Cat as a pet name for a cat occupies the philosophical extreme of the descriptive naming tradition: it is the animal named after itself, the simplest possible name, and the most accurate. At rank 2569 with 35 registry appearances, Cat is either a paperwork entry for a cat whose name was literally left blank and filled in with the species, or the most deadpan naming choice in the registry.
The Registry Artifact Question
At this rank tier and with this particular word, Cat likely appears in pet registries partly through administrative defaults — a species field migrating into a name field — and partly through deliberate owner choice. Disentangling the two is impossible from the data alone. Both explanations are plausible.
The Deliberate Naming Choice
A cat genuinely named Cat is one of the great minimalist naming statements. The most famous example is Holly Golightly's unnamed cat in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, referred to simply as "Cat." That literary reference gives the name a sophisticated, Audrey Hepburn-adjacent pedigree. See also how the human character's name connects to the baby name Holly.
The Counter-Reading: Completely Functional
Cat as a call name requires absolutely no imagination to use and creates zero confusion about what kind of animal you have. For owners who find the elaborate ceremony of pet naming slightly absurd, Cat is the most honest possible response to the question.