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 Cat! I think I've heard them call him James —But we've not got so far as names.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats