CAT NAMING

Since people sometimes wonder how we come to the names we choose for our cats, I thought I'd give some explanations here.

Archie, our siamese-looking cat with the blue eyes, was named after Archie Goodwin of the Nero Wolfe series played by Timothy Hutton who also has blue eyes. Nero's Archie is his private investigator, while our Archie investigates everything in our house and yard. Nero's Archie chases women, but our Archie chases only Jenny.

Jenny is named after Jenny Jump, the name of the State Park near where we live. She also jumps very well. Jenny and Archie are litter mates and came here together as soon as they were old enough to leave the mother cat.

Cricket, now gone, was so named for catching a cricket her first day here as a tiny kitten.

Mr. Fox, our white long-haired cat also gone now, came with this house. The previous owners were planning to take him to a shelter when they moved south, but he disappeared before they could carry out their plan--smart cat! The day after they left, he reappeared. As he ran across the front yard with his plume tail straight out behind him, he looked like an arctic fox. Mr. Fox (Foxy for short) was with us for 12 years. Since he was here on our mountain before us, we named our property after him.

Mitzi moved here with us from our previous home. Her name was suggested by a friend of mine from the Netherlands after I asked her for one that would be a nice dutch name. Mitzi was a stray with a sweet disposition who purred so loud, you could hear it across the room.

Snapper, our first cat, was also a stray who found us at our last house. Since she came the same weekend that our new Snapper mower was delivered, that's how she got her name. The following year, when the Snapper dealer came to pick up the mower for service, I wanted to be sure the cat would not be run over by the truck in "her" driveway. As I called her, I suddenly realized that the driver thought I was calling the mower! Thankfully, she quickly appeared to vindicate me.

All our cats have led long, healthy lives and have given us many years of enjoyment!