What’s in a name?
Pr-n-Kmt, pronounced Per-en-Kemet, means in the language of the ancient Egyptians, “The House of Egypt.” As a recognition of the elegant yet muscular shape of the Abyssinian cat, which so closely resembles the cats depicted in the statuary and tomb-paintings of that ancient culture, we have chosen this as our cattery name.
Although Abyssinians have no known genetic connection with their revered ancestors, (the earliest known Abyssinian appearing to date from 1868 with Abyssinians being exhibited at Crystal Place in 1871 and 1883) the breed perfectly embodies the grace, intelligence and affectionate personalities of the felines which played such an important part in the lives of the Egyptians.
As cat owners for some twenty years and now breeders we have named many of our pets after figures from the history of ancient Egypt, however, this has often been expanded to include figures from ancient Rome and Greece. Where possible we shall try to explain in this site the reasons for our choices and to supply brief information regarding our cats’ illustrious namesakes.
A detail from a papyrus vignette in the Book of the Am-duat, “That which is in the Netherworld,” showing a cat killing the monstrous serpent Apophis. Note the high, pointed ears and the stylised representation of coat ticking — the defining characteristics of the modern Abyssinian breed.
