Sketch comedy duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, stars of the upcoming cat-based, feature-length comedy Keanu, recently stopped by a real cat shelter, Chicago’s Tree House Humane Society, to commiserate with some of the feline residents and bestow upon them gloriously impractical names. It’s especially appropriate since Peele’s character in Keanu adopts the title kitten, portrayed by a four-legged newcomer adorably named Clementine. Key and Peele’s visit was captured as part of the shelter’s ongoing web series, The Real Tree House Cats Of Chicago. Though there is a serious, worthwhile message in the video about adopting cats, as well as a mention of the fact that Tree House is building a new home (Key calls it “the biggest cat house in the country”) and could use donations, the comedians nevertheless have fun devising impractical, often pop culture-referencing monikers for these animals.
Although “Pussyon Dachainwax” is the duo’s clear favorite for obvious reasons, there are a slew of amusing cat names here, including Chairman Meow, Guripatance Mouse Breath, Gingerfur Lopez, and Fluffytail Whiskerface. This video plays a lot like a Key & Peele version of the similar Whiskers R’ We sketches from Saturday Night Live. The difference here is that Key and Peele merely tell us the names of the cats awaiting adoption and do not delve into the animals’ potentially disturbing private lives or personality quirks. Considering the low success rate of Whiskers R’ We in finding homes for its cats, that’s maybe the best strategy.