One of the reasons for choosing cat names tends to be a specific letter with which the name should begin. Although this is mainly the case for cats born in kennels, the choice of the initial letter of the cat's name may also have been influenced by other factors (e.g. matching the name to that of the mother, sibling, other family pet, or owner). This article focuses on cat names that begin with the first letter of the Latvian alphabet. The material under review comes from the responses to a questionnaire created by the author and posted on Facebook at the end of 2020. Of all the cat names in the survey, approximately 2.3%, or 454 cat names, begin with A and 237 are different from each other. The three most popular cat names with the initial letter A are Ance (33), Ansis (21) and Alise (13). In addition to changing cat names (Avena > Avenīte, Alpiņš > Alpina), some shortened forms may be used in everyday communication, often resembling hypocoristics or nicknames (Arčibalds > Arčijs, Adrija > Ada). Although it is not possible to divide all cat names into strict semantic groups, and this article discusses trends in the choice of cat names without giving a percentage breakdown of each semantic group, it is clear that the reasons for choosing cat names are varied, for example, the name-giver's perception of how the name sounds (Amūrs, Aza), the cat's appearance (Asaka, Astī), behaviour (Atspere, Ašais), time (Amors, Augusts) or place (Avene) of birth or finding, desire for an unusual name (Alisters, Alfijs) or Latvian name (Ansis, Ance), the name-giver's interests, hobbies, occupations (Aksis, Akords), name matching (Punktiņa and Antons), attempt of humour (Amālija Pūderslotiņa) and so on. However, it is important that the survey responses allow us to look at cat names from a socio-onomastic perspective, as the information provided by respondents demonstrates that the motivations for the same word can be quite different. The article gives an insight into the interesting world of cat names and can also be a source for choosing and making new cat names. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]