Pawhold (noun) 1. The grip cats execute by wrapping their legs around something and refusing to relinquish it. 2. The emotional attachment cats hold over people.
Catwhacked
To be ambushed (bushwhacked) by a cat.
Example: “I swear, I was just walking by when Meep leaped out from behind the chair and catwhacked my foot. That cat. I swear, I never saw him coming.”
Catulation
Catulation (noun): 1. all the feline inhabitants of a particular house, building or structure; 2. cat population
Example of use: Our house catulation is four, with one more visiting on a neighbor visa.
Catitioning
Catitioning takes place when people change or modify behavior or actions, or won’t take action, because of the cat’s routines, or to avoid upsetting the cat.
Example of use: Meep was sleeping on the chair so Michael decided he’d wait and vacuum later. He’d been classically catitioned.
Preclawtionary
A raised warning paw, implying a threat, but actually a bluff.
Example of use: “Don’t worry about Tabitha. When you first reach out to her, she’ll look like she’s going to swat you, but she’s just being preclawtionary. She only hurts paper.”
Catner
A catner is a feline’s companion. This can be another cat, a human, dog or other animal (stuffed or alive).
An example of use: Pogo and Scheckter were catners in everything. Taking turns being the ginger shadow to the other, their activies caused people to pause to state in wondering realization, “Oh. There are two. That explains a lot.”
Cattipping
Cattipping, contrary to popular mis-use of the word, does not involve tipping cats over.
Cattipping (verb): feline behavior of casually and indiscriminately knocking objects over or off shelves, tables and other surfaces. These objects are usually decorative, office materials such as pens and pencils, and pills and vitamins (either in or out of containers), but may also include hairbrushes, tweezers, fingernail clippers, glasses of water, eye-glasses, and buttons.
Coupdepaw
A coupdepaw takes place when a cat successfully steals something from under your nose without you noticing it.
Sweet Crystal, a Bombay Black with us decades ago, was a master of the coupdepaw. One Sunday morning in Columbia, SC, found us reading the newspaper on the floor while enjoying powdered sugar mini-doughnuts. With paper sections spread out on the floor, we had a plate of the doughnuts between us.
The doughnuts disappeared amazingly fast. Beginning to accuse each other of eating all the doughnuts, we looked behind us. There was sweet Crystal, innocently looking on, velvety black paws and face covered with white powdered sugar.
Purrunclaw
Purrunclaw is a naturally occurring condition that develops when a person is petting a cat, and the cat is enjoying it only to suddenly swipe at the owner with their claws in a definitive pronouncement, “That’s enough!”
In illustration:
“Nan, what happened to your hand? It’s all scratched up.”
“Oh, just some purrunclaw with Flash.”
Cathead
Person who has cats living in their house with them who believes they ‘own’ the cats.
Tucker – “What are you doing in my office? Sit down so I can get on your lap.”
Michael Seidel, writer 