“Veterinarians, What Are The Funniest Pet Names You’ve Had Come Into Your Clinic?” (65 Stories)
Working as a vet can be incredibly stressful and challenging, yet also deeply fulfilling. And it helps if you and your clients have a good sense of humor. Like when you realize that you’ll be treating pets with the names Big Dog, Chicken Salad, and Greg From Accounting.
Humor-loving veterinarians revealed the funniest names of the pets that have ever come into their clinics, and their stories are brilliant. We’ve collected the best ones to chase away the winter blues and bring a bit of sunshine into your life. Scroll down for a big dose of laughter.
This post may include affiliate links.
My personal favourite is a dog named Woofgang, which inspired me to name my cat Meowzart.
My friend named her black cat Edgar Allan Purrr.
Once I saw a cat on Twitter named Hercule Purrot. Later I read, they had another cat named Catticus Finch.
All jokes aside for a moment, working as a vet can be physically, mentally, and emotionally draining.
According to one recent study, the biggest job-related burdens that veterinarians think they have to deal with are bureaucracy, animal suffering, and communication with animal owners.
However, in reality, bureaucracy has a much smaller negative effect on mental health than financial concerns. The latter, while not ranked by vets in the study as a main stressor, has the strongest correlation with impaired mental health.
Vet tech here. Best one was a tiny little Chihuahua named "Bone Crusher." He was owned by an amateur body builder. Guy was like 6'4" and close to 300 lbs. Funny situation all in all.
I don't remember the cat :( (But also: a friend had a small pinscher who was named Tyson after... Mike Tyson. He did have the colouring of a rottweiler, just not the size...)
Load More Replies...There is a funny guy on YouTube called Jonny Devany. He does a bunch of skits about dogs. One of them was involving a guy trying to guess the personality of a dog by the name. It went something like: What about, Ki.ll.er, Chomper, or King Pain? Total Lovebug. OK, how about if the dog is named Twinkle, Fluff, or Marshmallow? It will end your bloodline. I believe the dog in question was a Pittie, so the name thing makes sense.
I met a cat named Maybelline at the vet which I thought was a great name because it comes with a built-in theme song. Like someone walks into the room and says, "Who knocked over the vase?" And you sing, "Maybe it's Maybelline.".
NAV, but in high school my friend had an iguana named mariguana.
Meanwhile, Reviving Veterinary Medicine explains that some of the biggest challenges that vets face at work include financial constraints, client expectations, emotional attachments, and burnout due to their massive workload.
Other major issues include ethical dilemmas, compassion fatigue, legal and professional pressure, and problems with team dynamics.
Coping with the emotional toll of the job can be incredibly difficult, so vets need to learn to balance their empathy and compassion with emotional boundaries, self-awareness, and consistent self-care.
Not a vet but my sister has a beta fish named Swim Shady.
I had a gorgeous male betta whom I named The Stig (I'm a huge Top Gear fan.) I hope to keep a betta again someday; they're lovely fish :)
Wanker. A terrier mix who was actually pretty cool and not a wanker in any sense. Also a blind and deaf dog named Helen Smeller.
Oh my goodness, I love weird names for pets, but even in America I couldn't name a dog Wánker XD Just think about calling for them - "Heeeere, Wánky!"
Not a vet, but my husband named a feral tabby cat we adopted Alt-Tab because he'd make us switch from whatever task we were working on when he wanted attention or food.
For those less shortcut-savvy, alt-tab is the shortcut to switch window to window
What are the funniest pet names that you’ve ever heard in real-life, dear Pandas? What names did you give your own beloved pets? How did you come up with them, and where did you look for inspiration?
Are there any vets in the audience today? If so, what are the biggest pros and cons of your job?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
Had a neighbor once who had two massive Rottweilers and allowed their young daughter to name them -- Big Dog and Glitter.
IANAV but a saw a poster for a missing cat named Chairman Meow.
My aunt and uncle used to have a lovely white cat named Dumptruck. i miss Dumptruck.
My friend used to have a cat named Chicken Salad. He currently owns a cat named Grandma.
One of my old co-workers and his partner named their cats Noodle and Egg XD
I always wanted to have an animal named peeve so I could say "this is my pet peeve".
