Snowshoe Cat Names, Names For Snowshoe Kittens, Page 6

The Snowshoe was almost extinct twice. The breed traces to a single early-1960s litter in Philadelphia, when Siamese breeder Dorothy Hinds-Daugherty's queen produced three kittens with white feet — a marking the breed standard had no category for. Hinds-Daugherty named them Silver Laces and crossed her line with bicolor American Shorthairs to fix the white feet and the deep-blue eyes. By 1977 only one breeder, Vikki Olander, was still working with the line.

Recognition came slowly. The Cat Fanciers' Federation accepted the Snowshoe as experimental in 1974, then granted Championship in 1983. ACFA followed in 1990, TICA in 1993, FIFe in 2004. The CFA has still not granted full Championship — breeders continue to work toward it.

The breed-defining marking is the white inverted-V across the face, paired with white feet and pointed coat over a single-layer shorthair body. Snowshoe kittens are born almost entirely white and develop their points over weeks; the full pattern can take up to two years to settle. GCCF describes the silhouette as "of a runner rather than a weightlifter" — medium build, athletic, between the heavier Birman and the leaner Siamese.

Voice is the other inherited trait worth naming around. The Snowshoe is talkative but not loud — a softer, more melodic voice than the Siamese parent. Names with open vowels and soft consonants suit the breed's vocal register: Willow, Marlow, Yuki, Sora.

The bicolor mask and white feet sit at the intersection of two color traditions — the white cat names hub covers the dominant pale coat, and the bicolor cat names hub covers the contrast markings that define the Snowshoe pattern.