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| By PAMELA R. MARTIN, Castle Paws
Speaking of names......when Kathy Zennaiter visted us in Charlotte, she mentioned to me that she enjoyed hearing the stories behind acquiring cattery names. She commenced to tell me that "Silver Estates" was the name of the housing developement that they lived in when she first started with cats. How ironic the name had "silvers" in it. Let's share these stories again. I enjoy hearing them too as do others. Some are very strange names so you can't help but wonder where they came from. Others are more obvious. Castle Paws My friend Barbara Cole named her cattery "Rum Gully" after the street they were residing on at the time. We came up with the name "CastlePaws" during the construction of our cattery. When the electrican was told that the outlets he was installing were to be used for heated beds, he remarked "these cats live like Kings & Queens! You'd think this was a castle!" Course this wasn't our first choice. Like many other breeders, we went through quite a few names before getting ours accepted. My first choice was "Pam Purrs", which was already taken. Pamela R. & Bobby E. Martin Vanleigh My first cats were from Joy Anandi, I asked her how she came up with her cattery name Joyvyn, which she explained was from putting her name and husbands name together. So I set out to try using my legal name "Lee" and part of my husbands last name "Osivand". LeeVand. dropped the D and came up with VanLee. I liked "Vanleigh" much better and kept it. Missy Osivand. Heatherleigh My cattery name is my own name Heatherleigh. Heather Fletcher. Simpen My two daughters, Simone and Penelope, have the name Simpen for their cattery name. SIMone-PENelope. Heather Fletcher MisteeRiver I requested the name MisteeRiver because of the mist on a river. If you've ever walked along a river during the Fall season in the early morning hours you will see a beautiful soft mist that whisps along the top of the water. The mist is beautiful and it also creates a very peaceful beautiful feeling in me when I see it. This is how the beautiful Silver Persians are to me. To me Silver Persians are equally as beautiful as the mist on the river and create that same special emotion in me as well. Jan Aeschlimann.--MisteeRiver Silver Persians Asal I wish that I could say I had a real creative way of coming up with my cattery name (for which, by the way, I received the official registration a little more than a week ago!), but it was more a matter of practicality for me. I knew that I wanted something short so that fewer spaces on the registration forms would be taken up by it, thereby allowing for more creative kitty names. I also knew that I wanted something that at least sounded Persian, but since I don't speak Farsi, that was out of the question. However, my husband's native language is Arabic --close enough, so I decided to choose an Arabic word that reflected the breed somehow. What I came up with is "Asal" which means honey. So, my cattery name is Asal Persians, and the motto is, "Where the cats are as sweet as honey." Hokey, I know, but it accomplished my goals. :-) Carleen Ibrahim Kimberlite Kimberlite is the silver rock that covers a diamond. You open that to find the precious stone. And that's what we all hope for with our kittens. Not much of a story but that's how it came to be in 1989. Diana Frailey Bennic Sister Barbara and I have the same initials. BEN and our last name is Nichols , we came up with BENNIC for both cats and dogs(Skye Terriers). Blanche Nichols. Aurora Rose My cattery is Auroara Rose. Auroara being a distortion of the spelling of Aurora, which is the first light of day or that golden halo you see pictured around saints, angels and such, and, of course, the famous beautiful Auroa Borealis you see in the winter sky or crystals. So all in all I like the word "aurora," but I changed the spelling slightly because I wanted to specialize in goldens. So "au" is the chemical symbol for gold. I also changed the middle to "roar," something you think of with cats. So my Auroara means "golden roar" and then I added the rose for a touch of sweetness. Sally Lynch Kea Pam, I Had fallen in love with Hawaii. On my second visit there decided I would continue visiting every two years or go in to showing cats-guess what happened?! In a compromise with myself named the cattery and cats with Hawaiian theme. My shaded silver is Kala Ipo meaning Silver Sweetheart-and that he is. My cream/white persian was named Mauna Kea for the snow covered mountain in Hawaii and wanted to honor him too by using his name for my cattery. So Kea Persians it is. Mauna means mountain and Kea means White. No, my cats are not all white, currently having a blue, a shaded silver and a cream/white, but the word white has many definitions so I got around it that way. I also like the fact that it is a three letter cattery name should I ever be fortunate enough to breed and leaves lots of room for kitty names. It's lots of fun coming up with Hawaiian names for my furry