'cat-like' originates from the English word 'cat' combined with the suffix '-like', where 'cat' refers to the domestic feline animal and '-like' means 'resembling or similar to'.

'cat' from Old English 'catt', and '-like' from Old English 'lic', meaning 'having the form of'.

Initially, it meant 'having the form or characteristics of a cat', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.