History Main / ADogNamedCat

* The children's song "I've Got a Dog and my Dog's Name is Cat" by Barry Louis Polisar. (His cat's named Dog, too, and his bird and fish are respectively Fish and Bird.)

* ''Film/{{Annie|1982}}'': Discussed when one of the girls suggests naming him Tiger, but Pepper vetoes it since the dog is too cowardly.

* [[CoolHorse Mr. Floofy-Whiskers]] from a Storyteller sketch in Radio/JohnFinnemoresSouvenirProgramme. His owner raised him as a cat, hence his name, and his tendency to say "meow" instead of "neigh".

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* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'': Isaac's pet cat is named Guppy. As of ''Rebirth'', his pet dog is named Cricket.

Uncreative pet owners (or similarly uncreative writers) often name their animal companion (or character) [[ADogNamedDog after its own species]]. Ohters try to get around this by naming the animal [[ALizardNamedLiz after something else related to their species]]. Then there are ''these'' people, who try to get creative by naming the animal after a completely different species, for example: a dog named Whale. Especially [[IronicName ironic]] ones might even name the animal after [[AnimalJingoism its natural enemy]], predator or prey.

Uncreative pet owners (or similarly uncreative writers) often name their animal companion (or character) [[ADogNamedDog after its own species]]. Some try to get around this by naming them [[ALizardNamedLiz with something related to their species]]. Then there are ''these'' people, who try to get creative by instead naming the animal after a completely different species, for example: a dog named Whale. Especially [[IronicName ironic]] ones might even name the animal after [[AnimalJingoism their natural enemy]], their predator or their prey.

* The Website/YouTube channel ''[[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEa46rlHqEP6ClWitFd2QOQ What About Bunny]]'' has a dog named Bunny who communicates with her owner by pushing buttons that say words.

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Some of the cats have different animal names in their names, such as ''Tiger''claw, ''Raven''paw, ''Jay''kit, and ''Squirrel''paw.

* Zigzagged with Dr. Hämsterviel from ''WesternAnimation/StitchTheMovie'' and later ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''. He's an alien who looks like a cross between a gerbil and a rabbit, but [[IAmNotAWeasel insists that he's a hamster]]. Most people call him a gerbil regardless.

* Zigzagged with Dr. Hämsterviel from ''WesternAnimation/StitchTheMovie'' and later ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''. He's an alien who sees himself as a hamster, likely due to his name, but looks more like a cross between a gerbil and a rabbit. Being called a gerbil is actually his BerserkButton.

* In ''Fanfic/TheBlackSheepDogSeries'', Walburga mentions that her grandfather used to breed hunting dogs, and he wasn't successful in his attempt to train them into hounds, he was fond of them. His favourite is named Magpie.

* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'': Isaac's pet cat is named Guppy.

Due to its inherent dissonance, this trope is more likely to be found in comedic works than its {{sister|Trope}}s -- usually accompanied with some LampshadeHanging -- although serious examples do exist. One common gag is a BaitAndSwitch scenario that subverts ADogNamedDog. For example, Alice tells Bob about her new pet Kitty, and Bob naturally assumes that it's a cat, only to later find out that Kitty is actually a parrot. Bonus points if the animal is actually ''far'' more dangerous [[FluffyTheTerrible than its name implies]].

** In one editorial of the Neopian times, somebody asks what would happen if they named their Meepit petpet "Feepit" (Feepit is a completely different petpet from a Meepit). [=TheNeopetsTeam=] responds be saying the the [[BlatantLies non-existant]] [[RunningGag Jelly World]] would become real.

-->-- '''Music/{{Songdrops}}''', "The Name Of My Frog"

Due to its inherent dissonance, this trope is more likely to be found in comedic works than its {{sister|Trope}}s--usually accompanied with some LampshadeHanging--although serious examples do exist. One common gag is a BaitAndSwitch scenario that subverts ADogNamedDog. For example, Alice tells Bob about her new pet Kitty, and Bob naturally assumes that it's a cat, only to later find out that Kitty is actually a parrot. Bonus points if the animal is actually ''far'' more dangerous [[FluffyTheTerrible than its name implies]].

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Kodachi Kuno has a pet named Mr. Turtle. It's actually a crocodile.

