What is "wild cat"

cat \cat\ (k[a^]t), n. [AS. cat; akin to D. & Dan. kat, Sw. katt, Icel. k["o]ttr, G. katze, kater, Ir. cat, W. cath, Armor. kaz, LL. catus, Bisc. catua, NGr. ga`ta, ga`tos, Russ. & Pol. kot, Turk. kedi, Ar. qitt; of unknown origin. Cf. Kitten.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any animal belonging to the natural family Felidae, and in particular to the various species of the genera Felis, Panthera, and Lynx. The domestic cat is Felis domestica. The European wild cat ( Felis catus) is much larger than the domestic cat. In the United States the name wild cat is commonly applied to the bay lynx ( Lynx rufus). The larger felines, such as the lion, tiger, leopard, and cougar, are often referred to as cats, and sometimes as big cats. See Wild cat, and Tiger cat.

   Note: The domestic cat includes many varieties named from their place of origin or from some peculiarity; as, the Angora cat; the Maltese cat; the Manx cat; the Siamese cat.

   Laying aside their often rancorous debate over how best to preserve the Florida panther, state and federal wildlife officials, environmentalists, and independent scientists endorsed the proposal, and in 1995 the eight cats [female Texas cougars] were brought from Texas and released. . . . Uprooted from the arid hills of West Texas, three of the imports have died, but the remaining five adapted to swamp life and have each given birth to at least one litter of kittens.
   --Mark Derr (N. Y. Times, Nov. 2, 1999, Science Times p. F2).

   Note: The word cat is also used to designate other animals, from some fancied resemblance; as, civet cat, fisher cat, catbird, catfish shark, sea cat.

2. (Naut.)

   1. A strong vessel with a narrow stern, projecting quarters, and deep waist. It is employed in the coal and timber trade.

   2. A strong tackle used to draw an anchor up to the cathead of a ship.
      --Totten.

3. A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.), having six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.

4. An old game; specifically:

   1. The game of tipcat and the implement with which it is played. See Tipcat.

   2. A game of ball, called, according to the number of batters, one old cat, two old cat, etc.

5. same as cat o' nine tails; as, British sailors feared the cat.

6. A catamaran.

   Angora cat, blind cat, See under Angora, Blind.

   Black cat the fisher. See under Black.

   Cat and dog, like a cat and dog; quarrelsome; inharmonious. ``I am sure we have lived a cat and dog life of it.''
   --Coleridge.

   Cat block (Naut.), a heavy iron-strapped block with a large hook, part of the tackle used in drawing an anchor up to the cathead.

   Cat hook (Naut.), a strong hook attached to a cat block.

   Cat nap, a very short sleep. [Colloq.]

   Cat o' nine tails, an instrument of punishment consisting of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a handle; -- formerly used to flog offenders on the bare back.

   Cat's cradle, game played, esp. by children, with a string looped on the fingers so, as to resemble small cradle. The string is transferred from the fingers of one to those of another, at each transfer with a change of form. See Cratch, Cratch cradle.

   To bell the cat, to perform a very dangerous or very difficult task; -- taken metaphorically from a fable about a mouse who proposes to put a bell on a cat, so as to be able to hear the cat coming.

   To let the cat out of the bag, to tell a secret, carelessly or willfully. [Colloq.]

   Bush cat, the serval. See Serval.

alt. 1 An undomesticated felid, as tigers or lions. 2 A feral cat. 3 (context: uncommon) (altspelling wildcat nodot=1 English), (context: UK) the Old World wildcats (''Felis silvestris'') or (context: US) the bobcat (''Lynx rufus'') and other New World lynxes. 4 (context: uncommon) (altspelling wildcat nodot=1 English) ''in its other extended senses''. n. 1 An undomesticated felid, as tigers or lions. 2 A feral cat. 3 (context: uncommon) (altspelling wildcat nodot=1 English), (context: UK) the Old World wildcats (''Felis silvestris'') or (context: US) the bobcat (''Lynx rufus'') and other New World lynxes. 4 (context: uncommon) (altspelling wildcat nodot=1 English) ''in its other extended senses''.

Wild Cat is the debut album by the British heavy metal band Tygers of Pan Tang. It was released in 1980 on MCA Records. The album was re-issued in 1989 in a double-LP package with Spellbound, and on CD in 1997 with bonus tracks.

'''Wild Cat '''aka Coacoochee or 'Cowacoochee '(from Creek Kowakkuce "bobcat, wildcat"'') ''(c. 1807/1810–1857) was a leading Seminole chieftain during the later stages of the Second Seminole War as well as the nephew of Micanopy.

Wild Cat's exact place year and place of birth is not agreed upon. Many local scholars believe he was born in 1807 on an island in big Lake Tohopekaliga, south of Orlando. Some scholars say Wild Cat was born to King Philip (or Ee-mat-la) in Yulaka, a Seminole village along the St. Johns River in northern Florida around 1810. Still others suggest that he was born near present day Apopka, Florida. Wild Cat may have had a twin sister who died at birth and, having been born a twin, he was regarded by the tribe as being particularly gifted. As tensions mounted between Seminoles and local settlers following the purchase of Florida by the United States in 1821, Seminole tribes encouraged the escape of slaves in neighboring Georgia in reaction to encroaching settlers who began settling on the Florida coast previously occupied by Seminoles.

