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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

MIL names her cat after our son

261 replies

JKT007 · 01/05/2022 02:05

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

OP posts:
hellrabbitishere · 01/05/2022 07:25

i must be more chilled out than most as for the life of me i cant see why this is a big deal . its sweet shes named her kitten after her grandson , im just not getting why its thought odd or strange ,and i definately cant understand why she should have talked to you first about it . you dont own the name . shes a grown woman she surely doesnt have to talk to you for permission if its ok to name her kitten neil as thats what her grandson is called.

i mean so what if she has ? it says a lot about peoples mentality really that so many of the comments on here are negative about this , getting a life and finding other shit to worry about spring to mind

Zippy1510 · 01/05/2022 07:26

I would totally buy a goldfish, name it after her and post about it on Facebook

Samarie123 · 01/05/2022 07:28

This is hilarious 😆

Ikeptgoing · 01/05/2022 07:28

"MIL was so kind as to band her new kitten after our baby son, that we thought we'd return the favour. Every pet we gave in future will be named after our wonderful MIL as a tribute. " Smile

nooschmoo · 01/05/2022 07:30

My dad named his new puppy the same as my 6 month old son…😂 I was properly angry at first, but as he got older DS loved it-considers the dog ‘his’ because of it. They’re both now 13. Ddog is looking very old & I’m dreading the inevitable…☹️

wanderingscot · 01/05/2022 07:30

Completely unimportant. Compliment her on the choice or name , with a "what a great name it is 😂😂😂 ", then move on

Laserbird16 · 01/05/2022 07:31

You're unreasonable for naming your son Tibbles/Lucky/Felix and by picking a cat name for him should have anticipated this....but seriously super weird but kind of funny. I would love to know what her thought process was!

LorenzoVonMatterhorn · 01/05/2022 07:34

pollyglot · 01/05/2022 07:21

DM, who didn't like being a GM, could never remember DD's name (she didn't have dementia). She used to say "Your daughter with a name like a salad vegetable". Perhaps we should have named DD after DM's cat...

Lettice ???

Margotshypotheticaldog · 01/05/2022 07:35

Introducing Agnes, the pot bellied pig 😅

Roselilly36 · 01/05/2022 07:42

How old is your DS? Could there be a conversation, where MIL asked him what she should call the kitten, and he said his name. Does seem a little strange otherwise. But a name is a name, nothing worth getting upset over IMHO.

carbay · 01/05/2022 07:46

David in Corrie has a dog called David......it's never seen though so not a problem.

pictish · 01/05/2022 07:51

Very fucking weird. I would have said so too…”Odd choice of name…is there a reason for that? Ok well please don’t.”

BunnyFree · 01/05/2022 07:51

It could be (speculating here) that MIL is subconsciously worried about getting dementia and forgetting her GS's name so she wants to reinforce. Many things could be going on, focus on the DS meeting his namesake and having fun with the kitten/cat as he grows older

WonderingWanda · 01/05/2022 07:55

It is weird but it's done now and there isn't much you can do about. She probably just liked the name and convinced herself you would be flattered that she likes your choice. In reality after the first year of adorning kitten cats bugger off and do their own thing so you might hear a lot about the kitten for a bit but it should calm down after a while and barely get mentioned.

WhereIsMyBrain · 01/05/2022 07:59

Odd but harmless. Maybe she just likes the name and didn’t consider the weirdness. My mother had a dog and a horse both with the same name.

yyydelilah · 01/05/2022 08:03

My DF named the family the dog the same name and ME 😂

Some people just don't think

In hindsight it's an odd thing to do, but as a child it didn't bother me

ssd · 01/05/2022 08:05

We need to know the name now.
Im guessing Milo.

TeaBug · 01/05/2022 08:07

My bil and sil gave their new puppy the same name as my dd. 'Ruby' type of name for example. I was a bit miffed about it and other family members thought it odd. But what can you do?

Crunchymum · 01/05/2022 08:11

Your or DH need to ring her and have a chat with her and find out her reasons / motivations? Is there a variation or similar name you can suggest she uses?

Did no-one on FB ask why she'd named her kitten after her grandchild?

Original poster
JKT007 · 01/05/2022 08:14

Never once said I owned the name. I dont believe a differing opinion to yours is a mentality issue. Each to there own. Was simply opening up the chat to see if it was unreasonable for me to think it was an odd thing to do.

OP posts:
ThinWomansBrain · 01/05/2022 08:17

maybe it's a deliberate ploy to avoid being roped in for future childcare "duty"

Krakenchorus · 01/05/2022 08:19

I have no idea why posters are giving you a hard time, OP, or trying to dismiss it. It is rather bizarre behaviour.

I'd tell her that.

LookItsMeAgain · 01/05/2022 08:20

BruceAndNosh · 01/05/2022 03:37

That's what happens when you call your son Tiddles

PMSL at this!!! Very well done there @BruceAndNosh ! Bravo!!

pictish · 01/05/2022 08:22

JKT007 · 01/05/2022 08:14

Never once said I owned the name. I dont believe a differing opinion to yours is a mentality issue. Each to there own. Was simply opening up the chat to see if it was unreasonable for me to think it was an odd thing to do.

It is an odd thing to do.

Indicatrice · 01/05/2022 08:24

I wouldn’t let it slide, OP, i would ask why on earth have you name yiur cat after my son? There are plenty of other names.

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