catturate

Catturate is a neologism used in some contemporary art, design, and literary discussions to describe a mode of representation that aims to capture the essence or presence of cats in a given work. The term is generally understood as a portmanteau of cat and capture, with the suffix -ure signaling a process or result. It is mostly encountered in niche online communities and small-press contexts rather than in formal academic discourse.

In practice, catturate refers to approaches that foreground feline attributes such as gaze, agility, autonomy, and elusive behavior. In visual arts and photography, catturate often manifests as composition choices that emphasize negative space, deliberate pacing of movement, and restraint in detail to evoke a cat’s instantaneous stillness or sudden motion. In narrative or screen media, it can describe storytelling that mirrors a cat’s selective perception—brief, intense observations followed by rapid shifts in focus or atmosphere, rather than overt anthropomorphism.

Usage and reception are uneven. Catturate has appeared in artist statements, zines, and online galleries where contributors describe their work as catturate to distinguish it from realistic depictions or overtly sentimental portrayals of cats. Critics note that the term lacks a formal definition and may overlap with established notions of realism, impressionism, or animal subjectivity in media studies.

See also: cat photography, animal agency, anthropomorphism.