There is actually a cultural angle here, as with the Pakistan editorical cartoon kerfuffle: dogs and cats are considered unclean.

I remember reading that story when it came out. There was a picture of a crowd with a donkey bearing the sign, "I named my donkey America!"

That cat, however, is far too handsome to be drawn into such an ugly controversy. In fact, it bears an uncanny resemblance to this stunning creature.

that's one sexy cat!

hundreds of thousands of indians in america

that's so early 90's =)

Do these protestors get all pissy about the millions of hippies who called their kids 'India' in the 60s? Or is a human OK? I know at least two Indias, one in her 20s and one around 40. They're bigger sinners than any cat :)

Oh, so now I know what's with all those girls named India. Huh. Hippies.

Bong,

Do you India Allen. Maybe, you should befriend her.

Is it because black cats are considered unlucky ?

how about if they made the cat prez instead? really now, if anyone needs to do any kind of protetsting, there are far pressing issues to mull over. the cat is adorable, and far less.......

anyhoo......

bruno and jack are tooooo cute! wayyy too cute!

wow, face fuzz and CATS, posted on the same day! the weekend is HERE!

Reminds me of a commie uncle of mine who had named his dog "Regan" in the 80's.

dogs and cats are considered unclean.

manish, my uncle is a hanafi sunni imam, so it might be his sharia tradition, but cats are not unclean, dogs are. he made this point specifically when he saw stray cats and dogs in the street, being near a cat wasn't sin, but dogs should be kept afar. don't know how it is in hinduism. this source says cats are "clean".

Reminds me of a commie uncle of mine who had named his dog "Regan" in the 80's.

That reminds me, just think how many dogs there are in India called Churchill! It's a very common name, or at least it was a few years ago. The concept of naming a dog after someone you dislike is common the world over, but baffling, cos you end up loving the pooch.

Razib, you don't need to consult 'sources' to know the verdict on dogs:

Vincent: How about a dog? Dogs eats its own feces.
Jules: I don't eat dog either.
Vincent: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?
Jules: I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.

The church of Samuel L. Muthaf*ckin' Jackson is the only religion that matters.

Kush, you sly dog. I mean dog in a non-filthy way ;)

this source says cats are "clean".

all 6 of mine are!

According to the whitehousekids.gov India was named for former Texas Ranger baseball player, Ruben Sierra, who was called "El Indio".

John Galbraith named his dog "Ahmed" during his days as an ambassador of US in India. It caused riots and he was forced to call his dog by some other name!!

I remember the same thing happening during the Clinton Administration. Apparently the cat had been named after India Ink- and later it was just shortened to "India"

Also, Anil, does everyone have an uncle who was a crazy commie? One of my uncles used to be a Naxalite..

dogs and cats are considered unclean.

They are also considered clean in the Shia tradition.

Like DesiDancer, I simply adore black cats and have no problem with them being named after lovely nations. My objection to the naming of the president's cat arises from the fact that he probably cannot find the country on a labelled map.

As for the religious/cultural two cents from the Hindu side: I really think it depends on how madi (clean) the family is. Mine are dog (German Shepherds and retrievers) people - something about litterboxes and feline aloofness turns them off to cats.

way to go, maitri!

I like cats to visit, but my family also are dog people, and I'm under the vague impression that Hindus in general are dog people.

Maybe that's the source of all the tension . . .

I like cats to visit, but my family also are dog people, and I'm under the vague impression that Hindus in general are dog people.

Saheli,

I have a cat. My parents have a German shepard in India. My brother has 2 dogs here. Culturally in India, cats are (were) preferred in Muslim neighborhoods.

Since big dogs are more expensive and need attention, in past, only army personal and upper middle-class in India would have dogs.

Now, things are changing.