cat (English, noun)
Pronunciation: tags: UK
US
enpr: kăt
ipa: /kæt/
tags: UK
US
ipa: [kʰæt]
tags: UK
US
ipa: [kʰæʔ]
tags: UK
US
tags: Canada
UK
ipa: /kat/
homophone: Cat
homophone: Kat
homophone: khat
homophone: qat
rhymes: -æt
Etymology: From Middle English cat, catte, from Old English catt (“male cat”), catte (“female cat”), from Proto-West Germanic *kattu, from Proto-Germanic *kattuz, generally thought to be from Late Latin cattus (“domestic cat”) (c. 350, Palladius), from Latin catta (c. 75 A.D., Martial), from an Afroasiatic language. This would roughly match how domestic cats themselves spread, as genetic studies suggest they began to spread out of the Near East / Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic (being in Cyprus by 9500 years ago, and Greece and Italy by 2500 years ago), especially after they became popular in Egypt. However, every proposed source word has presented problems. Adolphe Pictet and many subsequent sources refer to Barabra (Nubian) [script needed] (kaddîska) and "Nouba" (Nobiin) ⲕⲁⲇⲓ̄ⲥ (kadīs, “kadīs”) as possible sources or cognates, but M. Lionel Bender says the Nubian word is a loan from Arabic قِطَّة (qiṭṭa). Jean-Paul Savignac suggests the Latin word is from an Egyptian precursor of Coptic ϣⲁⲩ (šau, “tomcat”) suffixed with feminine -t, but John Huehnergard says "the source … was clearly not Egyptian itself, where no analogous form is attested."
It may be a Wanderwort. Kroonen says the word must have existed in Germanic from a very early date, as it shows morphological alternations, and suggests that it might have been borrowed from Uralic, compare Northern Sami gađfe (“female stoat”) and Hungarian hölgy (“stoat; lady, bride”) from Proto-Uralic *käďwä (“female (of a fur animal)”).
Cognates
Related to Scots cat, West Frisian kat, North Frisian kåt and kaat, Dutch kat, Danish kat, Norwegian katt, Swedish katt, German Low German Katt and Katte, German Katze, Alemannic German Chatz, Icelandic köttur, Afrikaans kat, Latin cattus, French chat, Norman cat, Occitan cat, Portuguese gato, Spanish gato, Aromanian cãtush, Scottish Gaelic cat, Irish cat, Breton kazh, Welsh cath, Cornish kath, as well as Ancient Greek κάττα (kátta), Greek γάτα (gáta), Turkish kedi, and from the same ultimate source Russian кот (kot), Ukrainian кіт (kit), Belarusian кот (kot), Polish kot, Kashubian kòt, Lithuanian katė, and more distantly Armenian կատու (katu), Basque katu, Arabic قِطَّة (qiṭṭa) alongside dialectal Maghrebi Arabic قَطُّوس (qaṭṭūs) (from Berber, probably from Latin).
Definitions: examples: text: At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.
ref: 1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 72
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synonyms: felid
feline
pantherine[Pantherinae#Translingual|Pantherinae]]>
panther[Panthera#Translingual|Panthera]]>
puss
pussy
kitty
pussy-cat
kitty-cat
grimalkin
cat
glosses: An animal of the family Felidae:
A domesticated species (Felis catus) of feline animal, commonly kept as a house pet.
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: text: I grabbed it and ran over to the lion from behind, the cat still chewing thoughtfully on Silent's arm.
ref: 1977, Peter Hathaway Capstick, Death in the Long Grass: A Big Game Hunter's Adventures in the African Bush, St. Martin's Press, page 44:
type: quote
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text: If you should someday round a corner on the hiking trail and come face to face with a mountain lion, you would probably never forget the mighty cat.
ref: 1985 January, George Laycock, “Our American Lion”, in Boys' Life, Boy Scouts of America, section 28:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 144
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text: She felt privileged to be here, living the experience inside the majestic cat [i.e. a tiger]; privileged to be part of their bond, even for only a few hours.
ref: 2014, Dale Mayer, Rare Find. A Psychic Visions Novel, Valley Publishing:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 74
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synonyms: felid
feline
pantherine[Pantherinae#Translingual|Pantherinae]]>
panther[Panthera#Translingual|Panthera]]>
glosses: An animal of the family Felidae:
Any similar animal of the family Felidae, which includes lions, tigers, bobcats, leopards, cougars, cheetahs, caracals, lynxes, and other such non-domesticated species.
