about packs of wolves, murders of crows, and colonies of ants. However what’s a gaggle of cats known as? No, it isn’t a delight like lions, however somewhat a clowder of cats. And whereas this time period would possibly make you image a bowl of clam chowder, it really shares origins with different phrases you realize.
Clowder Etymology: Why Is a Group of Cats Known as a Clowder?
In keeping with Teresa Keiger, self-proclaimed phrase nerd and inventive director of the Cat Fanciers’ Affiliation, the phrase clowder is English. Its origins hint again to the phrase “clotern,” like different well-known phrases comparable to “clot,” “muddle” and “cluster.”
“These phrases check with bits of issues coming collectively, mendacity round … hanging out,” Keiger says.
There are additionally references to a gaggle of cats being known as a “obtrusive,” however this distinction normally depends on the cats in query having an angle. “Obvious” is used when cats are unsure of one another. Consider a highschool reunion—a number of awkwardness there.
How Many Cats Make a Clowder?
Three or extra cats make up a clowder, which is smart. In spite of everything, three is a clowd—er, crowd. Jokes apart, that is primarily as a result of the phrase “pair” covers just about any group of two, and if a cat is by themselves, then they’re simply … a cat.
Remember that a gaggle of kittens just isn’t topic to the identical guidelines. You already know this phrase—a gaggle of kittens is usually known as a “litter.”
The place Would You Discover a Group of Cats?
Cats are usually solitary creatures, however might group up if survival is determined by it, Kieger says.
“Consider the 1500s when cats weren’t home pets,” she says. “They lived round the home and barns, maybe hanging out collectively in pursuit of meals and queens curled up with their litters, comparable in respect to the feral cat colonies seen right now.”
In actual fact, feral cat colonies are the preferred sort of clowder. However though the cats dwell collectively, they hunt individually, not like a pack of canine or wolves. The grouping is especially for defense and social bonding. Generally, cats will even lend a serving to hand, nursing kittens that are not their very own as a way to maintain them alive, in keeping with Cats on Broadway Veterinary Hospital in Missoula, Mont.
If you’re the proprietor of three or extra cats, they will additionally kind a clowder. Domesticated cats are much more social than their extra wild ancestors. Simply maintain a watch out for the hierarchy that units in so you possibly can maintain the peace amongst your felines.
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Different Phrases You Might Hear for a Group of Cats
Though clowder is undoubtedly probably the most enjoyable to say, you could, in your deep dive into cat historical past, come throughout a number of different phrases that imply the identical factor. Equivalent to:
- Cluster of cats
- Litter of cats
- Destruction of cats
- Dout of cats
- Nuisance of cats
- Pounce of cats
- Kindle of kittens
Simply maintain these in thoughts whenever you head out to your subsequent trivia night time.
