One time, I got a job at a large, chain electronics store as a warehouse associate. They already had a guy there named Tim, but they immediately decided that they liked me more than him, and renamed that Tim (that worked there for 2 years) to “Other Tim.”
“Other Tim.”
OT
Actually a badass nickname though, I would have leaned into that. But Other Tim doesn’t seem cool enough for that
Worked at a place with a guy named Todd. Then we got another Todd who was less than bright. He got nicknamed Re-Todd.
Literally othered
My cousin dated two guys named Dewey (back to back, too). When she introduced the second one to us, we called him Dewey Twoey
The enchanter!
Using Maxwell as the pic breaks the illusion of the story.
Human Connor should know his place
My name is Connor, I am the
AndroidCat sent byCyberlifethe Cat Distribution System 😼at least I’m not the only one whose mind went there
the cat in the picture is named Maxwell. he’s a lad.
I would be honored to be called Human Sanctus if there was already a cat with my name.
As a Connor myself I would be totally cool with being called human Connor
And i think we know about as much as we need to about Human Conner.
While I think it’s fun and I personally have fun when colleagues share the same name as me, I believe it’s a form of harassment and bullying if you request not to be called something other than your name and people at work, a professional environment, refuse to do so.
Honorifics work well in cases like this. Call the cat Connor-sama and the human Connor-kun.
Jokes aside, it’s probably easier for the cat to learn to ignore “Human Connor” than it is to learn a new name for themselves, right?
It’s probably easier for the human to recognise “Human Connor” than it is for the cat to learn a new name, right?
The cat isn’t going to understand ‘human’ either, so it’s just <human noises> CONNER <more human noises, where are the treats?>
Cats can definitely recognize phrases made up of multiple words, as words themselves don’t have a meaning for them.
I’m not sure, maybe we underrate them. I knew of a dog that also answered to being called by two different names, it was so amusing when I saw it.
I mean, who DOESN’T have a pet that responds to both “[real name]” and some variant of “Shithead”?
they don’t respond to shithead, but they get called shithead
Mine responds to: her name, bitch, dog, and puppy.
I don’t doubt that they can learn it, but it will probably take the cat longer than the human. Sounds totally fair to keep that in mind.
I dunno, I changed my cat’s name after my ex left (she named him Tiny Rick and I thought that was fucking stupid) and he bounced right back. He was maybe 3 at the time. It’s been nearly 8 years and he comes when called by his “new” name just fine.
Sure, I’m not saying it doesn’t work. But it’s probably gonna be pretty confusing for the cat to hear its name for no reason. I’m assuming you didn’t run around saying “Tiny Rick” every day for those 8 years?
To the cat, wouldn’t saying its name at all be for “no reason,” even if it understands its name? It can’t really infer human reasoning unless it’s got something to do with feeding it or offering some other kind of direct interaction.
Getting a cat to come when called mostly hinges on its ability to recognize a benefit to coming over, not on its ability to recognize a specific word (though you can use a word as reinforcement once the desired behaviour is achieved). This is how you can train a cat to come when you say anything at all — its name isn’t a magic word that unlocks secret cat behaviour, it’s about the conditioning behind it.
All that to say that animals can recognize and respond to a new name, word, or action pretty easily when you use treats and positive reinforcement. My other cat (who recently passed away 😭) came running when I tapped my fingers on the ground because that was heavily associated with giving him treats and pets; I didn’t have to use his name to have him look at me or come over, he just did it based on the expectations that I fostered in him.
To the cat, wouldn’t saying its name at all be for “no reason,” even if it understands its name? It can’t really infer human reasoning unless it’s got something to do with feeding it or offering some other kind of direct interaction.
I wasn’t talking about the cat understanding human reasoning. Animals learn to respond to their names because they learn that certain things will happen after (e.g. getting food, pets, getting scolded or whatever). If then suddenly they keep hearing the same name, but all the interactions they’ve learned are stopped, they’ll be very confused.
Imagine if other people suddenly decided to change your name without telling you why, but they keep using your name every day. Wouldn’t feel nice, would it? It’s one thing if you totally stop using the name (like with “Tiny Rick”), but that’s not what the post is about.
If then suddenly they keep hearing the same name, but all the interactions they’ve learned are stopped, they’ll be very confused.
Why would that happen? I’m confused as to why you would stop petting your cat and giving them treats (assuming that this is normal for you) just because you changed its name.
Also I’m trans, so I have experienced being called the wrong name and have noticed that people picked up on verbal cues and used the name others used for me, which is sort of what happens with an animal when you start using a different name for them. They naturally adjust because their name doesn’t actually matter to them.
I (and my family) have adopted several cats who all had completely different names either at their previous homes or at the pound. Tiny Rick’s original name was Thomas, just FYI, so it was changed twice actually. It really isn’t the huge deal you’re making it out to be.
Why would that happen? I’m confused as to why you would stop petting your cat and giving them treats (assuming that this is normal for you) just because you changed its name.
I’m obviously not talking about no longer petting your cat. The whole topic of discussion is “should a cat called Connor suddenly no longer be called Connor”. The cat would still hear the name “Connor” every day, but they suddenly no longer get the interactions they associate with the name.
Am I now being clear? The situation you described (name of cat changes, old name is no longer used) is simply different.
The cat been responded to “connor” for so long, adding a “human” or “cat” at the front mean nothing to them.
I think they can learn to ignore “human Connor” fairly quickly when they don’t get the response they know/want.
Fake. You telling me people on that board have office job?
It’s exactly the guy in the office you would expect
I know that’s a joke, but I worked with a friend who’d regularly discuss 4chan with me. I also sadly witnessed him slowly go from just laughing at Trump to supporting him, though that was back in 2015-2016. I moved and stopped using Facebook, so I haven’t had any recent contact with him.
Edit whoops, this is cats. If politics isn’t allowed here I can edit this.
💀
Btw, this is cats. Only highest level of politics is allowed here.
I would love to have that nickname
I’d totally run with that and say you can call me HC for short!
HC does work nicely and I’d 100% go by that. I’m learning Spanish and if my name was Connor I’d ask for MC - Mejor Connor = Better Connor.
I’d hop onto every Zoom call and open with “Mic Check 1, 2, 1, 2”
“My friends call me Jesus.”
You don’t fuck with the Jesus
I just want people to be called by their preferred names and pronouns
I doubt Human Connor is going to be actually upset about this tbh
He’s upset enough that he voiced his preference. Choosing to ignore that stated preference might be fine in this context, or it might not be. But, assuming that someone is not actually upset about a behavior that they’ve requsted change seems like an unnecessary leap of faith.
It also seems like an unnecessary leap of faith to assume somebody is actually feeling usurped by a cat.
I mean, we can only go off of what is presented in the story, while acknowledging it’s 4chan and therefore both fake and gay. Within that frame, the new guy has been tagged with a nickname, he has mentioned to his colleagues that he’d prefer they not call him the nickname, and they are continuing to call him the name he’s expressly said he’d prefer they didn’t use. That’s a textbook hostile work environment, at a minimum.
Did they ever ask the cat what it’s preferred name is?
“Just Call me human John Smith!”
Day 163 they still dont know im a kitten with legal license.