* Stand-up comedian and ventriloquist David Strassman's character Ted E. Bare has a series of pets, such as a bird named [[WesternAnimation/FindingNemo Nemo]], a fish named Birdie, and a cat named Horesy. He also has a stuffed monkey toy called Bunny.

-->'''Linkara:''' [[WhoNamesTheirKidDude Who names their dog "Bear"?]]
-->''(He looks over to the side and sees a teddy bear)''
-->'''Linkara:''' ''(imitating Creator/TommyWiseau)'' [[Film/TheRoom Oh, hi, doggy!]]

[[folder:Fanfic]]

[[folder:Films--Animated]]

-->'''Mittens:''' Rhino... the hamster?
-->'''Rhino:''' Well, my ancestry isn't all hamster. I'm one-sixteenth wolf with, you know, a little wolverine in there somewhere...

** Marlin is a clownfish who--[[LampshadeHanging according to Nigel the Pelican]]--has the name of "some kind of sport fish". Marlins are a subtype of billfish that are related to swordfish.

[[folder:Films--Live-Action]]
* ''Film/Annie1982'': Discussed when one of the girls suggests naming him Tiger, but Pepper vetoes it since the dog is too cowardly.
* ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'': Carol owns a pet cat (well, actually, a Flerken--an alien that ''looks'' like a cat) called Goose, albeit it's clearly named as a reference to ''Film/TopGun''.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* The cats Rook and Cricket in ''Webcomic/JohnnyWander'' overlapping with real life.

* ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'': During their playthrough of ''VideoGame/PokemonFireRed'', Arin attempts to catch a Dratini. When he fails to, he compensates by nicknaming a Goldeen "Dratini".
* ''WebAnimation/PokemonRusty'': Rusty names his Kakuna "Pikachu", in honour of his idol Red's favourite Pokémon. When the Kakuna abandons him, Rusty replaces it with a Bidoof, whom he names "Pikatwo".
* ''WebAnimation/SonicForHire'': El Padrino has an Anaconda named Marmosets. Whenever somebody thinks he is talking about monkeys, he or somebody else lets them know otherwise. [[spoiler:He later reveals that he also named his harem of coke whores Marmosets and lampshades how uncreative he is with names.]]

* The Website/YouTube channel ''[[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEa46rlHqEP6ClWitFd2QOQ What About Bunny]]'' has a dog named Bunny who communicates with her owner by pushing buttons that say words.
* This [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYAjwYZBMiw&ab_channel=applebox cat]] named Rabbit.

[[folder:Websites]]
* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'':
** In one editorial of the Neopian times, somebody asks what would happen if they named their Meepit petpet "Feepit" (Feepit is a completely different petpet from a Meepit). [=TheNeopetsTeam=] responds be saying the the [[BlatantLies non-existant]] [[RunningGag Jelly World]] would become real.
** The Kadoaties at the Kadoatery can be named the names of other species, including Angelpuss, Dawg, and Badger.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017''

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarePants'': Despite having "squid" in his name, Squidward is an octopus, not a squid.

[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': Courage [[DubNameChange is called Leone in the Italian dub]]. "Leone" means "lion", and Courage is a dog. This is probably to [[MeaningfulName make him an almost literal example]] a CowardlyLion.

* ''Literature/TheWitcher'': Geralt always names his horses Roach (after the fish, not the insect). In the original Polish, "Pɫotka" is an affectionate diminutive that could be interpreted as "Roachie" or "Small Fry".

* ''Literature/TheWitcher'': Geralt always names his horses Roach (after the fish, not the insect). In the original Polish, "Pl​ˠotka" is an affectionate diminutive that could be interpreted as "Roachie" or "Small Fry".

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': In ''Literature/BloodRites'', Harry acquires a Chinese Foo dog which names Mouse because of his quiet temperament, grey coloring, and small size. However, while the name was appropriate when he was a puppy, Mouse grows over the series into a massive shambling beast that comes up to Harry's waist (and Harry has an uncomfortable feeling that he may not have finished growing).

-->''"I have a mouse named Gerbil and a gerbil named Mouse.''\\

-->''"I have a mouse named Gerbil and a gerbil named Mouse.''
-->''The night that I named them it was dark in the house."''