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?

Could there be a psychological element to this?

That she can't be as in control of your 'sons name' so now she has her own 'cat with grandsons name' that she gets to be with 24/7 and have full control over?

My uncle was a dairy farmer and named his cows after the females in our family... so there was a Muriel (my mother, his SIL), a Julie (me), etc. That was his sense of humor and as a kid, I thought it was cool to go to his farm... he'd introduce the cows to us by name and smile. :-) Kinda kooky, and I haven't thought about it for years, but it makes me smile to think about it now!

I adopted my brother's dog once, who was called Ben, the same as my eldest son. We just would refer to them as Ben the dog and Ben the boy, to eliminate confusion.

I am surprised by the strength of feeling here in the responses. I just think it isn’t a big deal. I always get surprised by how upset people get about names. Hey- ho, that is just me.

I wish I was as bold as your MIL. I actually got a chance to name my last cat ( all the rest came with names already or were named by other family members) the two names I thought really suited him were already used by family members so he ended up with my third choice name.

We were waiting for our puppy to come home, he’d been born, we’d decided on a name, we got new neighbours a couple of days before said puppy was due home, new neighbour had the same name, I could have cried, I’d always wanted a dog called ‘neighbour name’, he got called second choice, new neighbours moved again 18 months later, too late to change puppies name!

Unacceptable

This is SO WEIRD! I can't believe 1 in 4 people think this is fine!

@JKT007
I don't think it's at all unreasonable for you to find it odd... if my MiL named her cat after my son, I would find it WTAF odd too.

Is she generally a bit bonkers / unaware of other people / gives not one fuck about what others think?

She sounds a character!

That poem about " When I am old I shall wear purple" springs to mind...

Sounds pretty passive aggressive to me

Warning by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

I named one of my kids after my aunties cat and one of my other kids is named after the neighbours dog.

Haha I can imagine this, evil DIL has stolen my son and kitten name!

One of my DC has the same name as FIL's dog. It doesnt bother us and our DC loves sharing their name with 'granda's dog'.

Pretty please, get a female dog, preferably a really derpy looking Boxer, and name it after MIL 😈

It is a bit weird but I named DS2 after my grandad, who happened to have the same name as my childhood cat. Grandad's name was always shortened but cat and DS2 always use the long version.
MIL took in a stray just after DS1 was born and named it the same as DS1.
I guess none of my family are too thoughtful about names!

If I had a dachshund I would name her Daphne. I have an auntie called Daphne.

Look on the bright side, she bought a cute pet and named it the same as her cute grandson.

Would've been a lot worse if she'd got, say a tarantula, and called it your name.

I will drink gin at inappropriate times from china tea cups when I am old. And encourage Daphne to look angelic but nip those I disdain.

I named my elder son after a gerbil. TBF it was actually a family name as well.

My dad named both one of his sons and one of his dogs after himself.

He would never describe himself as imaginative.

@JKT007 I think it is a little odd but it is just a name. Could you ask her how she came about choosing the name or something like that? Maybe she didn't think about it when picking a name or maybe she just really likes the name. Maybe she has always liked the name and told herself that she would use it when she got a pet but your son was born and named the same name before she ended up getting the pet but she still wanted to use it. Maybe it was the name that fitted the cat or the only name that the cat actually responded to. It could end up being quite a sweet sentiment especially if your MIL is very close to your son as he and the pet will probably form a lovely bond together. As long as she doesn't start trying to call your son a different name then just try to roll with it if you can. But without asking her about the name you will never know the reasoning behind it. As long as you have a decent relationship with her then asking shouldn't cause any problems

Yeah its odd her only grandchild and she decides the name of her cat will be the same

is it indiana

Wow! Opinions are really split on this.

I voted YANBU. My DD became good friends with a girl who had the same name as our cat and contrary to all those above who insist it's not a problem, it did cause confusion on occasion, which you just put up with or have a laugh about when it's a coincidence but it's really quite odd and annoying for your MiL to do it on purpose, imo.

I’m sorry but this has made me laugh.
Maybe she’s done it so shes doesn’t forget his name; she might have realised she’s getting forgetful & this is her way of hiding it from the family; especially if she’s a proud woman, admitting your forgetting names; places; dob; is very frightening for some people; don’t judge her to harshly ask her gently to find out what’s going on, then help her if she needs it she will appreciate your understanding so much & if your son questions why has Nannie named her kitten the same as him, just say because your both so cute & gorgeous x

Personally I think it's funny 😄. Saying that, I met a lady who got really upset with me as I have a dog with the same name as her husband. I had the dog before I met her.😅

How does your son, Tiddles, think of the situation?