Saturday, August 23, 2008

How Sheeba got his name


 
 
I sure wish Sheeba would learn how to relax.
 
Ziggy is curious about Sheeba's name. "You named your cat Sheeba ---- as in Queen of --- yet you call it a him. Now how did that name come to be?"
 
A legitimate question, Ziggy!
 
Ken got Sheeba as a kitten, shortly after we started dating. He wanted a female cat, as we have been told that male cats "spray" their territory, and was told that this kitten was female. When Ken was a little kid, they got a Siamese cat, and Ken kept saying, "It's a her, it's a her!" and his Mom said, "No, it's a she." So that's how She the Siamese cat got her name. Ken says that when they'd go pick up his Dad at the train station, She would ride along in the car!
 
In tribute to She, Ken decided to name his new girl kitty Sheeba. Sheeba was an adorable kitten, but are there any that aren't? As Sheeba got a little older, I was petting him, and I noticed something...actually, TWO somethings. I said, "Uhhh...Honey? I think Sheeba might be a He!" We both took a closer look, and decided that yep, those were balls, alright. I'm glad we noticed before we took him to the vet to be fixed--that would have been embarrassing!
 
We always joke that Sheeba is actually a Heeba. It all turned out okay. There have been a few incidents, but they're rare, and he's a great kitty.
 
Oddly enough, when Cousin Shane got his first cat, he was told that he was getting a male, and named him Boris. As Boris got a little older, Shane discovered the lack of the aforementioned balls! So we have a male cat named Sheeba, and Shane has a female cat named Boris. Such gender confusion!
 
I did great last night with getting to bed early--around midnight!--only to wake up at 3:30, and be restless until 7:30. Argh! I did finally doze back off, but had some really vivid and violent dreams. One of the things that kept me restless was the sound of the window air conditioner...it was making this weird, subtle sound that sounded like someone smacking their lips! I knew I wasn't doing that, and  when I looked over at Ken, he was sleeping soundly, so I finally figured out it was coming from the air conditioner. We think the drainage must be plugged, and the water was dripping out on the deck.
 
Then I got to thinking about sticking your hands and feet out from under the covers. I don't stick them out very far, and I would NEVER let my arm or leg hang down close to the floor. First of all, I wouldn't reach, and secondly, it seems to me that's just asking for a hand to come out from under the bed and GRAB your ankle!
 
So between our lip-smacking air conditioner, my violent dreams, and thinking about getting my ankle grabbed, I had a very restless morning! Things finally settled down and I got some sleep.
 
Off to run errands, then watch more Olympics. I hope everyone is enjoying their day!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL   We had the same problem with out cat... 6 years ago we bought him from a pet store ~ well really you donation $10 for them~ any way my teen was 10 at the time & he wanted a house cat.  We thought it was a female ~ so he named her Samatha.  Well at the first vet appt. we found out that our Samantha was really a Sammy.  LOL

Last year we bought another kitten for Sammy to have for company.  We bought her for a girl & lucked up ~ the vet said she was a girl. LO So we have Tori.....

Hollie

Anonymous said...

The same thing happened to my sisters cat.  They thought it was a he, named it Blackie, to find out it's a girl.  Now we call her Blackette! LOL
Missie

Anonymous said...

The dripping was acutally inside the room, and the smacking is wet carpet.  I am off now to see if I can fix the problem :o)

Anonymous said...

Funny how one little difference can drive you batty at night time....i loved the story of how your kitty and Shane's kitty got their names.
XO

Anonymous said...

K, so I commented on your post about Sheeba, and here you explained it!  I must have my ears covered at night at all times which means that I have to pull up the blankets into a U to cover my ears.  I watched this scary movie when I was about 10, and a monster took the ear of someone, and ever since...
When I nap during the day, I have really violent dreams...sure doesn't stop me though~
xoxo ~myra

Anonymous said...

I had to laugh at the whole ankle thing.

Didn't you know that just a thin sheet will protect you from all the monsters under the bed and the ones that live in the heating vents on the floor?

I've been living with that knowledge since I was just little, and KNEW that tigers lived in the heating vents, next to my bed. As long as I had a sheet over my body, because, sheets are made out of titanium, or something, nothing could harm me.

Now I"m over 40~and it can be 80* in the bedroom and I have that sheet over me. ALWAYS. Takin no chances of losing a limb in the night.

Angel

Anonymous said...

YOU CRACK ME UP!!!!  First, giving us details about Sheeba's TWO SOMETHINGS; then the thought of someone grabbing your ankle... LOL!!!  I NEVER worry about anybody grabbing my ankle ever, you know what I'd worry about if I hung a limb off the bed..... a spider or a cricket..... I haven't found a spider in my apt. for like a year, but still the possibility IS there!!!  And that's just creepy!!!

Joann

Anonymous said...

Sheeba's a fine name and he's a good-looking and obviously laid-back cat.

Jimmy

Anonymous said...

Boris is a beautiful girl. As for Sheeba, I want that cat's life. Typical feline with not a care in the world.

Anonymous said...

I don't think your kitties suffer from gender confusion- I think they are what they are!  And that's the words of an expert!  PS- I once brought in a boy cat to be spayed!  They called me from the vet and said: "are you sure this cat hasn't been spayed? We can't find a uterus!" I told them "no keep looking", then they called back a while later and said "we found balls, what do you want us to do?"  and I said:  "cut 'em off!"  So, Bruiser got spayed and neutered on the same day,  and would never let human hands touch him again!  Can't say that I blame him!

Anonymous said...

I love this story, Beth, and what a wonderful picture of Sheeba... awww... I saw the picture of Boris, too, beautiful!  Hope you are enjoying your weekend!  Hugs! xox
http://journals.aol.com/valphish/ThereisaSeason

Anonymous said...

That happened to me once too!! lol We had a little persian kitten and we neamed her samantha. Well one day I went to cut  furball off of her fur and almost castrated her lol Samanthat was a he. lol....hugs, Christine

Anonymous said...

I got a puppy once that I thought was a boy.  "He" had puppies about a year later.  I was clearly a clueless child. :)   Estela

Anonymous said...

Loved reading about Sheeba...yeah, the stress is probably taking years off!!! ;)
He is handsome fellow.
Lisa