Cats are wildly popular with many people. Cats are the second most popular pet found in U.S. households. In 2020, there were roughly 60 millions pet cats in the country, representing just over 26% of all households.
That love of all things feline also shows up in place names around the United States. According to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names there are 615 geographic features with “cat” in the name. These are geographic features such as towns, canals, valleys, islands, streams, and reservoirs.
Map of Geographic Features in the United States with “Cat” in the Name
The most popular geographic features to contain “cat” in the name are is stream (224 features), followed by valley (74), and summit (73).
Which States Have Places with “Cat” in the Name?
Texas leads the way with the most geographic place names that contain the word “cat”. New York has 31 places and Colorado ranks third with 25 geographic features with “cat” in the name. 48 states have at least one geographic features with “cat” in the name. This database doesn’t include counties and parish (Louisiana) names.
Only Hawaii and South Dakota don’t have any geographic features with “cat” in the name.
| State | Number of Geographic Features with “Cat” |
| Texas | 41 |
| New York | 31 |
| Colorado | 25 |
| Oregon | 24 |
| California | 23 |
| Florida | 22 |
| North Carolina | 21 |
| Tennessee | 20 |
| Idaho | 20 |
| Utah | 19 |
| New Mexico | 18 |
| Arizona | 18 |
| Georgia | 17 |
| Kentucky | 17 |
| Arkansas | 17 |
| Maine | 16 |
| Montana | 15 |
| Oklahoma | 15 |
| Massachusetts | 15 |
| Alabama | 15 |
| Virginia | 14 |
| Nevada | 14 |
| South Carolina | 14 |
| Wisconsin | 13 |
| Washington | 10 |
| Mississippi | 10 |
| Maryland | 10 |
| Ohio | 10 |
| Missouri | 10 |
| Louisiana | 9 |
| Alaska | 9 |
| Kansas | 9 |
| Illinois | 8 |
| Michigan | 8 |
| Minnesota | 8 |
| Connecticut | 7 |
| West Virginia | 7 |
| New Jersey | 7 |
| Rhode Island | 6 |
| Pennsylvania | 6 |
| Wyoming | 4 |
| Indiana | 4 |
| Delaware | 3 |
| Nebraska | 3 |
| New Hampshire | 3 |
| Iowa | 2 |
| Vermont | 1 |
| North Dakota | 1 |
Historical Maps with Cat in the Name
This 1909 map shows Wild Cat Township located in Riley County in Kansas. Wild Cat Township currently has about 750 residents.
Los Gatos in California
Sitting at the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California is the town of Los Gatos. The name is Spanish for “the cats”. The town is named after the mountain lions and bobcats that are native to the region, especially in the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains. The name originates from the 1839 Alta California land grant covering the region, termed “La Rinconada de Los Gatos” which translated from Spanish means, “The Cat’s Corner.”
References
Larkin, M. (2021, November 17). Pet population still on the rise, with fewer pets per household. AVMA. https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/post/news/pet-population-still-on-the-rise–with-fewer-pets-per-household.xml
This article was originally written on May 15, 2022 and has since been updated.