# Wildcat **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769 "2000-01-04T19:15:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/1 "2000-01-05T06:45:00Z")
A neighboring community has a football team named the “Wildcats”. Wouldn’t that team name include every kind of cat ever born with the exception of the domestic cat? Wouldn’t a “wildcat” be all kinds of cats…ie lions, tigers, panthers,bobcats,I guess my question is, is there a breed of cat in nature that is simply called a “wildcat”? And btw anyone know what the hell a wampus cat is or how it came to be? * * * “Look honey, there’s the little dipper, I’d show you the big dipper but my zipper is stuck.” -aha ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/2 "2000-01-05T06:53:00Z")
Maybe they’re named after exploratory oil and gas wells. ---
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/3 "2000-01-05T06:56:00Z")
Or some good ole’ fruitjar whiskey… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/4 "2000-01-04T19:15:00Z")
According to Webster’s: > [@](#): > > **wildcat 1 a:** either of two cats (_Felis sylvestris_ of Europe and _F. ocreata_ of Africa) that resemble but are heavier in build than the domestic tabby cat **b:** any of various small or medium-sized cats (as the lynx or ocelot) (I hope I got all the UBB right in that.) So apparently there is a particular species (well, two) referred to as wildcat, although the general definition also holds. ## Still, I’m not sure sports mascots are the best guide for proper English usage. He that questioneth much shall learn much, and content much; but especially if he apply his questions to the skill of the persons whom he asketh; for he shall give them occasion to please themselves in speaking, and himself shall continually gather knowledge. But let his questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for a poser; and let him be sure to leave other men their turns to speak. Francis Bacon ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2000, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/5 "2000-01-04T19:32:00Z")
We call them Bobcats in California. Bigger than a housecat but smaller than a great cat (which we call cougars 'round these parts). ---
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2000, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/6 "2000-01-04T19:56:00Z")
Beatle > [@](#): > > Maybe they’re named after exploratory oil and gas wells. Well they have a print of a wildcat of some kind on their helmets. * * * “Look honey, there’s the little dipper, I’d show you the big dipper but my zipper is stuck.” -aha ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2000, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/7 "2000-01-04T20:37:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe they’re named after exploratory oil and gas wells. Hey, Look Me Over? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2000, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/8 "2000-01-04T20:46:00Z")
Aha, I think you’re getting wildcats confused with wild cats. It’s that little space that makes a difference. You know, like there is a difference between a wildebeest and a wilde beast. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2000, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/9 "2000-01-04T21:02:00Z")
Were Algernon and Ernest wilde beasts? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2000, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wildcat/5769/10 "2000-01-04T21:03:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Were Algernon and Ernest wilde beasts? Oscar certainly was, I hear. - Rick