Why is a male cat a 'Tom' and a female a 'Queen' ?

Question

its such an unusual combination - interesting to know how it came about and what we call other male and female animals

Answer 1

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FILE *fp = fopen("filename", "r");  

/* if file cannot be opened, print error number and error string */

if (fp == NULL){  

    printf("Cannot open file, error %d, %s\n", errno, strerror(errno));

    */

    perror("Cannot open file");

Answer 2

Perhaps because the Tom before neutering is like an old Tom gardener, always getting dirty, smelly, hardly taking the time to wash.

The Queen says it all - because the she-cat sits preening herself and seeking attention just like a Queen.

However, after the Tom has been neutered he acts just like a Queen, forever preening himself and seeking attention.

I do not know if there is any historical reason why they should be named Ton and Queen.

Answer 3

Interesting! I don't know about why cats are called this way. Some other animals include:

Horses:

stallion (m)

gelding (castrated m)

mare (f)

filly (f under 4 years old)

colt (m under 4 years old)

Dogs:

***** (f)

Dog (m)

Pigs: [including guinea pigs I believe]

Sow (f)

Boar (m)

Rabbits: [deer also the same]

buck (m)

doe (f)

Answer 4

I don't know but if a male lion is called the king of the jungle does that make the lioness queen of the jungle?

Answer 5

Why is a male human called man, and a female called woman?

You're going back to the roots of language.

Answer 6

It's my understanding that the expression "Tom" comes from a book written in the mid-1700s in England called The Life and Adventures of a Cat.  The "hero" of the book, a male cat who enjoyed the favours of many female cats, was named Tom.

The term ‘queen’ comes from the Old English word for prostitute or w***e - ‘Quean’.  As unspayed females will mate with as many as four different males when they are in heat, you can see why they gained this nickname.

I believe that baby squirrels are also known as kittens too :o)

Answer 7

actully lions do live in the jungle...asaistic ones.anyway female cats are called queens because the act like queens.sitting there waiting for you to give them things.tom cat i don't no maybe there was a god in Egypt with a cat head called tom