I'm in the process of getting a rescue cat she is 2yrs old, her name is Ruby, but I would quite like to change it, what I want know is she to old to have her name changed now, what's everyone ones opinion on this.

Thanks

My 8 month old is fully aware of her name but will only respond to it when she wants to. She'll respond to almost any name if there a chance of food and she comes in from to garden in response to a particular whistle from my OH. Basically most cats will do what they want when they want to so give it a try, you can always revert to Ruby if she insists. Good luck!

A cat (dog or rabbit!) can learn a new name at any age - and many do if they end up in a refuge as a stray, name unknown.

Just persistently use the new name when you feed her, if you give her a treat, if she's on your lap and you're stroking her... when she comes into a room, greet her with her name, etc. It's not so much that she'll learn her name, but she'll learn to associate the sound with good things - food, attention, affection, etc. You just have to be very persistent in its use for a few weeks / months.

Another useful thing to do with a cat - particularly if it goes out - is to teach it that a certain sound results in a treat that she really likes. We chink a fork against a china dish because the sound carries well and when our cats hear that sound, they'll literally run across fields and down hills to arrive salivating, knowing that they're going to have the rare treat of some cooked fish, or a bit of mince... something that is out of the ordinary and they love. Dreamies would probably work too! But if you use this sound, you must always deliver the treat.

I have a rabbit who has learned that "bikkit" - biscuit - means that it's time for her to go back into her run (she has supervised free-ranging) and that if she goes down to the run door, she'll get a bit of sweet biscuit, which she'll kill for.

A name is just a sound and your cat will learn. Hope she settles in happily and well.

We rehomed a stray cat so gave him a name as we didn't have any idea what he was called, it took no time at all for him to respond and we have another cat and he didn't confuse the names - he must be about 11 or 12 according to the vet.

My cat is called Lily but I call her a million different things. I think they just respond to your voice and tone as opposed to actual words. I could probably call her Smeghead in the right tone and she'd come trotting over.