kids, but often impossible for others to pronounce, so I often doubt the soundness of my decision-but enjoy it all the same. By the way, Kea is pronounced Kay-ah. Mary Lynch. Peerage I guess most everyone knows that our cattery name "Peerage" is the same as we used for our kennel name when we bred and showed Great Pyrenees. Vicki Blandford Diadem This isn't a cattery name -- it was our kennel name as I was growing up. Our name -- my maiden name -- was Gardner and our cocker kennel name was Rendrag. Get it? When it came to choosing a cattery name I didn't think Reichle (Elhcier) had the same pronounce-ability as Rendrag but then most people mispronounce Reichle anyway! (It rhymes with Michael) A diadem is a small crown and I thought it was appropriate for our royal felines. It was an early British collie kennel naem and I "borrowed" it. Janice Reichle-Diadem Silvers Haro We lived on Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the 1960s when I first got serious about Cats and breeding. I had just finished reading the book entitled "The Foxes of Haro" and coincidentally we lived on Haro Road in Victoria. It seemed appropriate that if there could be "Foxes of Haro" there could also be "Cats of Haro". I registered the name in CFA, ACFA and CCA and have been breeding Persians continuously under that name. There are also a few Himys, American Shorthairs, Siamese and Abyssinians who also carry that prefix. Isabel Christie, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, ACFA AB Teaching & Training Judge DeMonaco Mine is a little easier to explain. Monaco is my favorite country that I've been fortunate to visit and learn the history behind. So when I was deciding on a cattery name I chose De Monacos meaning "of Monaco" or a combination of Dee and Monaco. I have the family tree from the Grimaldi's and the Ranier's and all the offsprings - some Italian and some French - and I've used them in naming my furrbabies. Some examples are Issabelle, Monte Carlo, GiGi for Grace Grimaldi, Niko for Nicholas, Prince Ranier, Toby for Tobias, etc. It's been fun..........still room for more however I'm not breeding right now. On one of my previous web sites I had photos of Monte Carlo, the castle and bay up with an explanation. People seemed to enjoy reading how I named my cattery. Dee Sessions SimbaKui SimbaKui (Sim-bak'-qwee) is really 2 words. Everyone is familiar with the first -- Simba. It is African for 'Lion' but was also my first Persian cat's name. This kitty was very special to me as he was given to me by my dad. My first Persian was who really triggered my interest in breeding Persian cats so I thought it appropriate to name my cattery after him. However I knew there was no way that 'Simba' would still be available as a cattery name. So I added 'Kui'. Kui is Hawaiian for the word 'roar' so I felt Simba and Kui went together and the name was original enough to be accepted. Hence, SimbaKui cattery originated in 1997. Tracy Smith, SimbaKui La Chrisma My mother was the one that put together our cattery name of La Chrisma La=Larry Chris= our daughter, Chris, and ma= for Marijo. Really simply, but even heard it means, "Cream of the Crop." Marijo Swanson Nakeli Livig in Hawaii where I have spent most of my life, I thought a Hawaiian name would be appropriate for my new cattery. Simply, "Nakeli" is Hawaiian for Natalie. Natalie Playdon Wyndcreste I spent weeks agonizing over a cattery name, but I was in good company as my good friend Victoria was doing the same trying to come up with a kennel name for her Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. One day, she found a book listing many famous kennels and we spent the day pouring over it and I came upon the name Wyndcrest. It sound rather romantic at the time, so I went with it. I called CFA only to find that Wyndcrest was taken, but the very nice woman I spoke with suggested that I add an "e" and thus create Wyndcreste, as the other cattery only had a couple litters many years ago. What she did not tell me was that the previous "Wyndcrest" had bred silvers! Horrors!! At the time, I was not so interested in pedigrees, but now I know how cattery names past and present can become confused, so had I been better informed and had more experience in general, I would not have made that choice--but be that as it may, Wyndcreste it is! Karol Cummins Elchakcharan Like everyone else, I applied 20 times for a cattery name only to be rejected because it was already in use or too similar to another name. I was reading over a dog magazine when I came across some breeder ads of Afghanistan Wind dogs. The kennel name was ³Elchakcharan², pronounced ³Elshasharan² which is a place in old Persia, now Iran. I admired the name and thought it was quite appropriate for a cattery name as well so I asked the kennel owners permission to use it. They were thrilled to share the name and I felt it was meant to be! Wilma Staak Ornamental Mine is actually rather self descriptive. I always felt that Persians were very beautiful decorations for the home. A lot of people often