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: text: Mammals need two genes to make the taste receptor for sugar. Studies in various cats (tigers, cheetahs and domestic cats) showed that one of these genes has mutated and no longer works.
ref: 2011, Karl Kruszelnicki, Brain Food, →ISBN, page 53:
type: quote
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synonyms: felid
feline
pantherine[Pantherinae#Translingual|Pantherinae]]>
panther[Panthera#Translingual|Panthera]]>
glosses: An animal of the family Felidae
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: text: “[…]—Say, do you mind telling me if people around here really eat cats?” He felt a shiver in the pit of his stomach. “Do they eat cat?” said the little old man, profoundly shocked.
ref: 1948, Harry Stephen Keeler, The Case of the Jeweled Ragpicker (The Screwball Circus Mysteries; 3), Wildside Press, published 2017, →ISBN:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 66
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130
133
text: You do not eat cat simply for the thrill of eating cat. You eat cat because cats have a lively jingshen, or spirit, and thus by eating the animal you will improve your spirits.
ref: 2013, Peter Hessler, Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West, Harper Perennial, →ISBN:
type: quote
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76
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text: I ate at a Chinese restaurant once, even though my friends told me I would probably be eating cat and dog disguised as chicken.
ref: 2013, James Bartleman, The Redemption of Oscar Wolf, Dundurn, →ISBN:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 94
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synonyms: catflesh
cat meat
gutter rabbit
roof rabbit
glosses: The meat of this animal, eaten as food.
tags: uncountable
examples: text: But, ere one rapid moon its tale has told, / He finds his prize — a cat — a slut — a scold.
ref: 1835 September, anonymous author, “The Pigs”, in The New-England Magazine, Vol. 9, 156:
type: quote
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glosses: A person:
A spiteful or angry woman.
synonyms: bitch
tags: countable
offensive
uncountable
raw_tags: g-person
examples: text: jazz cat
bold_text_offsets: 5
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type: example
text: I turn on the radio / There's some cat on the saxophone / Laying down a litany of excuses
ref: 2008, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Hold on to Yourself”:
type: quote
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glosses: A person:
An enthusiast or player of jazz.
tags: countable
uncountable
raw_tags: g-person
examples: text: Now you've listened to my story / Here's the point that I have made / Cats were born to give chicks fever / Be it Fahrenheit or Centigrade
ref: 1958, “Fever”, Eddie Cooley, Otis Blackwell, Peggy Lee (lyrics), performed by Peggy Lee:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 70
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text: Didn't know what time it was the lights were low / I leaned back on my radio / Some cat was layin' down some rock'n'roll 'lotta soul, he said
ref: 1972, “Starman”, in The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, performed by David Bowie:
type: quote
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text: 1973 December, "Books Noted", discussing A Dialogue (by James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni), in Black World, Johnson Publishing Company, 77.
BALDWIN: That's what we were talking about before. And by the way, you did not have to tell me that you think your father is a groovy cat; I knew that.
text: What fags are true I know what Mack's might do
I'm quite familiar with cats like you
Provoke to get me give me a good reason to smoke me
Try to break me but never wrote me)
ref: 1998, “Fiend”, in Respect, performed by Shaquille O'Neal:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 71
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text: I started showing up early for every team practice, and when all those other cats jetted to hit the showers, I put in even more work on the court, eliminating my weaknesses, practicing drills and perfecting my outside shot.
ref: 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 208:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 77
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text: I am sick of rappers claiming they hot when they really not
I am sick of rappers bragging about shit they ain’t really got
These cats stay rapping about cars they don’t own
I am sick of rappers bragging about models they don’t bone.[…]
And I am sick of all these cats with no talent
That never lived in the hood but yet their lyrics be so violent.
ref: 2006, “Sick of it all”, in Masta Ace (lyrics), Pariah:
type: quote
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267
glosses: A person:
A person (usually male).
synonyms: bloke
chap
cove
dude
fellow
fella
guy
man
tags: countable
slang
uncountable
raw_tags: g-person
examples: text: "Tell me. Willie said there was a cat in love with you. That isn't true, is it?" "Yes. It's true," Hudson corrects her, letting her think that by "cat" he means prostitute.
ref: 1999, Carl P. Eby, Hemingway's Fetishism. Psychoanalysis and the Mirror of Manhood, State University of New York Press, page 124:
type: quote
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147
150
glosses: A person:
A prostitute.
tags: countable
slang
uncountable
raw_tags: g-person
examples: text: Overhaul down & hook the cat, haul taut. Walk away the cat. When up, pass the cat head stopper. Hook the fish in & fish the anchor.
ref: 2009, Olof A. Eriksen, Constitution - All Sails Up and Flying, Outskirts Press, page 134:
type: quote
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topics: nautical
transport
glosses: A strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship.