At the start of the Second Seminole War, the nineteen-year-old Wild Cat gained prominence leading a band of Seminoles and Black Seminoles until his father's capture and imprisonment in Fort Marion in 1837. Although some of the Black Seminoles had fled to Florida to escape slavery, most of the Black Seminoles were free descendants of Black Seminoles who had lived in Florida for more than a century.

In October 1837, Wild Cat appeared before American forces in a ceremonial peace headdress claiming to be an emissary of Osceola and, after negotiations with Colonel Thomas S. Jesup, American authorities agreed to peace talks. However, after the arrival of the Seminoles, Jesup ordered their arrest. While imprisoned at Fort Marion, Wild Cat would escape with nineteen other Seminoles, reportedly fasting for six days before they were able to slide through the bars of their jail cell and drop into the moat on the outside of the fort.

With the imprisonment of Osceola, Wild Cat emerged as the leading commander of the war fighting with Alligator and Arpeika against Colonel Zachary Taylor at the inconclusive Battle of Lake Okeechobee on December 25, 1837 before retreating to the Everglades. In 1841, only two years after his father's death while being transported to Indian Territory, Wild Cat agreed to meet American authorities for peace negotiations. After negotiating with Lieutenant William T. Sherman at the Indian River post of Fort Pierce, Wild Cat agreed to be transported to Fort Gibson in Oklahoma's Indian Territory along with his remaining two hundred followers. Growing depressed over his forced surrender, he was said to have stated, "I was in hopes I would be killed in battle, but a bullet never reached me."'

Traveling to Washington, D.C. with Alligator as part of a Seminole delegation in 1843, Wild Cat failed to gain financial aid for the Seminoles as the tribe suffered a series of floods and raids by neighboring Creeks (capturing free blacks and Indians and selling them to southern slave holders). This devastated the black and Indian Seminoles. Conditions continued to worsen until 1849 when Wild Cat left the reservation with about one hundred followers, consisting of Seminoles and black Seminoles, which included some former slaves, and escaped to Texas. Joined by about one thousand Kickapoos, Wild Cat's band eventually were able to establish a new community in Mexico where the government awarded the tribe an area of land in recognition for their service against Apache and Comanche raiders. Earning a commission of Colonel in the Mexican army, Wild Cat would live with the Seminoles until his death of smallpox in Alto, Mexico in 1857. He was succeeded by his son Gato Chiquito or Young Wild Cat.

On May 29, 2012 an application was registered at the US Bureau of Geographic Names to name a stretch of unnamed barrier islands on the Florida East Coast for this chief.

The Wild Cat (initially The Joy Ride) was a wooden roller coaster at Hersheypark, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. The roller coaster was constructed in 1923 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC). Under an agreement between Hersheypark and PTC, Hersheypark leased the land the coaster occupied, while PTC owned and operated the coaster. The agreement was for 15 years, at which point they had the option to extend the contract. The contract was ultimately extended to 1945. The roller coaster operated from June 16, 1923, through September 1945. PTC and Hershey Park elected to close The Wild Cat and construct a new roller coaster in 1946.

The Wild Cat was the first roller coaster designed by Herbert Schmeck .

The Wild Cat is a green two-masted schooner that Captain Flint, the Swallows, the Amazons and Peter Duck sail to the West Indies in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons book Peter Duck. She also appears in the opening chapters of Missee Lee. The ship would have been about 50 ft (15 m) long. In the book and the illustrations there is no mention of a head. This is typical of Arthur Ransome's reticence on the issue.

The name is taken from Wild Cat Island which features in all the books set in the Lake District. She was converted from a Baltic trading schooner by decking over the hold to make a saloon with a long skylight and four double cabins opening into it. The deckhouse has a couple of bunks for Captain Flint and Peter Duck.

In Ransome's book Missee Lee, the ship was burned to the waterline and sinks when Gibber, Roger's monkey, put a lighted cigar in the fuel (petrol) holding tank. In Peter Duck, the Swallow is aboard and is used as one of the ship's boats. In Missee Lee, both the Swallow and Amazon are aboard and used as lifeboats when she sinks.

Wild Cat is a song composed and performed by jazz guitarist Eddie Lang and violinist Joe Venuti, first recorded in New York, January 24, 1927. In the electronic edition of Katharine Rapoport,Violin For Dummies (2010), it is recommended listening "to really get your head (and ears) around jazz music".

It was something of a showcase piece for Venuti's talent as a violinist. His performance has been held to "offer some good examples of bow rockin'."

In the words of one critic:

"Wild Cat" illustrates the salient features of Venuti's unique violin styling. He utilized the full range of the violin, from low rich tones to the high, ethereal sounds near the bridge. [.. . ] The melody of the popular song "Wild Cat" was completely transformed through Venuti's ingenious improvisation on its underlying chord structure.

Andy Stein is also noted for a virtuoso performance of the same piece.

A further recording of "Wild Cat" by Stan Kurtis and Dick Hyman, which came out on the Pro Jazz label in 1987, was well received.