MIL names her cat after our son

[JKT007]

Am I being unreasonable thinking it's very odd that my MIL named her kitten the same name as our son, her grandson?

[Aquamarine1029]

I'm guessing she's an odd duck to begin with, but anyway, I wouldn't lose sleep about it. It just doesn't matter and there's nothing you can do about it anyway. Let it go.

[RobertaFirmino]

Maybe she'd been looking for a kitten for yonks and had his name already picked out. Then you come along and not only steal her son from her but also her KITTEN NAME! MIL took to AIBU, what with it being such a supportive, encouraging community and was advised that nobody owns a name.

[ThePoorWeeDonkey]

It is a bit weird. Says more about her than you tho. My (very close) cousin named her son the same as mine (they were born days apart). People are just odd.

[Rickrollme]

I’m sorry to say I think it’s kind of funny. You seem pretty relaxed about it but there is a certain species of MN DIL that would be frothing at the mouth at the effrontery and debating between NC and grey rock. If that is the type of DIL I end up with I may end up naming a household pet in her honour just to give me a giggle.

[XenoBitch]

What bad thing will happen as a result of this? Nothing, I bet. I bet your DS will grow up thinking it is cool he shares a name with his gran's cat.

[WildCoasts]

It's a bit strange but meh. I hope your son's name isn't fluffy or floof, or whatever she's called the cat. 😜

[DropYourSword]

I think it's cute. Is it a sign of just how much she loves her grandson?

[HerRoyalNotness]

My dad named his new dog the same as my Dd. At least he’ll never forget her name.

[UnwantedOpinionBelow]

Sounds sweet to me

[JKT007]

For context - I have a really great relationship with my MIL, dont get me wrong tho, she can be very overbearing at times but I'm a pretty relaxed kind of person whom very rarely sweats the small stuff, but for some reason this just hit different & felt not quite right to me. I would never ask her to change it or let it affect our relationship, just want to know peoples thoughts on it.

[Salutatorydrinks]

I think she just wants to say your son's name more.

[Whooshaagh]

You have a weird mil.

[Jenasaurus]

My Ex SIL named her DD the same name as out puppy, so the other way round, which was a bit strange.

[tortadicarote]

YANBU for thinking it's strange. It's very, very odd. You don't have to be very imaginative to understand that some new parents would find that insulting, so... Just why? With all the millions of other options available, why that name?

I think you're right to ignore it, but obviously it's a weird thing for her to have done. If she did it as some sort of tribute or because she loves saying your child's name, surely she'd mention that the first time she told you the kitten's name. To just announce the name with no explanation is quite something. I'd be very curious about her motivation, but it's probably better not to ask.

[Margotshypotheticaldog]

It's a bit odd. You should get a chinchilla and name it after her. After all, she doesn't own the name.

[Thebestwaytoscareatory]

I wouldn't worry about it. Cat's are notoriously bad at remembering their own names. Worst case scenario is both occasionally turn up when you call, other than that you won't notice.

[Muffinsorcrumpets]

Very strange

[ValerieCupcake]

Friend of mine named her son after her ex-cat. I think it was funny.

[Peoniesandpeaches]

@XenoBitch

What bad thing will happen as a result of this? Nothing, I bet. I bet your DS will grow up thinking it is cool he shares a name with his gran's cat.

what utter BS. I say this as someone whose name is sometimes used for dogs it’s not exactly “cool” to have your name associated with a pet.
OP it’s weird as hell and all you can hope is that she’ll start using a nickname for it instead.

[steff13]

I think it's hilarious.

[JKT007]

I definitely think she could have spoken to us about it & I think that is what upset me too. I would have been respectful & told her my thoughts & gone from there. I think in the back of my mind there is the that thought of what's your motivation behind it.

[givethatbabyaname]

Is the name Tom?

[JKT007]

Omg, yesss how did you guess.....it definitely is NOT Tom.

[Pallisers]

what did you say when she told you?

If this had happened to me I'd have said "oh my god you called the cat after DS - that is hilarious"

Did you stay silent? like why would you? Calling a pet the same name as someone in the family would be worthy of a bit of a comment and laugh from nearly everyone I know.

And I do think your MIL is a bit odd. My nephew is called Tom. I wouldn't call a cat or a dog that name because ... I have a nephew named Tom. she is weird.

[mycatisannoying]

It's fucking odd, let's be honest