story

The Story of CyberCat Consulting

I like to think that fate has played a hand in helping me start this business. My logo, the Japanese "beckoning cat" or Maneki Neko, is said to bring good fortune to businesses. But, that isn't why I used the picture.

The story begins in March of 2000 when my two sons and I went to a cat show in Del Mar, California. We were looking for a cat since we had lost our other two cats in a short period of time; one from old age, the other became coyote food. We had been cat-less for four months and I really wanted to get another pet.

As we strolled up and down the isles of the cat show, we passed a cage with a black and white Japanese Bobtail cat. The cat had his paw through the cage and was "beckoning" to us. Of course, we went over to say hello. That was all it took. We immediately fell in love and asked the breeder if he was for sale. She said yes and the next day we became the proud owners of a Japanese Bobtail - a breed I knew nothing about.

Our mascot, Nekosong's Kaizoku Ai (Pirate Love).

I did some research on the internet and found out that bobtails are playful, curious, active, and good with children and other pets; just the qualities I was looking for. Our cat, Pirate Love, had not been raised around children but immediately took to my (then) 5-year old. My (then) one-year old took the cat a little longer to get used to. I nicknamed them "the Twins" because wherever one was, I would find the other.

What, you may ask, does this have to do with the business logo? Hang on, I'm getting there.

After paying my dues to the corporate world, I finally decided to start my own business. I originally named it CyberSpyder, but on searching the Internet, I found another business called CyberSyder. The owner developed software for checking broken links on web pages. At first I thought it wouldn't be a problem since I was offering consulting services and could make the domain name "cyberspyderconsulting". However, the other CyberSpyder also did consulting. It would have been too confusing. So, I picked another animal and the name became CyberCat.

In choosing a logo I started with a Sabre-Toothed Tiger (get it? Sabre-Cyber?) but it soon became too complex for a logo. A logo needs to be simple and instantly recognizable (like the Nike swoosh). My next idea was to use Pirate Love as my logo; but when I tried to convert photographs to line drawings they were still very complex. Finally, I settled on the "beckoning cat" symbol since the cat is a depiction of the Japanese Bobtail. Simple, neat, and looks great on a t-shirt.

I recently found out that the symbol, also called a Maneki Neko, has different meanings depending on which paw is raised. A left paw raised indicates customers or guests, a right paw indicates wealth. The cats were most popular during the Edo period (1603-1867) of Japan and are found in paintings and sculpture. But, the bottom line is they are supposed to bring good fortune. I can only hope they do the same for my business.

Update 2001: For those who are interested, Pirate found a new friend in Januarty 2001 when we adopted Charlie, a stray my mother had found. Although Charlie is older (by almost 3 years) and heavier (8lbs versus 13.5lbs), the two run around and chase each other like a couple of kittens. They are great buddies.

Update August 2002: Sadly, we lost Pirate this year when he got out and became a meal for the coyotes in our neighborhood. I am very heartbroken over this turn of events, but he will remain the mascot of this business.

For more information on Japanese Bobtail cats or Maneki Neko, use the following links:

Cat Fanciers' Association Breed Profile: Japanese Bobtail
www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/japanese.html

Cat Fanciers' Association Breed Article: The Japanese Bobtail
www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/articles/japanese.html

Maneki Neko Club
www.manekinekoclub.com

Lucky Cat
www.catanna.com/luckycat.htm