naming the cat

I hadn’t decided on a boy’s name yet for the kitten, but assuming she’s female as expert word now has it, the name will be Tamanya.

Tamanya means “eight” in Egyptian Arabic, and admittedly the number eight has nothing to do with the discovery or raising of the kitten. I simply had an unusually vivid dream in my first year in Cairo in which I had acquired a cat named Tamanya, never forgot the dream, and since then have always held the name in reserve for a case like this. It’s also a beautiful-sounding name to the English-speaking ear, and shortens easily to Tammy when necessary.