There's a very enjoyable fantasy book trilogy by Tanith Lee (Black Unicorn, Gold Unicorn, and Red Unicorn) that included a species of animal called "peeves". The main character, Tanaquil, ends up getting adopted by one (similar to our Cat Distribution Series) and names it "The Peeve" or "Peeve" XD Always gave me a laugh as a kid.
There's a pot belly pig living next door to me... I've called him Notorious P.I.G.
My husband use to work at a Humane Society vet office. He was up for adoption, not in for vet care, but once a rooster came in named Cluck Norris. (This was in Reno, Nevada).
Worked at a daycare, my favorite was "diogi" (d-o-g).
I'm no Vet, but my wife and I adopted an adult cat who was originally named Sammy, but I wasn't satisfied with a pet that didn't have an 80s reference for a name so I tried for Mr. Roboto, I got vetoed on that so I went with Domo Hairy Gato instead.
Side note: I'm no longer married, but still have Domo aka The Domonater, Lord Bishop Grand Admiral Marshal of the Noms.
Leonardo DiCatio; Zombie Apocalypse.
I know a dog called Askit,
So when people inquire about the dog's name, the owner says, "Askit".
My cats name growing up was Edward Scissor Paws.
Sounds like our kitten, who is lobbying to have his nickname changed to 'Pricklefoot'.
Vet tech here, we did a minor surgery on a cat named Bastard yesterday. Nowhere near the top but I can't remember the ridiculous ones off the top of my head.
I mean, unless the cat is a purebred from a breeder who purpose-bred the parents together... aren't all non-purebred cats technically bástards? XD Or I guess since cats don't get married.... ALL cats are bástards XD I'm a bástard myself!
Not a vet, but if any of the ladies from our vet place were here, they'd probably tell the story of me bringing in my sister's cat to be spayed. And I had to look them in the eyes and tell them this tiny, buzzing calico girl was named "Batman."
As the lady behind the counter put it, "We've had a couple other pets named Batman. None of them were girls, though."
As to why her name was Batman, my sister, who was in her 30's at the time, just insisted repeatedly that "Batman is a cool name for a girl.".
When I was 6 I named our dog Kitty.
Awesome. I went to elementary with a kid whose dog was Kitty and his cat was Puppy.
DVM Student here.
I've met:
* A cat named Paperwork
* A cat named Monkeyslap
* A toy Schnauzer named Snackpack
* And a Great Dane named "Left Boot"...
His human was a 7 year old boy who yelled at me because I misread his name which was written "L. Boot" Which I assumed was a kid trying to write "El Boots".
I was like "El Boots" is an adorable name, did you think of that?" He yelled at me and said, "NO, HE'S JUST ONE BOOT. LEFT BOOT."
Also, my Leopard Gecko's name is Fitzlizard Darcy...
When I was a kid, my parents got me a white rabbit, who I (of course) named Snowball. Snowball escaped into the backyard one day, and while she was fine (the backyard is completely fenced in) she apparently somehow mated with a wild rabbit during the brief duration of her escape. She had three kits in her litter, but only two survived. I was like 6 and I named them Paws and Muzzle. Guess where their white markings were... XD So I understand the kid naming his dog Left Boot!
Not a vet, but my buddy has a cat named Lucipurr.
I work at a vets, we had to do a call back for advice on a cat named Ballbag.
My sister used to work at a doggy daycare, and there was a dog whose name was Dammit. "Come inside, Dammit!".
Not a Vet, but I do work with animals. We had a dog named Lunchbox. Still can’t get over that.
They found him hiding in an empty lunchbox? They found him hiding in an formerly full lunchbox?
Worked at a day care, bulldog named Potato, was a favorite.
Used to be a vet tech. There was a dog named Possum. Thought that was an odd name, until you walked up to the dog and it dropped to the ground and rolled over onto it's back. Most fitting name ever.
If you ask the dog to play possum did it play possum or yelled possum it played possum?
Not a vet but my neighbour had a dog called deefer (d for)... The dog's name was literally 'deefer dog' (d for dog) .
My friend named her cat Albus Purrrrrcival Wool-fric (he's SUPER fluffy) Brian Fluffledore. She calls him by his full name in all it's glory when he is naughty.
