As with most ‘scenes’, there are a number of terms that people commonly use in conversation because they are used to using them despite the fact that not everybody knows what they mean.
This can be very annoying as we learnt early on when we started attending cat shows to promote our SecureaKat Cat Enclosures and spent half of the time asking people what they meant when they used certain words!
You can save yourself from going through the same experience by spending a couple of minutes reading this blog post which explains some of the more commonly used cat terms.
Glossary of Common Cat Terms (click on the red links to read more information)
ACF – Australian Cat Federation. An Australia wide, recommendatory body with
affiliates in all States and Territories. All Breeds Club – A cat club that caters for all breeds
Alter – Another term meaning to neuter or ‘fix’ and applies to either gender.
Bed Bug – A cat that likes to sleep on your bed.
Bloodline – Pedigree of a cat. The feline equivalent of a family tree.
Buff – When a cat rubs its facial glands on an object. Read more about why cats rub against things here.
Caregiver – A person responsible for a pet cat. Sometimes people take offence at the use of the word “owner” as they view their pet as a friend who shares their home not a possession.
Castrate – Removal of the male cat reproductive organs.
Cat Candy – Cat treats
Cat Collector – A person who acquires and hoards great numbers of cats but through a lack of space, resources and ability, does not provide proper care. This is a form of obsessive compulsive disorder and the person if often completely unaware of the distress they are causing the cats living on their property. Click here to read an article on cat collecting by cat expert Sarah Hartwell. Can also be used to describe a person who collects cat related items.
Cat Hoarder – Another, possibly better term, for a cat collector.
Cat Fancy – People who are members of a cat association who breed & or show their cats. Cat Fancies often run cat shows. The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy of Australia can be found here and gives information on breeders as well as cat clubs and shows throughout Australia.
CCCofA – Co-ordinating Cat Council of Australia.
CFA – Cat Fanciers Association. The worlds largest registration of pedigree cats.
Closed Show – A cat show in which spectators, exhibitors and paying public are excluded until the completion of judging.
Clowder – A group of cats.
Cross Breed – Offspring produced by the mating of two distinct breeds.
Curl – The standard sleeping position of a cat where its head rests on its forelegs.
Domestic – A common term used to describe a housecat which through breeding has become adapted to humans over many generations, has a genetic predisposition to tameness. In cat shows it means any cat that is not registered for breeding or exhibition.
Feline Panleukopenia (FPV) – A viral infection affecting cats.
Ex-Feral – A formerly feral cat which has been tamed and now lives as a pet. Learn about how to tame a feral cat here.
Feline Association – Feline Association of South Australia.
Feral – A cat which is fully wild or an ex domestic cat that has reverted to being wild. Read about some of the issues with feral cats here.
Fixing – Another common word meaning to desex a cat. Fixing can also mean to “fix” a certain characteristic by selective breeding or inbreeding.
Flake Out – A cat laying straight on its side or stretching.
Full Tom – An unneutered male cat, often used for breeding.
Guardian – Another politically correct term for a cats caregiver/owner.
Half-pedigree – A term often used by breeders because it sounds more attractive that calling a cat a “moggy”. It means a cat with one pedigree parent. A half-pedigree cat is still a moggy since there are no half measures… A cat is either a pedigree cat or is not one.
Hissed Off – A cat who is annoyed to the point of hissing.
House Cat – A cat who doesn’t leave the house.
Hybrid – A cross between two different breeds. Read about some of the common hybrid cats here.
Inbreeding – Mating two closely related cats (sibling/sibling, mother/son, father/daughter) to strengthen desirable traits. Read more about inbreeding as well as the pros and cons in this article by cat expert Sarah Hartwell.
Intact – A cat that is unneutered. Also known as undesexed, unaltered.
Kindle – A group of kittens.
Kitten – A young cat. Many describe a cat as a kitten until it reaches sexual maturity at 5-6 months old.
Litter – A family of kittens which are born to a female at the same time.
Moggy – A mixed breed or cross-bred cat which is not pedigreed or purebred.
Mutt-Cat – Another term for a mixed breed or cross bred cat.
Neuter – A castrated cat or spayed which has been surgically rendered sterile.
Open Show – A cat show in which spectators, both exhibitors and paying public are able to view the judging of the cats.
Outbreeding – The opposite of inbreeding. This is where unrelated individuals are mated to improve type or vigour.
Outcrossing – Mating a pedigree cat of one breed to a cat of a different breed/type in order to strengthen/improve the breed or introduce new traits.
Pedigree – A cat belonging to a particular breed and having a family tree/pedigree chart registered with the breed regulatory body.
Purebred – Having only cats of the same breed in its family tree with no outcrossings. Not all purebreds have pedigrees, some purebreds are unregistered or the variety is not a recognised breed.
Queen – An unspayed female cat.
Registration – Responsible breeders apply for registration of litters bred and all cats kept by them. Also some local government laws require cats to have annual registration. Read more here.
Scruff – The loose skin at the back of a cat’s neck.
Scruffing – A way of disciplining a cat. Learn about scruffing here.
Semi-Feral – A non-domestic cat that lives predominantly in a feral state, but has some contact and experience with humans. This may be due to having been born into a domesticated state and then reverting to life in wild conditions, or it may be an animal that grows up in essentially wild conditions but has developed a comfort level with humans due to feeding, receiving medical care, or similar contacts.
Spay – A neutered female cat which has had an operation to remove the ovaries and womb (ovario-hysterectomy).
Sterilise – A non gender specific term meaning to be neutered.
Stray – A tame domestic cat with no home or owner. Stray cats are often given to a shelter such as the RSPCA or the Animal Welfare League.
Stropping – The proper term for when a cat sharpens it’s claws. Find out how to stop your cat from scratching on this blog post.
Teaser Tom – A male cat that has been vasectomised but still behaves like a full tom and will continue to spray, fight and mate.
Tom – A male cat, particularly an uncastrated male cat. Sometimes called a “full tom”.
Trait – A characteristic, either physical or personality based, that is inherited.
Unaltered – A cat that has not been desexed.
Vasectomise – A form of sterilisation where the vas deferentia is snipped but the testes are left intact. This means the cat will behave like a full tom, but cannot make a female pregnant.
Wild – Often used to denote a feral cat. A wild cat is strictly a member of a non-domestic species. Wild cats hunt small mammals and birds.
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