# My new kitten, Kilgore Trout



## KilgoreTrout (May 25, 2009)

Greetings all. I am a new member. After growing up with cats, and spending the last 10 years without, I'm pleased to have a new kitten.









Kilgore Trout is nine weeks old, the son of feral cats, who gave birth under a friend's home. I'm just not sure how to classify him. Is he a (U.S.) domestic medium hair, or short hair?

Thanks for any advice on this.

David Fell


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

Kilgore Trout is beyond cute. Congratulations on adding him to your family.


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## OwnedByACat (Jan 11, 2008)

Welcome! Kilgore Trout is adorable...........and what a very regal name!


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

KilgoreTrout said:


> I'm just not sure how to classify him. Is he a (U.S.) domestic medium hair, or short hair?
> Thanks for any advice on this.
> David Fell


Hi David, and welcome to Cat Forum. I'm afraid I just can't make any determinations about Kilgore Trout with only one photo of him to go by. So, I'll need you to box him up and ship him to me so I can thoroughly examine him and I'll get back to you on that info. Please do not be alarmed if it takes many years. It is a fairly long process, you know, but I'm sure you'd want me to be thorough.


He is lovely! I see he is a "classic" tabby, which is the genetic patter that has the circle/target on the sides/flanks. I love classics as their markings are so wide and beautiful with a great range of color between the tabby markings and inner agouti banded hairs. His fur does look to be a bit on the long-ish side, so DLH. There is only long or short haired cats, but since there is a difference in length between many long hairs, we (general public) tend to classify them as DMH, and I guess that would be fine until he matures into his adult coat and you can then make a better evaluation.
He really is cute. Are you sure you wouldn't like to send him to me?
heidi =^..^=


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

Welcome to you and your _exceedingly handsome_ young fellow Kilgore! Enjoy the Cat Forum! 

 Fran


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Your young Mr. Trout is adorable! :luv


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## KilgoreTrout (May 25, 2009)

Thanks for the responses. I have some more pictures at http://gallery.me.com/dfell#100034&bgcolor=black&view=mosaic&sel=0


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

"I'm a housecat. Get me outa here!" :lol: 

My favorite!!!


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## OwnedByACat (Jan 11, 2008)

marie73 said:


> "I'm a housecat. Get me outa here!" :lol:
> 
> My favorite!!!


Agreed!  Those have got to be some of the most precious photos ever! You two look very happy to be enjoying each others company!


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## Adrienne123 (May 13, 2009)

What a handsome little guy he is!


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

Agreed! He's totally charming, and you look so happy. Nothing like a new kitty after years without...Here's to a long and adventurous life together...

Fran


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Oh. God. Why? Oh, why?! _Why_ did I click on those photos? Thanks David. 
I've now confirmed that I've got "kitten fever" and YOU gave it to me! :lol: 

It is easy to see how he was able to work his way into your heart so soon. I will throoughly enjoy watching you post pics of him as he grows into a gorgeous cat.
h =^..^=


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

He is a handsome kitten and I bet he will be a gorgeous cat. How did you two meet and how did you choose his name?


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## KilgoreTrout (May 25, 2009)

I'm glad everybody is so taken with him. I did not expect to so completely adore him so fast! :luv I've never had a kitten before, always adopted adult cats in the past. I'm having so much fun exploring new experiences with him. For example, Saturday he had no clue what to do with a cat toy hanging from a string. But after some wrestling between my fingers and his paws, he completely gets it now and loves it.

In answer to katlover13:
Kilgore was in the second of three litters produced by three feral cats who live near a friend of mine. My friend, Stacey, has been taking in the kittens, caring for them, adopting a couple herself and giving the rest to trustworthy friends like me.
Regarding the name; it was my first time naming a cat since I was 5! As I mentioned, my previous cats were all adults, and (with the exception of that one when I was a child) already had names, which we kept. I was trying to think of a name that would be funny, easy to shorten, and pay tribute to something I loved. Kilgore Trout is a character from the late novelist Kurt Vonnegut. I'm a huge fan of Vonnegut, and liked that name. I especially liked that part of it related to a wholly different kind of animal, one that cats would love to eat. And its instantly recognizable to fans of the author, as KT appears in many of Vonnegut's books and short stories.

Incidentally, I opened a Twitter account for Kilgore, although he hasn't tweeted (yet). @KilgoreTrout was already taken, so I took @TroutTheCat. Only later did I discover a twitter account someone else has, called @KilgoreTheCat. Small world!


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

I classify him as ....

*FAR TOO CUTE!!!*

:luv :luv


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## KilgoreTrout (May 25, 2009)

A couple of folks seemed to especially like this photo on my web gallery. I post it here to spread the cuteness.
Kilgore and I were at Loyola Beach in Chicago, the day after we first met.








Caption: I'm a housecat! Get me outa here!


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## seashell (Dec 5, 2003)

Kilgore looks like a cute and fiesty little kitty.
I love the name - I'm also a Vonnegut fan  

seashell


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

KilgoreTrout said:


> I especially liked that part of it related to a wholly different kind of animal, one that cats would love to eat.


I really enjoyed reading about how you chose his name. We have a few cats named/called after different animals. I suppose it started with Silver, whom we called "Mousie", because she startled the husband one day and he thought she was a mouse, so the nickname stuck. We currently have Fabarette, though as a kitten she would 'squirrel' up the front of the speaker cabinets, so I began calling her Squirrely-Jo. S-Jo is my avatar. 
We also have a cat that my husband rescued from his work and we both *really* didn't want to call him "Lucky", but that is what everyone whom we told about, called him. So, we began calling him Lucky-Lou, as a play on looky-loo, and that morphed into "Louie". I also call him "Bread", because there was a fab Italian restaurant near us called Louie Cairo's, and the owner made "Louie Bread", which was a little bread with your garlic. I could *always* tell when my husband had taken corporate visitors out to lunch. Anyhow, back to the animal theme...somehow, Lucky turned into LuckyDuck, and we sometimes call him Duck, or The Duck. 
_We confused our vet one day when we were updating her about 'Duck', though we forgot she only knew him as 'Lucky', so here we were describing our Louie to her, but calling him "Duck" and *she* is imagining a 'duck' we were saying she had treated. After we got everything straightened out, we all had a good laugh...but it is funny how some of our animals get their names._
Have you already called him Trout? I'd be afraid I'd want to call him "Fish". cough*_Abe Vigoda_*cough


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

He is way too cute!


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## KilgoreTrout (May 25, 2009)

Heidi n Q said:


> Have you already called him Trout? I'd be afraid I'd want to call him "Fish". cough*_Abe Vigoda_*cough


I tend to call him Trout when calling for him from another room, or playing with him with a dangling toy, and Kilgore when we're in physical contact. I guess the first name is more intimate, and when I'm reclining in my TV chair he tends to be dozing on my chest. :cat


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Ahhh, you and Kilgore look so happy together. It's a good idea to get him used to a leash when he's young! We look forward to more pictures as he grows.


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