cat

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. feline, puss[y], tomcat, tabby, grimalkin, alley cat, mouser, kitten; lion, tiger, leopard, cougar, catamount, lynx, cheetah, liger, etc. See animal.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A domestic animal]

Syn. tomcat, tom, kitten, feline, tabby, kitty*, kit*, puss*, pussy*, pussycat*, grimalkin, mouser.

Varieties of domestic cats include: Abyssinian, Maltese, Persian, Himalayan, Kashmir, Siamese, Korat, Manx, Burmese, Sphynx, Angora, British blue, Russian blue, Maine coon, Scottish fold, Egyptian Mau; alley, tiger, tabby, calico, tortoiseshell, shorthair, longhair, wirehair, bobtail.

2. [A member of the cat family]

Syn. feline, lion, tiger, leopard, panther, liger, tiglon, puma, wildcat, cheetah, lynx, bobcat, mountain lion, ocelot, serval, bushcat, cougar, mountain cat, painter, catamount, jaguar.

3. [*A caterpillar vehicle]

Syn. caterpillar, caterpillar tractor, tank, tractor, bulldozer, half-track, mucker*, hush-hush*, kitty*, landship*; see also tank 2 , tractor , truck 1 .

• let the cat out of the bag*,

Syn. expose, tell a secret, let slip*; see reveal 1 , tell 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

feline, kitty, kitten, tomcat, pussy, grimalkin, carnivore, pet, quadruped, ratter, alley cat, tabby, mouser, Abyssinian, American Bobtail, American Curl, American Wirehair, Balinese, Bengal, Birman, Bombay, Chartreux, Cornish Rex, Devon Rex, Egyptian Mau, Exotic, Havana Brown, Himalayan, Korat, LaPerm, Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest Cat, Oceicat, Oriental, Rag-doll, Russian Blue, Scottish Fold, Selkirk Rex, Siamese, Siberian, Somali, Sphynx, Tonkinese, Turkish Angora, Turkish Van. ''A pygmy lion.''—Oliver Herford.

WORD FIND

• black and white: piebald

• blue gray to slate gray coloring: blue

• bred from long line of its own kind: purebred

• breeding female: queen

• castrated male: gib

• domesticated cat living in the wild: feral

• father: sire

• frill around head in longhaired breed: ruff

• hairball: furball

• intoxicant: catnip

• ‘‘kneading’’ of paws on human’s stomach: milk treading

• long-bodied, long-limbed: rangy

• lover of: ailurophile

• mating cry: caterwaul

• mixed breed: mongrel, moggie

• mother: dam

• neutering of female: spaying

• newborn kitten group: litter

• patches of white on feet: mittens, gloves

• paw soles: pads

• phobic: ailurophobe

• pinkish gray coloring: lilac, lavender

• sexually receptive period of female: heat

• short-legged: cobby sneer of male as it smells urine of sexually

• receptive female: flehmen response

• striped: tabby, tiger

• thin, long tail: whip

• tortoiseshell and white coloring: calico

• trace colorings: ghost markings

• whiskers: vibrissae

• white marking from forehead to nose: blaze

• white or colored patch under neck: locket

• white undercoat with dark tips: chinchilla