Is calling a cat Fatty offensive?

fattykitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
227
Purraise
2
Location
With the fuzzbutts
My mom recently decided that she couldn't stand calling Fatty Fatty anymore. She said it was rude and offensive. Fatty is now Maddie. I disagree. Since Fatty is really quite skinny, I think it is funny in an oxymorony (lol, that's not a word) way. What is your take?
 

trillcat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2008
Messages
1,738
Purraise
2
Location
Wisconsin
I call my cat La Diabla, is that offensive? If she ever stops become the devil I will let you know.

I can see from a cat going from fat to sinny getting a new nickname, but she will know fattY
They know all sorts of names, (I often wonder how they keep up with them all, dogs and any other critters too!)
 

clpeters23

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
1,920
Purraise
1,368
Location
Chicagoland, Illinois, USA
When he was a tiny kitten I named Rocky after one of my favorite movie characters (the big muscular boxer) . I've always liked naming little animals with "big" names. I don't find it offensive whatsoever!
 

Asteria

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 2, 2006
Messages
1,944
Purraise
16
I call my tiny kitty "fatty" and many different forms of it. It's definitely irony; when I put her on the home scale it says "error." She's just always been petite. Her most recent new nickname is "Mammoth Butt."
 

missymotus

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
9,234
Purraise
254
Originally Posted by fattykitty

Since Fatty is really quite skinny
I think you'll find a lot of Fatty's are skinny, and a lot of skinnies are chubby


A friend owns a pure white cat called Blackie.
 

mommacat0907

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jun 17, 2009
Messages
47
Purraise
1
Location
us
me and my boyfriend call our one cat jack "fatty" sometimes.. i dont think its offensive.. the cat doesn't know the difference or the meaning.. lol.. we call him that (though he is very skinny thats why we find it funny too..) because he has never eaten people food but if you have it in your hands he is in your face.. lol.. he just wants to be nosy and see what your putting in your mouth.. we always say "ok fatty you cant have any.." lol.. but ya the same thing he's not fat at all it's just funny..
 

katiemae1277

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Nov 28, 2005
Messages
20,445
Purraise
17
Location
NE OH
I call my Atlas Fatty Atty...and that's because he's fat
I personally think he likes it
 

butzie

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
5,299
Purraise
1
Location
Secret Santa Land
My friend calls her big male tabby "Toughie" because he is such a softie. She could have called him "Skinny," too.


What can be offensive? We call them for dinner, don't we?
 

momofmany

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
16,249
Purraise
70
Location
There's no place like home
A lot of us have weird nicknames for our cats, but honestly I've never officially named a cat what I call it as a nickname. We had an orphaned kitten (Scarlett's sister) who my husband called "Large Marge" cause she was twice Scarlett's size. I argued with him and told him we would give her the official name of Maggie. We still called her Large Marge but the vet paperwork said Maggie.

Our OTB Bogart had chronic sinus problems. He answered to Booger Boy most of his life. Our OTB dog Ellie Mae loved to roll her body in cow poop. We called her "The Smell".

Keep Fatty as the nickname, particularly if he is skinny.
 

gingersmom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 11, 2006
Messages
8,028
Purraise
22
My Baby Bonnie is staring to appear as if she isn't going to grow very much bigger (taller) at all - she's 9 months old now, and still has the stature of a large kitten with a very small head. Almost a munchkin, maybe just a tad larger.

However, she's a complete piglet and always has her head in the food dish or if I'm eating, she tried to jam her face in my food.


I've just started calling her "Porkie-pie" because she's growing a belly, and when I weighed her two weeks ago she was 8 pounds already!


So Porkie-pie is her new nickname, and I have no qualms about calling her that.
 

pushylady

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 26, 2005
Messages
16,398
Purraise
451
Location
Canada
It's not like they know the meaning of the word. I call Pushkin fatty and variations on that theme, because he is a fatty with lovely jubbly cuddliness.
 

tierre0

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 17, 2007
Messages
7,256
Purraise
1
Location
on the shores of Georgian Bay
Well I guess if they aren't offended by it we shouldn't be either...I have a tendency to call my Pixie Miss Piggly Wiggly and it is because she's a butterball. She doesn't seem to mind, in fact she usually rubs up against me and purrs because she usually gets a treat when she hears that name...
 

myfamiliars

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 12, 2008
Messages
4,049
Purraise
3
Location
Cold and lovin' it in MN
My Shadow is bigger than his brother, Raven (who is very lean), and he (Shadow) has a chubby face. So, I call him my "Chubby Shudsy" and my "Pudgy Shudsy", but in a very cooing sort of voice. He loves it because I'll pet and scritch him as I say it to him. I don't think it's a big deal.
 

nekochan

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
2,760
Purraise
22
Location
Chicago, IL
In my opinion, it is only offensive if you call someone else's cat that or if you are saying it with the purpose of being mean.

I have one kitten who has always been larger than his littermates and at about 6-7 months or so he also started getting chubby. His name is Spot but I never call him Spot (well, sometimes Spottykins, but never Spot). I call him Chubby, Chub-chub, my giant kitten, Big Boy, Fattycatty, etc...

I am not being mean when I call him those things, I say it affectionately. He is now the biggest cat in the house, he even weighs more than our Maine Coon so I think he earned those nicknames.
 

c1atsite

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 22, 2002
Messages
3,175
Purraise
15
Location
new york city
Often I call Daisy "Fatty" (or FAT-tee, with a faux British accent, LOL) but I try not to say it too much. A few months ago it was getting out of hand (meaning my overuse of the nickname, not her weight)
 

sandtigress

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 26, 2005
Messages
2,597
Purraise
4
Location
Texas
I called Chay fat once, and he gave me a very annoyed meow. I think he knew what I was saying.
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
I don't think it's offensive to the cat, but it could be offensive to a human who is sensitive about their weight to be introduced to a cat named Fatty......probably best to keep the pejorative terms as affectionate nicknames and give the cat a less offensive "real name".
 

diggerled

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
355
Purraise
11
Location
southern Indiana
I named my newest kitty Marlow after a narcisistic, sociopath. The murderous character from the HBO series "The Wire".
Sweetest cat. What's a name?
 
Top