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: text: […]he whipped a black man for disobedience of his orders fifty lashes; and again whipped him with a cat, which he wound with wire, about the same number of stripes;[…]he used this cat on one other man, and then destroyed the cat wound with wire.
ref: 1839, Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, testimony by Henry L. Pinckney (Assembly No. 335), page 44:
type: quote
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topics: nautical
transport
glosses: Short for cat-o'-nine-tails.
tags: abbreviation
alt-of
countable
uncountable
alt_of: cat-o'-nine-tails
glosses: A sturdy merchant sailing vessel (now only in "catboat").
tags: archaic
countable
uncountable
glosses: The game of trap ball.
tags: archaic
uncountable
glosses: The game of trap ball.
The trap in that game.
tags: archaic
countable
glosses: The pointed piece of wood that is struck in the game of tipcat.
tags: archaic
countable
uncountable
examples: text: "What the hell, so this broad's got a prematurely-gray cat."
ref: 1969, Iceberg Slim, Pimp: The Story of My Life, Holloway House Publishing:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 55
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text: As she came up, she tried to put her cat in his face for some licking.
ref: 2005, Carolyn Chambers Sanders, Sins & Secrets, Hachette Digital:
type: quote
bold_text_offsets: 37
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text: I had a notion to walk over to her, rip her apron off, sling her housecoat open and put my finger inside her cat to see if she was wet or freshly fucked because the dream I had earlier was beginning to really annoy me.
ref: 2007, Franklin White, Money for Good, Simon and Schuster, page 64:
type: quote
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qualifier: African-American Vernacular
glosses: A vagina or vulva.
tags: countable
slang
uncountable
vulgar
glosses: A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.) with six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: text: From behind the narrow slits in the walls of Castellar, crossbowmen and archers took aim at the juddering cat as it came closer.
ref: 2000, Stephen O'Shea, The Perfect Heresy, Profile Books, page 97:
type: quote
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synonyms: tortoise
Welsh cat
glosses: A wheeled shelter, used in the Middle Ages as a siege weapon to allow assailants to approach enemy defences.
tags: countable
historical
uncountable
Forms: form: cats
tags: plural
form: catte
tags: alternative
Synonyms: word: baudrons
word: cat
word: domestic cat
word: grimalkin
word: housecat
word: kibty
word: kitten
word: kitter
word: kitty
word: kitty-cat
word: kitty witty
word: malkin
word: mog
word: moggy
word: mouser
word: puss
word: pussy
word: pussy-cat
Hypernyms: word: animal
word: creature
word: carnivore
word: feline
word: mammal
word: pet
word: vertebrate
Hyponyms: word: catess
word: gib
word: he-cat
word: queen
word: ram-cat
word: she-cat
word: tom
word: tomcat
word: alley cat
word: barn cat
word: Cheshire cat
word: feral cat
word: farm cat
word: furbaby
word: purrito
word: wild cat
word: hairless
word: longhair
word: shorthair
word: bicolour
word: bluepoint
word: calico
word: calico cat
word: chocolate point
word: colourpoint
word: lilac point
word: red point
word: seal point
word: tabby
word: tabby cat
word: torbie
word: tort
word: tortie
word: tortoiseshell
word: tuxedo
word: tuxedo cat
word: void
Meronyms: word: claw
word: Jacobson's organ
word: paw
Derived terms: word: Abyssinian cat
word: a cat can look at a king
word: a cat in gloves catches no mice
word: a cat in hell's chance
word: a cat may look at a king
word: Aegean cat
taxonomic: Caracal aurata
word: African golden cat
word: all cats are grey by night
word: all cats are grey in the dark
word: alley cat
taxonomic: Leopardus jacobitus
word: Andean cat
word: Andean mountain cat
word: anticat
word: Arnold's cat map
word: Asian golden cat
taxonomic: Catopuma temminckii
word: Asiatic golden cat
word: barn cat
taxonomic: Catopuma badia
word: bay cat
word: bear cat
word: bearcat
word: bell the cat
word: Bengal cat
word: big cat
word: black cat
taxonomic: Felis negripes
word: black-footed cat
taxonomic: Lynx rufus
word: bobcat
word: Bombay cat
word: Burmese cat
word: Burmese
word: bushcat
word: cabbit
word: cactus cat
word: calico cat
word: care killed a cat
word: care killed the cat
word: cataholic
word: cat-a-mountain
word: cat and dog
word: cat and dog life
word: cat and kitten sneaking
word: cat and mouse
word: cat-and-mouse
word: cat around
word: catbath
word: cat bear
word: cat bird
word: cat-bird
word: catbird
word: cat-block
word: catblogging
word: cat box
word: catboy
word: cat-burglar
word: cat burglar
word: cat-burglarize
word: cat burglary
word: cat-burgle
word: catbutt
word: cat cafe
word: cat café
word: catcall
word: cat-call
word: cat calling the kettle black
word: cat-castle
word: catcatcher
word: cat-claw
word: catclaw
word: cat containment
word: cat-cow
word: cat cracker
word: catdom
word: cat door
word: caterole
word: caterwaul
word: catess
word: cat-eye
word: cat-eyed
word: catface
word: cat factory
word: catfall
word: cat farm
word: cat fight
word: catfight
word: catfish
word: catfit
word: cat-flap
word: cat flap
word: cat food
word: cat-foot
word: cat-footed
word: catfucker
word: cat fur
word: cat-fur
word: cat girl
word: cat-girl
word: catgirl
word: cat got someone's tongue
word: cat got your tongue?