refer to them as furry couch potatoes. So my feeling was that they would make gorgeous ornaments to accent your furnishings and home decor. What better decorations than gold or silver? Hence: Ornamental Persians. Gretchen Oehl Scrimshaw Scrimshaw is the art of etching a picture onto whale bone or Ivory. It was the indigenous art form of the American Whaler, who in his idle time cruising for whales, devoted himself to making jewelry and articles from scrap teeth and bone onboard. It didn't receive widespread recognition until President John F. Kennedy, an enthusiastic collector, brought Scrimshaw to the public eye. My husband and I were also fans of a famous Hunter/Jumper horse named "Scrimshaw" who was appropriately named as he was a white horse with gray, hence, looking like a fine example of "Scrimshaw," just as our silver Persians were! Linda & Jack Accomb Carictor My mother always called me "a character". Even when I was very young, I had an off-beat sence of humor. So, when my first husband, Rick (a variation on his middle name), wanted to raise dogs, we needed a kennel name. After much ado (those naming things take time!) we came up with Ca-Ric-Tor. Character. Carictor. Pronounced the same. Dogs with character. So when I wanted to breed a few cats, it moved to "Cats with Carictor". Perfect concept, perfect name, perfect son, but alas... not a perfect marriage. When I remarried, I asked Art (a variation on his middle name too! ... why didn't any of our parents spend some time giving US normal names???) if he minded if I kept the cattery name, Carictor. Being the astute and perfect spouse that he is, Art said that his name was in there already. c AR ic T or. Meant to be?? Cathy Scarbrough Missionhill My cattery was named MISSIONHILL because the area we live in is known as the Okanagan Mission. We live on a hill in the Missionhill overlooking Okanagan Lake, so I thought it appropriate that my cattery should be named Missionhill. Munira Murrey All Aglitter When it came to cattery names I new I wanted something which reminded me of Silver and Gold. Since I was only going to breed silvers and goldens I wanted the name to fit the kitties. A friend and I went to dinner and worked on coming up with the perfect name. I really wanted Precious Metals but that was just too many letters. We thought of silver and gold glitter and came up with All A Glitter. Then I dropped the space between the A and Glitter and there you have it. Diane Loving KITNKISS My cattery registered in a German organization for many years when I decided to join CFA. So, this was a good opportunity to change my cattery name as well, since I was never quite happy with the one I already had. At the same time I had a litter of kittens - from my first breeding exclusively out of American lines - and these babies were so cute that I had to kiss them every time I held them in my hands (which was quite often!). The cattery registration application was right in front of me, ready to be filled out, when KITNKISS crossed my mind. I put only one choice - Kitnkiss - on the application form, and it was accepted. Michaela Raemer One of my favorites: Forchin The truth of the matter is...after two c-sections and purchasing a couple of cats in the same month a girlfriend and I were coming back from the Richmond show and I was complaining about how the cats were costing me a FORCHIN!!!!! later I said it stands for Chinchillas he he I know all breeders have felt the same way at times!! Carol Brandwein Paws & Purrs When we moved away from our family we were very lonely. I decided we needed a pet and started looking at Persians. As time when by I decided to breed, When it came to picking out a name I thought of all the hugs and kisses we were missing out with the grandchildren and we came up with Paws & Purrs. My kitties are my substitute children and grandchildren. Joan A Styers Wishstar Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio - "When you wish upon a star". Linda Pollack Mercer, MD Catchurheart We wanted a name that would describe how we feel about our cats, as they are our children. They "Catch Your Heart". Donna & Roger Hoots. Imaginaries Never having had cats as a child, I was delighted when a friend gave me a kitten shortly after I was married. The intention was to keep the field mice out of the house in the fall and winter. (This can be a problem of living on the Prairie in Wyoming) Soon one cat had grown to four cats. After living with them for a short time I was enchanted with their antics and personalities. To this day, so many years later, I still enjoy getting up early in the morning when the sun is slanting and golden through the windows, pouring a hot cup of coffee, listening to the morning song of the birds and watching my cats chase through the house after invisible prey--which we call "Imaginaries." Every cat young and old chase these ephemeral beings to my great amusement. To me, the name Imaginaries represents the joy and peace my cats share with me daily. Vicki Richens EZ2LUV I think personality is extremely important