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Cat Lady Terms You Need To Know

Nancy Parish
Catness
Published in
6 min readJan 20, 2025

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My beige, brown and black tabby cat with her paw to her math gving me the slow blink
Harper Lee At the start of the slow blink/ Photo couresy of the Author

I’ve been a cat mom for most of my life. I currently share my home with three curious felines who I often write about. I use a certain vernacular when I talk about my feline companions.

I’ve realized that casual cat enthusiasts may not be familiar with some of the cat terms and expressions. Considering that, I’ve decided to provide a glossary of my own cat terms.

Ai·​lu·​ro·​phile: A person who likes, adores, and even loves felines. This term sounds so much more refined than calling someone — myself included — a crazy cat lady.

Biscuits: As in, “My cat is making biscuits on a blanket.” That may sound like they are relieving themselves on said blanket, but it’s something much cuter and a lot less messy.

I don’t know where this term originated but it refers to the kneading motion cats make with their paws before they settle into a sitting position. They usually do this on blankets, pillows, and even legs.

Making biscuits is one of the cutest things cats do. It’s a carryover from when they were kittens trying to get as much of their mother’s milk as they could by massaging that area around the mammary glands. My cats are world-class biscuit makers.

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Nancy Parish
Nancy Parish

Written by Nancy Parish

Amateur Cat Herder. Previously, Contributing Editor for CWIM. My ebook Life with Scout: The Blind Kitty Chronicles avail. https://thesoundandfurry.com/

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