My brother's cat was called Tiba. He didn't want a cat, it kind of moved in. He took it to the vet and, because it didn't have a name was marked "TBA" (To Be Announced).
Funniest name I ever heard of (Not a vet) was "Serenity meow".
I have a rescue husky who was abandoned at a petrol station in Cyprus. We named him Diesel.
Grandpa is a vet, but these pets were in the family.
"Migraine" - yellow lab,
"Alfonzo Horatio Montego III" - I don't know what breed he was. He was about 70 lbs,
"Henry Jesus" - huge gray and spotted Shepard that was born an only child.
"Mecca" or "Mecca Lecca High Mecca Hiney Ho" - Her b**t had so much emotion.
There's more but those are the ones off the top of my head.
Okay, not a vet, but my bf and I were walking through campus one night. We hear vicious barking nearby, followed by a stern, male voice saying "be quiet, Biscuit!"
Just the juxtaposition of the downright feral growling and the fact that the dogs name was Biscuit had us in stitches.
Had a cat come in named Ghostface Killah once. He was all black with a white "mask" on his face so it fit pretty well.
Not as funny, but my friend's childhood cat was named Shades because he was white with 2 tabby circles on the top of his head that looked like he was wearing sunglasses pushed back
Not a vet but my mom named her guinea pigs Scratch and Sniff. We also have a dog who was originally named MJ (As in Mary Jane, not Micheal Jackson. We had a dog named Spidie (which is a short form of Spiderman) at the time so it fit) but was nicknamed Noodle after getting a spaghetti noodle stuck to her face for half an hour. This is now what she responds to and therefore her name. Noodle's a good dog.
Also, my goldfish was named Magikarp. This is the only one that was entirely my fault. The other ones were my parents' ideas.
My friend got a kitten for her son and he named it Shoe.
I work at a doggie daycare. We have had a mini aussie named Crowbar, a cavalier named Chanel No. 5, and a schnoodle named Mr. Pickles. Also, one client with the last name Crowe got her dog from a shelter and kept the name they gave him, which is Jim.
The best name for a mini Aussie shepherd is Melvin! Nicknames included; Melbourne, melatonin, melvins and who's a good pup. 😁
Crazy cat lady here. The best pet names I’ve heard are Speed Bump for a tortoise and Schrodinger for a cat. I’m stealing that one.
Now remembering the politician(?) Tweeting about running over a turtle/tortoise on the road.. 🫤
My parents rescued a staffordshire terrier and a pitbull mix. Staffie was named Bogart (Bogie for short) and my parents didn't change his name. My dad started calling him BigHead. Now he only responds to BigHead. His name is down as BigHead on vet and groomer records. People think my dad is being mean until they see this dog. He really does have a rather large head.
Our cats are Maverick and Goose.
I wonder if Goose is an orange cat XD DOUBLE the character references!
Dog in my service dog class was named toast.
Am a tech. Once had a olive yellow lab named Dawg at some point. Last week we had this really small yet chuncky chihuahua named Walnut who couldnt keep her tongue in her mouth. There was a dog I was instructed to not even go near as he's extremely aggressive and needs to be calm for his groom. His name is Hayden so I'm expecting some giant GSD or something. No. It was a small all brown, ancient cocker spaniel.
Well, spaniels were bred as hunting/bird dogs initially, so they can sometimes retain a prey drive that can lead to aggression, especially once they get older and hurty.
Veterinarian here.
Upinsmoke ( a Persian cat)
Car number nine ( another cat)
A lady with 4 cats - Elvis , Bosom, Jesus and Barbara
Dog called Sol ( our Sol = arsole)
Bat man, a cat with facial markings like a mask
The Kid Sampson = a bulldog
The nurses name all wild crows Russell and seagulls, Steven
Forgot about Bizzle Chips (bullmastif) and Gravel (my own dog) Gravel had a gritty childhood.
Oh, man, you *just* missed the chance to say that 'Gravel had a gritty backstory'!
We have a regular customer who has named their cat, “ cat” but in binary code.
Another vet tech here, we did surgery recently on a 20ft anaconda named "Satan".
