In article <9d6t1hhtqbqs5kcutd9103gh2phmcihepl@4ax.com>,
J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> wrote:
>What would be the correct form of address for a cat who is the Earl of
>something or other? Would you go with "Your Lordship" or something
>else? I'm assuming that the Earl is not providing any guidance on
>this matter.

Well, Alice settled on "O Cat," the correct vocative case.

It depends, I think, on what the social level of the person
addressing the Earl is -- and what the degree of amity between
then may be. Lady Peter Wimsey addressed her (dearly beloved)
mother-in-law as "Duchess," but her fellow daughter-in-law, wife
of the current Duke, as "Helen." Servants would use "my lord" as
a direct address, or put even more distance between themselves
and their employer with "Your Lordship" and the third person, as
"Would your Lordship care for cream, or Fancy Feast?"

It depends, I repeat, on the social level of the human with
respect to the cat. If the human considers himself a mere
servitor of the Earl of Whatever, he would address him as "my
lord" in the second person or "your Lordship" in the third. If
they have come to regard themselves as friends and equals when
nobody is looking, the human could address the Cat as "mate" or
"old moggy" or "give me that sock, you bloody bastard." It all
depends on the degree of intimacy in their relationship.

The human might like to look up a copy of _Busman's Honeymoon_
and observe how Mervyn Bunter addresses Lord Peter when his
Lordship and Lady Peter have just been mistaken for a pair of
film stars.

After which Lord Peter remarks, "Having made it very clear that
their Lordships are my lord and lady."

Note that the Lord Peter stories are a century or so old; if
anyone wants to know how to address an Earl of the human
persuasion, they'd better ask him.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

On Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at 8:06:08 PM UTC-8, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> In article <9d6t1hhtqbqs5kcut...@4ax.com>,
> J. Clarke <jclarke...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >What would be the correct form of address for a cat who is the Earl of
> >something or other? Would you go with "Your Lordship" or something
> >else? I'm assuming that the Earl is not providing any guidance on
> >this matter.
> Well, Alice settled on "O Cat," the correct vocative case.
>
> It depends, I think, on what the social level of the person
> addressing the Earl is -- and what the degree of amity between
> then may be. Lady Peter Wimsey addressed her (dearly beloved)
> mother-in-law as "Duchess," but her fellow daughter-in-law, wife
> of the current Duke, as "Helen." Servants would use "my lord" as
> a direct address, or put even more distance between themselves
> and their employer with "Your Lordship" and the third person, as
> "Would your Lordship care for cream, or Fancy Feast?"
>
> It depends, I repeat, on the social level of the human with
> respect to the cat. If the human considers himself a mere
> servitor of the Earl of Whatever, he would address him as "my
> lord" in the second person or "your Lordship" in the third. If
> they have come to regard themselves as friends and equals when
> nobody is looking, the human could address the Cat as "mate" or
> "old moggy" or "give me that sock, you bloody bastard." It all
> depends on the degree of intimacy in their relationship.
>
> The human might like to look up a copy of _Busman's Honeymoon_
> and observe how Mervyn Bunter addresses Lord Peter when his
> Lordship and Lady Peter have just been mistaken for a pair of
> film stars.
>
> After which Lord Peter remarks, "Having made it very clear that
> their Lordships are my lord and lady."
>
> Note that the Lord Peter stories are a century or so old; if
> anyone wants to know how to address an Earl of the human
> persuasion, they'd better ask him.

From TS Elliot :

With Cats, some say, one rule is true:
Don't speak till you are spoken to.
Myself, I do not hold with that—
I say, you should ad-dress a Cat.
But always keep in mind that he
Resents familiarity.
I bow, and taking off my hat,
Ad-dress him in this form: O CAT!
But if he is the Cat next door,
Whom I have often met before
(He comes to see me in my flat)
I greet him with an OOPS A CAT!
I think I've heard them call him James—
But we've not got so far as names.

Pt

In article <03tv1h9jud4e8im7qiimhs8nmtcnrpkhjp@4ax.com>,
The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>On Wed, 2 Mar 2022 04:01:28 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
>wrote:
>
>>Note that the Lord Peter stories are a century or so old; if
>>anyone wants to know how to address an Earl of the human
>>persuasion, they'd better ask him.
>
>You're probably right.
>
>In the present day my kitty's pronouns would be "cat", "puss" and "you
>dumb cat!!"

There's a small book by Terry Pratchett on the subject of Real
Cats (a parody of Real Ale), words that may or may not appear in
its title. He provides some choice epithets with which to
address one's own or one's neighbor's cat. I know it's shelved
in the fiction room under the letter C with all the other cat
books, but I can't go find it for all the usual reasons.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

On Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 10:51:25 PM UTC, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> In article <03tv1h9jud4e8im7q...@4ax.com>,
> The Horny Goat <lcr...@home.ca> wrote:
> >On Wed, 2 Mar 2022 04:01:28 GMT, djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
> >wrote:
> >
> >>Note that the Lord Peter stories are a century or so old; if
> >>anyone wants to know how to address an Earl of the human
> >>persuasion, they'd better ask him.
> >
> >You're probably right.
> >
> >In the present day my kitty's pronouns would be "cat", "puss" and "you
> >dumb cat!!"
> There's a small book by Terry Pratchett on the subject of Real
> Cats (a parody of Real Ale), words that may or may not appear in
> its title. He provides some choice epithets with which to
> address one's own or one's neighbor's cat. I know it's shelved
> in the fiction room under the letter C with all the other cat
> books, but I can't go find it for all the usual reasons.
> --
> Dorothy J. Heydt
> Vallejo, California
> djheydt at gmail dot com
> Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/

Might be "The Unadulterated Cat"

Des

In article <c2bc97f2-b035-46be-ba91-5a574319d7abn@googlegroups.com>,
Des <desmondkavanagh@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 10:51:25 PM UTC, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
>> In article <03tv1h9jud4e8im7q...@4ax.com>,
>> The Horny Goat <lcr...@home.ca> wrote:
>> >On Wed, 2 Mar 2022 04:01:28 GMT, djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt)
>> >wrote:
>> >
>> >>Note that the Lord Peter stories are a century or so old; if
>> >>anyone wants to know how to address an Earl of the human
>> >>persuasion, they'd better ask him.
>> >
>> >You're probably right.
>> >
>> >In the present day my kitty's pronouns would be "cat", "puss" and "you
>> >dumb cat!!"
>> There's a small book by Terry Pratchett on the subject of Real
>> Cats (a parody of Real Ale), words that may or may not appear in
>> its title. He provides some choice epithets with which to
>> address one's own or one's neighbor's cat. I know it's shelved
>> in the fiction room under the letter C with all the other cat
>> books, but I can't go find it for all the usual reasons.
>> --
>> Dorothy J. Heydt
>> Vallejo, California
>> djheydt at gmail dot com
>> Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/
>
>Might be "The Unadulterated Cat"

That sounds right; thanks.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Www.kithrup.com/~djheydt/