According to Wikipedia, “Zedoary (Curcuma zedoaria, known as kacōramu in Telugu) is the name for a perennial herb and member of the genus Curcuma Linn., family Zingiberaceae. The plant is native to India and Indonesia. It was introduced to Europe by Arabs around the sixth century, but its use as a spice in the West today is extremely rare, having been replaced by ginger.”
And this is relevant to cats how?
Well, nobody told Wikipedia, but Zedoary is also the name for a Bengal-like torbie cat with a big mouth, wild and wonderful eyes, and a bottomless appetite for snuggling. Temporary habitat: Tabby’s Place. Forever habitat: a home of her own.
Now, you may well be wondering how in heaven a cat gets a name like Zedoary. Some names are obvious (Peachy, for instance), and “theme” groups (like the Value Meal) are always fun. But Zedoary? In a smashing instance of thinking way outside the box (galaxies away from the box, in fact), Danielle and Denise decided to name a recent new quartet of cats after spices…but no Cinnamon or Ginger would suffice here. Beginning with Paprika and Anise, Denise and Danielle went on to name the last two new arrivals with ever-more unique names: Juniper (which is, in fact, a spice) and…Zedoary.
The rest of the staff’s reaction was pretty unanimous: Zedoary??!!?
Yup. Zedoary.
As it happens, Danielle’s explanation for the name makes quite a bit of sense. This feline was so exotic, so startling, so downright remarkable, that no simple, ordinary name would do. A quick web search for “spice names” later, and Danielle and Denise agreed that this most exotic of spices was the perfect fit for the beautiful torbie with the glass-green eyes, coat of many colors, and loud meow. (Besides, “Bay Leaf” or “Asafoetida” just doesn’t have the right ring to it.)
Wild name notwithstanding, we all agreed that this standout sweetie was the type of cat to get adopted “right out of the back.” From time to time, a cat will be so spectacularly appealing that an adopter will scoop her up before she’s even cleared from our quarantine area in the back of Tabby’s Place. But, to our surprise, this didn’t happen to Zedoary. In fact, even after moving to Suite B and showing her sweet, beautiful stuff for all who passed by, Zedoary lingered at Tabby’s Place for weeks, while other cats were adopted left and right.
So it’s only right that our one-of-a-kind wonder finally found her very own, very smitten family at last this past weekend. I don’t know whether they’ll be keeping her rhizome-inspired name, but there’s no doubt that Zedoary’s unique beauty and glittery personality will continue to spice up their lives for all of her days.
I do a happy dance for Zedoary and her new family! And, of course, I do my rhythmic and beautiful Tabby’s Place dance to honor the establishment and her staff, volunteers and other kitties! WHOOP!
I thought she was named Zedoary because she is so Zedorable.
I love the happy ending stories. I wish Zedoary and her new family a beautiful life together.
I love the comments as much as the stories sometimes 🙂 Yay for Zedoary!
Zedoary Update! After lving with Miss Z for about six weeks now, I wanted to give an update on her new life with her very smitten family! I cannot imagine life without her–she is a perfect fit in our household. She and our black Labrador Roxy tolerate each other very well, and may be on their way to becoming friends. Z follows me around everywhere, comes when she is called and sleeps with me every night. She has not yet stopped purring. She loves to play, and I am so happy that she is enthusiastic about her scratching posts.
She does seem to have carrier/crate anxiety. She needed her nails cut, but she resisted (gently) getting into her crate. After trying on and off for two days, I finally got her in and she had a successful manicure! However before we reached home, she became so stressed that she messed in her carrier and then lost her breakfast. She was calm, cleaned, and cuddled within the hour, but sooner or later she is going to need to travel again. Any suggestions would be appreciated to make her experience less stressful.
Suzanne, thank you so much for this happy update. Miss Z was so blessed to join your family – I can tell from your words how much you love her, and clearly the feeling is mutual!
I’m passing along your question about helping to ease Zedoary’s travel woes to our Senior Veterinary Technician, Denise. Denise is a whiz at solving kitty conundrums, so I trust she’ll be able to help you and sweet Z.
Hugs to Zedoary and Roxy, Suzanne, and please keep me posted!