word: cat grape
word: catgut
word: cathair
word: cat-hammed
word: cat-harpin
word: cat-harping
word: cathead
word: cat-head
word: cat hole
word: cathole
word: cat-hole
word: cathood
word: cat hotel
word: cat house
word: cathouse
word: cat-house
word: cat ice
word: caticorn
word: cat in hell's chance
word: cat in the meal-tub
word: cat in the meal tub
word: cat in the pan
word: cat in the sack
word: catio
word: catitude
word: catkin
word: catkind
word: cat lady
word: cat-lap
word: catlap
word: catless
word: catlet
word: cat-lick
word: catlicker
word: catlike
word: cat-like
word: catling
word: cat litter
word: cat liver fluke
word: catloaf
word: catlore
word: catlover
word: catloving
word: catly
word: cat malogen
word: cat man
word: cat-man
word: cat meat
word: cat milk
word: cat mill
word: catmill
word: catmint
word: cat-nap
word: cat nap
word: catnap
word: cat napper
word: cat-napper
word: catnapper
word: catness
word: cat-nip
word: catnip
word: cat nip
word: cat o' mountain
word: cat-o'-nine
word: cat-o-nine
word: cat-o'-nine-tails
word: catophile
word: cat organ
word: catperson
word: cat piss
word: catproof
word: cat-proof
word: cat-rigged
word: cat-salt
word: cat's cradle
word: cat scratch
word: catscratch
word: cat scratch disease
word: cat-scratch disease
word: cat scratch fever
word: cat-scratch fever
word: cat's eye
word: catsfoot
word: cat's-foot
word: catshank
word: catshark
word: catshit
word: cat-shy
word: catsicle
word: cat-sit
word: cat sit
word: catsitter
word: catskin
word: catskinner
word: catslaughter
word: catslide
word: cat's meat
word: cat's meow
word: cat snake
word: cat's pajamas
word: cat's pyjamas
word: cat's paw
word: catspeak
word: cat squirrel
word: cats rule, dogs drool
word: catstail
word: cat state
word: catstep
word: cat-stick
word: catstick
word: catstitch
word: cat stretch
word: catsuit
word: cat's whisker
word: cat's whiskers
word: catswort
word: cattail
word: cat-tail sedge
word: cat tax
word: cattery
word: cat that ate the canary
word: cat that got the cream
word: cat that swallowed the canary
word: cat thyme
word: cattish
word: cattitude
word: catto
word: cat tongue
word: cat tower
word: cat train
word: cat-trap
word: cat tree
word: catty
word: cat unit
word: Caturday
word: catvertising
word: cat wagon
word: catwalk
word: cat-walk
word: catwalker
word: catwise
word: cat-witted
word: catwoman
word: catworm
word: catwort
word: channel cat
word: Cheshire cat
word: chessy cat
word: Chinese desert cat
word: Chinese mountain cat
word: civet cat
word: civvy cat
word: community cat
word: conceited as a barber's cat
word: cool cat
word: coon cat
word: copy cat
word: copy-cat
word: copycat
word: curiosity killed the cat
word: Cyprus cat
word: dead cat
word: dead-cat bounce
word: dead cat bounce
word: desert cat
word: different breed of cat
word: dog and cat
word: dogs have masters, cats have staff
word: dogs have owners, cats have staff
word: domestic cat
word: duckbill cat
word: duck-bill cat
word: duck-billed cat
word: enough to make a cat laugh
word: ewe cat
word: false saber-toothed cat
word: false sabre-toothed cat
word: farm cat
word: fat cat
word: fat-cat
word: feral cat
word: fight like cat and dog
word: fight like cats and dogs
alt: Pekania pennanti, syn. Martes pennanti
word: fisher cat
word: fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus
taxonomic: Prionailurus planiceps
word: flat-headed cat
word: flying cat
word: fraidy cat
word: fraidy-cat
word: Geoffroy's cat
