I’m down with this. If they can avoid going back to the type of writing that got the development punted to Renegade, I’m anticipating a jump in quality of the books going forward.
I’m hoping they can walk the tightrope of edgy lore without resorting to outright racism and sexism. Would also love for werewolves to get more attention in terms of flavour and worldbuilding, and for a new edition of DtF (a guy can dream).
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.
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.
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.
Do not give cats dry food. They need water in their diet because they’re not naturally big drinkers and live prey has a ton of water in its meat and organs. Wet food is the closest we can come to their natural diet without making it from scratch. Check out catinfo.org for more info from a vet about this.
Also, please keep them indoors with lots of opportunities for stimulation and play, including scratching posts. And the general rule for litter boxes is the number of cats + 1, so 2 cats need 3 boxes. When trying out an alternative litter, be prepared for them to hate it and the need to switch to normal litter (I had to do this with pine pellets, they hated the bumpy feeling on their feet); same with food—cats are really picky.