The term ‘ram-cat’ is an early name for a male cat. An alternative name at the time was ‘boar-cat’. Both these very old-fashioned terms were superseded by ‘tomcat’ in the 18th century. Today the word tomcat actually means an unneutered male cat; a street cat doing what tomcats do which is establish and defend territory in awful fights and procreate as much as possible to pass on his blood line. He’ll seek out females ready to mate who call for him in a caterwaul and he’ll fight off the competition with all his might! Tough life being a tomcat. He’ll end up with an abscess and a broken ear with scratches on his nose.
We can’t call the pampered, neutered, full-time indoor male cat a tomcat. Far too passive and placid. Not male feline enough, more a companion to humans.