If I ever had a snake, it would be tempting to name it 'Jormungandr' or some funny take on that.
NAV but had a kitten named "fishbait" when I was a kid.
My nephew named his cat Farmer and his dog Pancake.
Not a vet, but have friends with cat named battlestation.
Tiny 3month old baby kittrn that barely meowed named...Khal Drogo.
A cow named Freaky Girl.
Vet tech in training, we had a rabbit come through with a German name that translated to lunch meat I think lol.
My husband's parents had two cats named Watson and Crick. Now they just have Crick, who is a marshmellow of a cat.
Not a vet, but work at a vet clinic (kennel worker). We had two dogs come in named "Peanut Butter" (male) and "Butter Cookie" (female). Both responded exclusively to "Butter."
Another time, we had a mean pom named "Puppylove.".
I think we should name our children the same way we name our pets. Mine are Billy the Kit, and Chompsky.
My dog name is Tsuki, sometimes I say that is "moon" in Japanese, but her full name is really Katate Tsuki! I'll put a photo of a katate tsuki in my next comment...
My brother had an outside cat that was so terrified of the coyotes it lived on top of the house. Everyday my brother would just throw food up on the roof...he eventually named it Rufus. Best. Name. Ever.
I adopted a bunny but the shelter had no information on the bunny. I took it blindly cause I loved it at first sight. I got home and let it out the cage it came with and I couldn't touch this rabbit for 3 months. I ended up naming it 'Val' since I had no info and couldn't touch the darn thing I figure 'Valerie' if it was a girl -very pretty name I thought- if it was a boy it will be Valanar -the lead male in a vampire group in world of warcraft- well the bunny turned out to be a girl but she was feisty and wouldn't hesitate to beat anyone up if their presents wasn't wanted. She still became a Valanar for fitting the name. I had her forever and I miss her very much. I miss her grumpyness but she did become a great companion after a while when knowing I wasn't going to just dump her like previous owner did and not knowing what she went through
Couldn’t think of a name so we called her No Name. Added an accent over the an and said it like a French word. No-naaaahh-may. She’s 15 now. And is NoNàme on all her paperwork!
I had a dog with a brindle coat, so we named her Benga (like Bengal tiger). One day, Benga was acting goofy so I said 'you're a ding dong' and she tilted her head. She liked that word and became BingBong for about 3-4 years
My dad's cats are Tango and Cash, and I call my mom's dog Sir Barksalot.
...is Knucklehead's dad the friend you're talking about? XD (you both mentioned cattos named Tango and Cash, lol)
Load More Replies...My dog is registered with the kennel club as Kermit The Dog, I call him Kermie Wormy for short
My three turtles "Rotwangenschmuckschildkröten" I had as a teen were called Ramses, Agamemnon and Nofretete. It was my old egyptians/greeks phase.
Had a friend who named her parrot Chicken. Whenever it got mouthy she would ask if it wanted to meet the Colonel.
Had a cat named Lazarus (long story but came back from the dead basically 3 times. A sheltie named flipper as a kid (i was into the show flipper the dolphin). Gabi because when i brought her home (found on the side of the road) she never stopped meowing. About 2 weeks later stopped meowing. She didnt talk much after that. My cat carma latte also called pretty pretty princess. Neighbors daughter named their cat pudding.
My 2 are Sparkle Farts (golden retriever who managed to clear a shop with the smell when only a puppy) & Catfink, elderly grumpy rescue oap kitty 😁
I took in my granddaughter's hamster because it turned out a sibling was allergic. She had named the female hamster "Captain Slinky."
If I ever get a young pet or two I would name it Zapod Bebblebrox or name one Zapod and the other Bebblebrox.
My vet thought it hilarious when I used to bring in 'Mumma B......'s (my name) Baby Boy Bugs......
I used to train dogs, and one of my first students was a chihuahua named Finally (they finally got a dog after many years)
As a child, we had a polydactyl we named "Twinkle Toes;" we also ahd a "Mama Cat."
Still my fave is the tiny white Pomeranian named C*mlord. The worst is some idiot influencer how named his kitten Asteroid Destroyer. Pretty obvious he was so proud of that d*****s name because every video after that had him telling people his kitten's name. He's also the type to get d*****s, s****y tattoos for content.
