat has a girl's name

phoebe

But why didn’t you change his name?

Believe me, I debated with this a lot. And you wouldn’t believe how many people have an opinion on pet names and gender identity. It’s great to see flow there, but it still sucks when people just want to spew hate. But enough of that, back to Phoebe.

phoebe phoebe phoebe phoebe

The general consensus was to use a name like Phoebus, or Pheber – all logical choices that would have probably worked without flaw, but I just didn’t feel right. To me, a name is one of the most valuable things you have. It’s given to you, without condition, and it completely embodies who you are. I think every living thing should have a name (that could be influenced by my current binge on Farscape), and once they do you can’t take that away. So my girl cat turned into a boy cat and he still has a girl’s name.

phoebe

He doesn’t seem to mind it, but I do call him a lot of things, usually in singsong fashion. But he’s happy and he’s amazing and beautiful, and sweet, and crazy – and none of those are gender specific 🙂

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