the.com/alley cat
A cat that pays its own rent and owes you nothing.
means A homeless or free-roaming cat that survives by its wits in streets and back lanes, answering to no one.
from Straightforward compound of 'alley' (a narrow backstreet, from French 'allée,' a walking path, from 'aller,' to go) plus 'cat.' The term caught on because alleys were exactly where such cats lived and scavenged — behind restaurants and houses, away from human households. By extension it came to describe any scrappy, street-smart, independent sort, feline or otherwise.
- diet
- Whatever runs slower than it does
- social contract
- Tolerates humans, trusts no one
- lifespan secret
- Street smarts beat pedigree, every time
- grooming standard
- Scars count as style