Sorry, friend, but "Asteroid Destroyer" is an awesome and hilarious name for a cat. It's on par with naming your cat "Dumpster" because you found them in a Dumpster or "Chicken Nugget" because they're an orange cat. I'm sad you think a name as tame as "Asteroid Destroyer" (which isn't offensive or a slur or anything awful, just silly) is a "dumbáss" name.
Load More Replies...My schnoodle is Maisie Jane Waffles (My last name.) She is however, listed with the AKC (her parents were purebreds) as Maisie J Redstorm, which is not my last name. I just like the name Maisie, the Jane comes from a good friend who passed away right before I got Maisie and the Waffles is because she smelled like maple syrup when I picked her up.
Interesting. Schnoodles and all "doodle" dogs are mixed-breed mutts, not an actual breed, so I didn't know you could register them with the AKC, as it is an organization focused on actual breeds and not "designer dog" mixed breeds. I know the AKC does not recognize any doodle type as an official breed.
Load More Replies...I think you all know my crazy, nerdy names for my current horde of pets XD but when I was a kid, my first cat (a tuxedo boy) was named (in full) Kazarothian James-Joseph Skandranon Rashkae Sheean III. There had not been a Kaz the first or second, he was just the third de novo XD His "first" name was a combination of a character from my favorite cartoon at the time (Kaz from Exo-Squad) and Azeroth (from the Warcraft games... yes, way before WoW. This was in like 1993.) My second cat was named Wintressia. The vet staff had the hardest time with pronouncing it whenever they'd try to call us into a room, so I eventually said "Just call her Win." (Her name was pronounced Win-tress-ee-uh but I understand the difficulty.) Fenring's full, registered name is literally "Fenringus von Dingus, The Failed Kwisatz Haderach" XD (It's a reference to my favorite book, Dune.)
My SIL named her cat Kylo Ren because she (my SIL) likes Adam Driver. My brother named his cat after Nina Simone. I named one of our family pets Jack after the dog in "Tales of the Gold Monkey" (I'm dating myself with that one) and one Fleur after Nick's sister in "Forever Knight".
I liked the character Julia Sugarbaker so I named my cat Dixie after Dixie Carter who played Julia on "Designing Women."
Load More Replies...Some of these made me sad. Pets know when you're laughing at them, so giving them a laughable name is just mean.
I am pretty sure Lou aka Pumpkinhead doesn't care as long as he gets treats
Load More Replies...I think we should name our children the same way we name our pets. Mine are Billy the Kit, and Chompsky.
My dog name is Tsuki, sometimes I say that is "moon" in Japanese, but her full name is really Katate Tsuki! I'll put a photo of a katate tsuki in my next comment...
My brother had an outside cat that was so terrified of the coyotes it lived on top of the house. Everyday my brother would just throw food up on the roof...he eventually named it Rufus. Best. Name. Ever.
I adopted a bunny but the shelter had no information on the bunny. I took it blindly cause I loved it at first sight. I got home and let it out the cage it came with and I couldn't touch this rabbit for 3 months. I ended up naming it 'Val' since I had no info and couldn't touch the darn thing I figure 'Valerie' if it was a girl -very pretty name I thought- if it was a boy it will be Valanar -the lead male in a vampire group in world of warcraft- well the bunny turned out to be a girl but she was feisty and wouldn't hesitate to beat anyone up if their presents wasn't wanted. She still became a Valanar for fitting the name. I had her forever and I miss her very much. I miss her grumpyness but she did become a great companion after a while when knowing I wasn't going to just dump her like previous owner did and not knowing what she went through
Couldn’t think of a name so we called her No Name. Added an accent over the an and said it like a French word. No-naaaahh-may. She’s 15 now. And is NoNàme on all her paperwork!
I had a dog with a brindle coat, so we named her Benga (like Bengal tiger). One day, Benga was acting goofy so I said 'you're a ding dong' and she tilted her head. She liked that word and became BingBong for about 3-4 years
My dad's cats are Tango and Cash, and I call my mom's dog Sir Barksalot.