on our cats, and I wanted my cats to be very easy to love. When chosing a name, I was told,"The Shorter, The Better". I think it was GREAT advice. I had a list of about 20 cattery names, (because I was sure that most would already have been taken). I was shocked, and extremely pleased, when I was awarded my FIRST choice. I have a lot of fun thinking up names for my cats, and I have never had one that didn't fit the space..so I have never regretted a short cattery name. I think a play on names, or a different way of spelling a name, make it something that is easy to remember....and EZ2LUV! Karen Claybin CastlePaws Now that I think about it after reading everyone else¹s stories, I really didn¹t put a lot of thought into acquiring my cattery name! Instead, my concern was coming up with a ³cute² name which I didn¹t end up with anyway! If I had it to do over again, I would name my cattery ³Harmony² to honor the memory of my beloved grandmother. Her surname was Harmon. Unfortunately that thought did not occur to me at the time. She shared my passion for cats and would have been very pleased with my using that name. I wonder if it¹s available? Pam Martin Labrese After much fighting, Labrese comes from Lapoma (La) Calabrese (brese). Joe Calabrese & Dorie Lapoma Vonguts In 1989 we were raising Himalayan's and they carried German names. Since my husband is a native of Germany and with a last name of ³Gut², he suggested that we add the word ³Von² to Gut and add an ³S²; therefore, our cattery name became Vonguts meaning kittens from the Guts. Sharon Gut Wannabe Our cattery name was decided on at the time this song was continually on the radio and TV and driving us all mad. Also everything we decided would be a great name for our prefix, was already taken or rejected for one reason or another. I had tried to use my mother's prefix as I thought it would be nice to honour her but was told by the GCCF that it would remain my mother's prefix always, so that sadly was that. We chose Wannabe also because it fits so well with the kitties chosen names such as Wannabe Harry Potter etc and because of the obvious reason we are Wannabes : > ) Sylvia Andrews, UK Chelcecats I really don't have a story..behind,,my cattery name,,,just the fact that my first silver was named Chel-C.....and I wanted little Chelcecats around... Lois Pomeroy Ultamint When I first got started my breeding of the silver persians,my good friend Peggy Thompson[Danpeg]gave me the idea,as her husband's name is Dan and hers being Peggy using half of both of their names made Danpeg....so wanting to also do something with my name in it,I thought of my silver cats and how pretty their eye color was[mint green]and knew I wanted to add something about eye color and here's how it turned out, I ended up building around my name, added in the "Ul-Tam-int "so the middle of my Cattery name has half of my name in it, I also liked the name "Silver Angels" but stayed with "Ultamint" Tammy Mendez La Cattique My cattery name came from my daughter. At the time, she lived in Nashville, Tenn. She was walking by a little shop called La Bootique and said why not call my cattery La Cattique. But believe it or not the name is murdered the same as my last name in pronouncing it! Wilma Van Scoyt Sterlingpaws When I was thinking of a name for my cattery I wanted it to be something of the best so I chose ³Platnum². Come to find out it was already taken from a lady in a nearby town. I called her and she told me that she bought a breeding pair of kitties, bred the first litter and last litter. That was it. .She kept all the kittens, had them spayed and nuetered and they all livde happily ever after. My next choice was ³Sterlingpaws² so that it was. When I produce my best its name will be Sue Horwedel. Shadedknoll I listed about 20 choices to CFA and all were declined,,so then I thought and thought and came up with ShadedKnoll. We live in the hills on a knoll and I have shaded cats,,simple isn't it? Some of my first choices were Wikiup (which is an Indian name and where I live) and also Shadycats, both were already taken. Sally Daniels Tridis. I first registered this name nearly 30 years ago for my Samoyed Kennel then when I entered into cat breeding with a colourpoint queen I used the same name. Why Tridis, a visitor said they wanted a dog but not sure what breed to buy so I said as I showed them my 6 week old sammy pups try this one and as I was in the process of registering both the prefix and litter Tridis it was and has been ever since. Yvonne Pender Jaiymeka When I applied for my breeders prefix we had to submit 8 names and they would choose which one nothing we could think of was good enough so my kids asked to make it out of there names our sons name is JAIYden and our daughters name is taMEKA hence the prefix of JAIYMEKA this way neither is missed out. Sandy Baraiolo If you are a Silver or Golden Persian Breeder/Exhibitor and your cattery is not listed please Send me your Cattery Name Story to castlepaws@bellsouth.net |
| Cattery Names and the Stories Behind Them |