A woman has shared how her sister asked her to change her cat’s name so she can give the moniker to her future daughter – but she doesn’t want to give it up
A woman has sparked a debate after revealing how she used her sister’s ‘reserved’ baby name on her new cat. The 22-year-old explained how her sister Alice, 29, fell pregnant with a baby boy after struggling with fertility issues.
However, as she didn’t find out his gender until his birth, she picked out both a boy’s and a girl’s name so she was ready when the nurse asked her to sign the birth register. Taking to Reddit, she said: “Alice wanted the gender of the baby to be a surprise, so she wouldn’t know until he was born.
When she was talking about girl names, she floated the idea Sandra, and her nickname could be Sandy. She did not end up using the name, and it wasn’t even their pick for the name if it was a girl, it was their second or third choice.”
Now years later, she explained how she recently rescued an orange cat and was struggling to name her as nothing felt right. That was until her friend pitched the name Sandy – and everything ‘fell into place’. She added: “I was trying to think of names that would work, and one of my friends suggested Sandy. This friend did not know that my sister had brought up the name Sandy for her child.
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“I loved the name and decided that was what I was going to be naming her. When I told my parents and sister about this, my sister got kind of quiet and asked if I could change it. She said that Sandy was what she wanted to name her daughter if she had one.
“I honestly did not know she was trying to have another child and did not even make the connection or remember she also liked the name. She said that I should change it and would be an a**hole for ‘stealing her name’.” Wanting to know whether she’s ‘in the wrong’ for wanting to keep the name, she has taken to social media to ask users for their thoughts.
In response, one user said: “If you care about your relationship with your sister – change the name. Trust me, the cat won’t care. It’s not always about being ‘right’.” Another user added: “I’ve been on the receiving end of this before so I may be biased. However, she has fertility issues and she may still be currently experiencing them. That sort of thing can take a huge toll on you emotionally.”
A third user said: “This is ridiculous. There is no reason a cat and your (so-far imaginary) niece who live in separate households couldn’t have the same name. I imagine you’ll all somehow be able to tell the two apart.”
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