catness

English

Etymology

cat +‎ -ness

Noun

catness (uncountable)

1. The quality of being a cat.
   • 2002, Rebecca McClanahan, The Riddle Song & Other Rememberings, page 110:

     My theory is that every person contains a certain predetermined essence of either catness or dogness; a rare few contain essences of both. Catness is caution, privacy, order, mind; dogness is impulsiveness, sociability, chaos, body.

   • 2009, Naomi Zack, The Handy Philosophy Answer Book, page 31:

     For example, every cat is different, but all cats share the same catness because they participate in the cat form.

   • 2013, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Promises to Keep, page 125:

     The cat didn't have a sense of what a witch was, and didn't care, but it was willing to tolerate his catness as long as he maintained proper deference.

Anagrams

• ascents, cessant, secants, stances