I can’t possibly count how many times, in any given writing session, I interrupt myself to mentally search for a different way to say something. Whether it’s a concept, a sentiment, a thought, a sentence – the hunt to find other ways of saying the very same thing, more often than not, feels like a tooth extraction. The sad part is how helpful it would be to have this skill come easily to me (I blog for a living). Yet even something as straightforward as thinking up another way to say a single word: torture. It can be so painful, I often find myself doing a quick search for synonyms online to see if a thesaurus can alleviate my agony.
Obviously, this isn’t a blog about words, writing, or anything along those lines – it’s a blog about cats. So today’s post, and possibly the only post I’ll do in this vein, is going to take a look at many of the ways you can speak about cats without using the word “cat.”
Picture from post Our New Cat Knew: Stick Around Long Enough, They’ll Let You In
Yes, this is absolutely a post I’m doing in large part for myself. I pen every article on this cat blog – you can’t fathom how many times a week I wish for another straightforward way to say the word “cat” without having to repeat the word “cat” another thousand times. Not that I feel I have to be original, I just can’t bear to see the same single word repeated 20+ times in the same short paragraph. So yes, finding different ways of saying “cat” will directly help me, and writing this post to use as a reference later is likely to bring me just a smidgen more peace of mind while I madly type away in the WordPress back end.
Whether you’re here looking for other ways to say “cat” for a poem, essay, article, play, or any other type of writing, creative or not – welcome. And, for the love of god, if you can think of any other ways to say this simple word, please leave a comment. Obviously, you’d be doing me a solid.
This article lists both a slew of synonyms and metonymies (OED definition: “The substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the turf for horse racing.”) Again, if you think of others, leave your ideas below to help reduce my anxiety a peg as I write the plethora of posts about cats you can find published on this blog.
Picture from post Walker Sniffing at the Camera
“Cat” by Another Name? Synonyms & Other Words for “Cat”
Words for types of cats
Thanks to Sue for these!
- Tom (Male Cat)
- Queen (Female Cat)
- Clowder (Group of Cats)
- Glaring (Group of Cats)
Synonyms commonly used to refer to cats
- Feline
- Kitty, Kitty-Cat
- Kitten
- Tomcat
- Tabby
- Puss
- Mouser
- Pet
- Pussy Cat, Pussy
- Moggie, Moggy
- House Cat, Domestic
- He-Cat, She-Cat
Common nicknames for cats
- Pussy
- Pusskins
- Furry, Furball
- Fluffy
- Fluffball
Well-recognized body parts of cats
- Whiskers
- Claws
Common cat behaviours
- Purrs
- Meows
- Mews
- Scratches
Words commonly used in substitution for “pet”
- Paw
- Furry, Furbaby, Furball
- Fluffy
- Tails
Picture from post Avery’s Winter Portraits
List of wild/large cats
Pulled from this list of the wild cat species of the world (check it out for a complete list):
- Lion
- Leopard
- Jaguar
- Tiger
- Caracal
- Serval
- Guina
- Oncilla
- Colocolo
- Margay
- Ocelot
- Lynx
- Bobcat
- Cheetah
- Jaguarundi
Cat Breeds List
Pulled from this list of the most popular cat breeds:
- Exotic
- Ragdoll
- British Shorthair
- Persian
- Maine Coon
- American Shorthair
- Scottish Fold
- Devon Rex
- Abyssinian
- Oriental
- Siamese
- Cornish Rex
- Norwegian Forest Cat
- Siberian
Prefer a list of all cat breeds? There’s a full list here.
“Cat” in Other Languages
Pulled from this list of words for cat in other languages:
- Gato (Galician, Portuguese, Spanish) / Gatto (Italian)
- Chat (French)
- Kat (Danish, Dutch, Afrikaans) / Katu (Basque) / Katze (German)
- Kass (Estonian)
- Cica (Hungarian)
- Mace (Albanian)
- Macka (Bosnian, Croatian, Slovak, Slovenian)
- Mushuk (Uzbek)
- Kedi (Turkish)
- Paka (Swahili)
Picture from post The Story of The Three Musketeer Persian Cats (& an Imposter)
Even More Ways to Say “Cat”?
Can you think of other words, or other ways in general, for talking about cats without using the word cat itself?
Are there any words you prefer to use over others when you’re referring to cats? Any you really dislike?
Can’t wait to hear your ideas in the comments down below!
I’ve always loved that too!
You forgot the original cat. The Turkish Angora. That and the Egyptian Mau started it all.. The Turkish Angora has been around since the day’s of the Pharaoh and has been proven to be one of the only original breeds. They are rare and most beautiful. The Turkish Style is the most beautiful. But there are American breeders as well and several standards. Also the female intact whole is called a Dam and the Male intact whole is called a Sire. The Term Queen is used in breeding for the female once she has has a litter or can be used then also to describe the hiarchy position she has obtained.
I really like the term “Queen” for a female cat. So appropriate!
It definitely is, haha 🙂
There is a rare cat breed call a Pallas cat or Manul. There small but wild. Not good as a pet. From
central Asia
Just looked them up and wow do they look unique! Almost like they’re a cat mixed with a sloth or some other animal.
I some times refer my cats to others as my little beasts or the king and queen of the house.
I use the term “tiny terror” to describe Avery sometimes, so I totally get “little beasts;” really dig that you use the term to refer to them with others!
Hey.
A group of cats is a clowder or a glaring.
And as a male cat is called a tom a female cat is called a queen.
I rather like the term ‘glaring’
Need to edit the article to add these!
Dig the term glaring as well. Considering how much cats stare, feels appropriate 😉
Purr with fur, female is a queen, literally. Brat or brat-cat at times. Velcro. Jaws when she chews stuff she isn’t supposed to. You’ve covered most of the others.
Jaws is hilarious – dig it! & Purr with fur, I’m surprised I don’t hear that more often, sounds so nice! Thanks for sharing, Mary 🙂
A term of endearment that I use for my feline friend is “Bunny-cat.”
But when he’s misbehaving, I call him “Little demon!”
That’s too sweet! I love “little demon.” I used to call Avery “bear cub” when he’s being cuddly & cute, and “tiny terror” if he’s being playful and attacking toys. I need to publish an article on nicknames “at different times” – I think a lot of people likely do the same!