Can you change an adopted pets name?

[IRegretNothing]

We're looking at adopting two male cats from the Blue Cross. They're black and white domestic short hairs and gorgeous! I know it sounds shallow but I'm not keen on their given names.
They're one yr old, would it be ok to rename them? One is currently Nettle (entirely black with beautiful eyes) and the other is Doc (black with white paws and chest and whiskers). I don't mind the name Doc but Nettle just doesn't seem like a nice choice for a cat.

Do they ignore their new names just the same way they ignored their old ones?
Cos, well they're cats and cats don't give a toss.

Our rescue cat was called Tiger which we changed to Harry
Then Harry had kittens so we renamed him /her Harriet.
But she was also called Pushcat, Honeybunch, Damn Cat, Gorgeous and a few others.
She answered to none of them!

....which they can learn to ignore....

Haha! Well, they do come running when I call for them but I may as well be shouting out gobbledygook!
breakfast I call them both Pushcat too (sometimes in a Sean Connery voice) they just blink at me slowly, like I'm a loon!

Oh yes, photos! Now let me see here...

We renamed our girls. We had a clash between one of the kittens and dd's baby nickname!

They're cuddly cats. Not so fussed about being on your lap, but will snuggle up beside you and sort of wrap their paws around you as if to say "mine!"
Leo is looking v grumpy but he's such a softie. They seem to have long sprawling legs with such cute paws!!!

Aw they're lovely glad they've found a great home together.

Don't think cats mind their bane eh get changed at all as long as their slaves do their bidding

Mine had her name changed by the rescue centre as when previous owner sent her for rehoming the rescue already had a cat of that name. I was going to rename her but she suits what they'd called her so I kept it.

Rescues often give cats names that link e.g. A mother and kittens and strays that come in together or get on. It can be difficult for them if they've got a lot of cats. Band names, flowers, James Bond villains, it can get silly but if it helps the rescue staff to know who is who that's good. Dock & Nettle were clearly botanical. Kit and Leo good feline names!

What HUGE back paws in that third picture!

Botanic I can imagine it must get very hard to keep track! I had been looking to rescue for a while and noticed that some centres clearly had Harry Potter or Game of Thrones fans working there!!
It makes me wonder why the boys were called what they were. Perhaps they were found near nettles or something. They are so very gentle and definitely look to us for assurance so I wouldn't be surprised if they had been hand reared or their mother was rescued when pregnant or something. All other cats I've been around have been more standoffish and independent.
When my dc are playing on the floor in the living room the boys will leave their blanket in the windowsill and just sit by them for company. They are not phased by our 4 yr old dd's sometimes overenthusiastic petting (I make sure she stops as soon as she starts) and are so laid back.

I know cozie! Kit is much larger than Leo and the vet remarked how long he was. They're kind of gangly. They'll often fall off the sofa when blissed out from rubs, they're almost clumsy.
I was surprised at how much they dream. The other day Leo was clearly eating something delicious in his dreams and Kit was actually sighing with happiness whilst asleep yesterday. I grew up with cats but they were outdoors cats. These boys are just a delight getting to know their personalities and quirks. I'm a total cat lady now!

What lovely boys and they totally suit their new names . When we got our pup from Battersea we used the name they had given him as one of his middle names ( he has 2) .

That's a nice idea floral
If I could, I would give the boys a millionty names as I have so many of them I wanted to use. I guess I'll just have to get more cats to use up all my names...

Iregretnothing your boys sound just lovely and a great addition to the family.
Perhaps the rescue were on a botanical theme when yours arrived? or yes found out in the wild. As dock leaves cancel out nettle stings perhaps it was a yin/yang thing meaning they were meant to be regimes together I do love to hear happy stories of pets finding their new families and forever homes!

Regimes together? Rehomed!

We changed our cat's name as it was Beanie at the rescue place - cute for a kitten but not very dignified for a grown up (or for his human when calling him in in the middle of the night). He learned his new name very quickly, not that he responds most of the time but I can tell from the way his ears swivel that he knows he's being called.