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A group of dogs is more specifically called a pack.
Puppies are called a liter, a group of Giraffes is called a tower, while a group of humans is called a club, mob, or a family.
But have you ever spent a few minutes trying to figure out what a collective name is for a group of cats?
When you are referring to more than three cats, are they called a flock or a Clowder?
The correct term for describing a group of kitties
A group of cats is commonly called a Clowder.
If you are referring to different groups of cats, then they are called clowders.
Clowder is the widely used term referring to a group of cats, but several other terms are used to mean the same.
Some of these terms include;
- Glaring of Cats
- Pounce of cats
- Cluster of Cats
- Clutter of cats
- Dout of cats
- Destruction of cats.
- Or a clowder
If you refer to a group of young cats or kittens, you can use the traditional term “Litter of cats” or a “Clowder of cats”.
There are other two terms that refer to a group of cats, “group of cats or just cats.
The other terms are “glaring” or “clutter”.
If you want to refer to a wild cat group, the correct term is “destruction” or “dowt”.
But I want to focus on the term “Clowder and explain in detail where the term came from and its use.
Old names for Individual cats
There are currently some specific terms that refer to individual cats.
It’s equally important to familiarize yourself with them.
A male cat has been referred to as Tom for the longest time.
You might have come across this term being used to refer to a non-neutered male cat.
A neutered male cat is essentially called a gib.
Female cats are called a Dam.
Also, Dam is a technical term referring to male cats, especially in breeding facilities.
For female cats at maturity or those that are nursing, they are generally termed as Queens.
People can as well call female cats Molly.
Where did the term Clowder come from?
Clowder is just one of the terms that can be used to refer to a group of cats.
But where did the name originate from, and why is it the most common term to refer to a group of domestic cats?
The term originated from the word “clodder” which is a middle East Term that was used to refer to “clotted Mass” The term was discovered in the 1700s and evolved later to Clowder.
How to use the term “Clowder”
Now that you know what a group of cats is called, how do you use the word “Clowder.
If you use this word in your daily conversations, your friends will probably not know what you are talking about.
The term is not used frequently, but if you are into animal essays or compile scientific research about cats, the name can be used.
Group of cats is very uncommon, mainly when referring to domestic cats.
How common a group of cats is will depend on whether the cats live in your house or are feral or strays.
Domestically, cats will hardly grow into large groups unless you are in a cat breeding facility.
Cats are more solitary than any other pet animal, meaning they are very unlikely to form large colonies.
However, some cat breeds can develop strong bonds and play, eat, and sleep together.
Some cats will easily tolerate each other more than other breeds could.
Whether or not cats will form groups in your home will depend equally on the available space and individual personalities of the breeds.
This is totally different when you are referring to wild cats.
In the wild, it’s very uncommon to find feral cats living together.
However, there are some instances where wild cats can form small groups depending on food availability and several other situations.
A Feral Cat Colony
The most common group of wild cats that can occur is a feral cat colony.
This usually happens when a mother gives birth, and the kittens develop to start their families.
After maturity, the colony will be dismantled for individual cats to survive.
As they grow, wild cats live together and hunt individually and not just like a pack of dogs.
In each cat colony, there are a complex set of relationships.
Unlike other animals, cats are unlikely to form a hierarchy.
Even in the colonies, some cats will have distanced relationships.
They can only form colonies, but they perform these activities alone when it comes to hunting and mating
.That said, the Feral cat colonies will only work when there’s enough food and little competition.
It will also work when the cats are very familiar with each other and have formed some kind of relationship.
I mean, there’s no way a new cat would join an already created colony.
The colony is usually made as kittens and their mothers bond together from birth.
FAQs
Why is a group of cats called a Clowder?
You might have noticed people referring to a group of cats as Clowder.
It’s a Latin word probably from Afro-Asiatic origin, which mainly means “wild cat”.
What do we call a group of cats?
A group of cats is referred to as a Clowder.
This term means wild cat, and you will find it used as a collective noun for animals.
What is a group of stray cats called?
A group of stray cats is called a colony or community cats or just free-roaming cats.
The use of words to refer to stray cats differs from place to place.
Conclusion
You just found out that there are many terms used to refer to a group of cats, whether wild or domestic.
Clowder is the most common term that can refer to a group of cats.
Interestingly, some basic words, such as glaring and clutter, are also used.
These names are quite uncommon to some of us, and we end up calling them “cats” or “just a group of cats”.