word: gib-cat
word: gib cat
word: grandcat
word: great cat
word: grin like a Cheshire cat
word: he-cat
word: hellcat
word: hepcat
word: hep cat
word: hep-cat
word: herd cats
word: house cat
word: housecat
word: hunting cat
word: hydrophobia cat
word: Iriomote cat
word: Janus cat
word: Japan cat
word: Java cat
word: jungle cat
word: KatyCat
word: kick at the cat
word: Kilkenny cat
word: kit-cat
word: kitling
word: kitty-cat
word: kitty cat
word: kleptocat
word: lap cat
word: lead a cat-and-dog life
word: leopard cat
word: let the cat out
word: let the cat out of the bag
word: like a cat in a strange garret
word: like a cat on a hot tin roof
word: like a cat on hot bricks
word: like a scalded cat
word: like herding cats
word: like the cat that got the cream
word: little spotted cat
word: lolcat
word: look like something the cat brought in
word: look like something the cat dragged in
word: look what the cat dragged in
word: look what the cat drug in
word: look what the cat's dragged in
word: look who the cat dragged in
word: Maine Coon cat
word: Maine Coon
word: make a cat laugh
word: Maltese cat
word: Manx cat
word: Manx
word: marbled cat
word: m-cat
word: mercat
taxonomic: Bassariscus astutus
word: miner's cat
word: mountain cat
word: mudcat
word: multicat
word: musk cat
word: native cat
word: nervous as a cat
word: nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs
word: noncat
word: Norwegian forest cat
word: not enough room to swing a cat
word: not while pussy's a cat
word: Ocicat
word: old cat
word: painted cat
word: Pallas' cat
word: Pallas cat
word: Pallas's cat
word: pampas cat
word: Pampas cat
word: Pantanal cat
word: Persian cat
word: Persian
word: phoby cat
word: play the cat and banjo with
word: podcat
word: poor as a barber's cat
word: pork-cat syndrome
word: pseudocat
word: pussy cat
word: put the cat among the pigeons
word: rain cats and dogs
word: ram-cat
word: reduced cat
word: ringtail cat
word: ring-tail cat
word: ringtailed cat
taxonomic: Bassariscus astutus
word: ring-tailed cat
word: ring-tailed civet cat
word: roaring cat
word: robocat
word: Russian Blue cat
word: Russian Blue
word: rusty-spotted cat
word: sabercat
word: saber-toothed cat
word: sabrecat
word: sabre-toothed cat
word: saltcat
word: sand cat
word: Savannah cat
word: scaredy cat
word: scaredy-cat
word: Schrödinger's cat
word: scimitar cat
word: scimitar-toothed cat
word: sea cat
word: which way the cat jumps
word: Serengeti cat
word: set the cat among the pigeons
word: she-cat
word: shoot the cat
word: Siamese cat
word: Siamese
word: sick as a cat
word: singed cat
word: skin the cat
word: snowcat
word: so help me cat
word: spokescat
word: steppe cat
word: stink-cat
word: tabby cat
word: tabby
word: tear a cat
word: tear-cat
word: Temminck's cat
word: the cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet
word: there are many ways to skin a cat
word: there's more than one way to skin a cat
word: there's more than one way to feed a cat
word: there's more than one way to fuck a cat
word: thin as a barber's cat
word: tiger cat
word: tip-cat
word: toddy cat
word: tom-cat
word: tom cat
word: tomcat
word: top cat
word: tortoiseshell cat
word: troll cat
word: tuxedo cat
word: Van cat
word: wait for the cat to jump
word: walk back the cat
word: walk the cat back
word: watchcat
word: werecat
word: when the cat's away the mice will play
word: whip the cat
word: wildcat
word: wild cat
word: wild-cat
word: wobbly cat syndrome
word: wolf-cat