...is Knucklehead's dad the friend you're talking about? XD (you both mentioned cattos named Tango and Cash, lol)
Load More Replies...My dog is registered with the kennel club as Kermit The Dog, I call him Kermie Wormy for short
My three turtles "Rotwangenschmuckschildkröten" I had as a teen were called Ramses, Agamemnon and Nofretete. It was my old egyptians/greeks phase.
Had a friend who named her parrot Chicken. Whenever it got mouthy she would ask if it wanted to meet the Colonel.
Had a cat named Lazarus (long story but came back from the dead basically 3 times. A sheltie named flipper as a kid (i was into the show flipper the dolphin). Gabi because when i brought her home (found on the side of the road) she never stopped meowing. About 2 weeks later stopped meowing. She didnt talk much after that. My cat carma latte also called pretty pretty princess. Neighbors daughter named their cat pudding.
My 2 are Sparkle Farts (golden retriever who managed to clear a shop with the smell when only a puppy) & Catfink, elderly grumpy rescue oap kitty 😁
I took in my granddaughter's hamster because it turned out a sibling was allergic. She had named the female hamster "Captain Slinky."
If I ever get a young pet or two I would name it Zapod Bebblebrox or name one Zapod and the other Bebblebrox.
My vet thought it hilarious when I used to bring in 'Mumma B......'s (my name) Baby Boy Bugs......
I used to train dogs, and one of my first students was a chihuahua named Finally (they finally got a dog after many years)
As a child, we had a polydactyl we named "Twinkle Toes;" we also ahd a "Mama Cat."
Still my fave is the tiny white Pomeranian named C*mlord. The worst is some idiot influencer how named his kitten Asteroid Destroyer. Pretty obvious he was so proud of that d*****s name because every video after that had him telling people his kitten's name. He's also the type to get d*****s, s****y tattoos for content.
Sorry, friend, but "Asteroid Destroyer" is an awesome and hilarious name for a cat. It's on par with naming your cat "Dumpster" because you found them in a Dumpster or "Chicken Nugget" because they're an orange cat. I'm sad you think a name as tame as "Asteroid Destroyer" (which isn't offensive or a slur or anything awful, just silly) is a "dumbáss" name.
Load More Replies...My schnoodle is Maisie Jane Waffles (My last name.) She is however, listed with the AKC (her parents were purebreds) as Maisie J Redstorm, which is not my last name. I just like the name Maisie, the Jane comes from a good friend who passed away right before I got Maisie and the Waffles is because she smelled like maple syrup when I picked her up.
Interesting. Schnoodles and all "doodle" dogs are mixed-breed mutts, not an actual breed, so I didn't know you could register them with the AKC, as it is an organization focused on actual breeds and not "designer dog" mixed breeds. I know the AKC does not recognize any doodle type as an official breed.
Load More Replies...I think you all know my crazy, nerdy names for my current horde of pets XD but when I was a kid, my first cat (a tuxedo boy) was named (in full) Kazarothian James-Joseph Skandranon Rashkae Sheean III. There had not been a Kaz the first or second, he was just the third de novo XD His "first" name was a combination of a character from my favorite cartoon at the time (Kaz from Exo-Squad) and Azeroth (from the Warcraft games... yes, way before WoW. This was in like 1993.) My second cat was named Wintressia. The vet staff had the hardest time with pronouncing it whenever they'd try to call us into a room, so I eventually said "Just call her Win." (Her name was pronounced Win-tress-ee-uh but I understand the difficulty.) Fenring's full, registered name is literally "Fenringus von Dingus, The Failed Kwisatz Haderach" XD (It's a reference to my favorite book, Dune.)
My SIL named her cat Kylo Ren because she (my SIL) likes Adam Driver. My brother named his cat after Nina Simone. I named one of our family pets Jack after the dog in "Tales of the Gold Monkey" (I'm dating myself with that one) and one Fleur after Nick's sister in "Forever Knight".
I liked the character Julia Sugarbaker so I named my cat Dixie after Dixie Carter who played Julia on "Designing Women."
Load More Replies...Some of these made me sad. Pets know when you're laughing at them, so giving them a laughable name is just mean.
I am pretty sure Lou aka Pumpkinhead doesn't care as long as he gets treats
Load More Replies...
