Why would that happen? I'm confused as to why you would stop petting your cat and giving them treats (assuming that this is normal for you) just because you changed its name.

Also I'm trans, so I have experienced being called the wrong name and have noticed that people picked up on verbal cues and used the name others used for me, which is sort of what happens with an animal when you start using a different name for them. They naturally adjust because their name doesn't actually matter to them.

I (and my family) have adopted several cats who all had completely different names either at their previous homes or at the pound. Tiny Rick's original name was Thomas, just FYI, so it was changed twice actually. It really isn't the huge deal you're making it out to be.

[–] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Why would that happen? I'm confused as to why you would stop petting your cat and giving them treats (assuming that this is normal for you) just because you changed its name.

I'm obviously not talking about no longer petting your cat. The whole topic of discussion is "should a cat called Connor suddenly no longer be called Connor". The cat would still hear the name "Connor" every day, but they suddenly no longer get the interactions they associate with the name.

Am I now being clear? The situation you described (name of cat changes, old name is no longer used) is simply different.