AITAH for not wanting to change my cats name because my pregnant cousin wants to use his name?

A Reddit user finds herself in a surprising conflict after her pregnant cousin asks her to rename her beloved cat, Daniel, because the cousin wants to name her baby boy the same. The OP refuses, sparking a heated family debate. Read the full story below to decide if she’s in the wrong!

‘ AITAH for not wanting to change my cats name because my pregnant cousin wants to use his name? ‘

I (22F) found stray kitten 3 years ago I named him Daniel. My cousin and her husband both 25 are expecting baby boy in January, they want to use the name Daniel. My cousin texted me saying she and her husband love the name Daniel and if I could change my cats name.

When I asked her why she told me she doesn’t want her son to share name with pet cat. I told her NO because my cat had that name first and that me changing his name would probably confuse him, because there’s studies proving that cats know their name,. My cousin called me J**k.

Her husband texted me on her phone saying to change the cats name because he’s just regular stupid house cat, while his son would have that name forever. I told him the same thing he called me AH for not wanting to change my cat name.

My mom called me this morning saying my cousin cried to her saying I’m being rude, my mom told me I should just change my cat name to just make everyone happy.

Here’s how people reacted to the post:

maroongrad −  Does your cousin normally throw complete shitfits about stupid stuff and expect everyone to bend over backwards for her? If that’s the case, tell everyone you renamed the cat. It’s a two part name. One half is her husband’s name, the other half is the masculinized version of her name.

Don’t actually rename the cat, but turn the drama up so that she learns not to mess with you in the future. ETA: All baby clothes and gifts from you are 100% cat themed. Stuffed cat toy, blanket with a cat print on it, pajamas covered in pictures of sleeping cats….

lydocia −  NTA. Start referring to them as Daniel and human Daniel.

teresajs −  NTA. If your cousin doesn’t want her kid sharing his name with a cat, then she shouldn’t name him after a cat.

Turmeric_Ping −  NTA. I’d object to a puking baby having the same name as my cat too. Edit to add: I know a zoo that has a gibbon called Daniel (or they did a couple of years ago ).

Googling ‘animals called Daniel gives multiple instances, including an emotional support duck that wore red shoes (seriously). Whatever they call their spawn, there will be an animal with the same name. And the kid won’t care.

siouxbee1434 −  I am not sure your cousin & her husband are mature enough to be parents

3Pennywise3 −  NTA you had the name first. She’s choosing to name her son the same name as a family pet. That’s her choice, and her problem.

Dalton402 −  My sisters and I had a cat called Lucy growing up. Years after our cat died, my eldest sister called her first child Lucy.
There is no reason for you to change your cat’s name. There is no reason for your cousin not to call their child Daniel.. NTA

epeeist42 −  NTA but question. Under what circumstances would this be an issue? They’re visiting you in a few years and call Daniel over and your cat, responsive and obedient as all cats are (LOL) comes over instead of their son? You post to social media about your cat and they don’t want confusion between cat videos and their own?

I mean, lying to people who are being ridiculous I don’t see as being as big of a problem. Can you say “Okay, I’ll change his name to Derrick, but I may forget sometimes and use the name I’ve been used to for 3 years.”

If they’re only going to see you a couple of times a year at e.g. Thanksgiving and Christmas, and presumably you visiting without cat, what does it matter if you tell them you changed cat’s name and do nothing?

AnxiousTelephone2997 −  NTA. I would say something to the effect of “I am 100% certain that my cat is not going to upstage your son in life. Neither are even going to know what their names are. They don’t even understand the concept of names. Let’s all get some perspective here”.

Lambsenglish −  Lunacy. NTA. The entitlement of some people.

Do you think the OP is being unreasonable, or should the cousin back off about renaming the cat? How would you handle this situation if a family member made such a request? Share your thoughts in the comments!