The term cat’s is the singular possessive form of cat. For example, “The cat’s toy was under the couch.” The word cats’ is the plural possessive form of cat, used when referring to something that belongs to multiple cats. For example, “The cats’ owner was very caring.”
The word cat follows the standard rule of forming plurals by adding an “s.” Therefore, when referring to multiple cats, you use cats. When indicating possession, you add an apostrophe after the “s” for the plural possessive form.
| Singular | Cat |
| Plural | Cats |
| Singular possessive | Cat’s |
| Plural possessive | Cats’ |
As you can see from the table, the singular possessive is cat’s and the plural possessive is cats’. The context of the sentence will help determine whether you are referring to one cat or multiple cats possessing something.
- Singular: The cat chased a mouse across the yard.
- Plural: The cats lounged in the sun all afternoon.
- Singular possessive: The cat’s whiskers twitched as it sensed the movement.
- Plural possessive: The cats’ favorite place to nap was the sunny windowsill.
Now we have covered the basics of using the plural and possessives of cat. Please keep reading to learn more about these forms and how to use them correctly in your writing.
Cat’s
The term cat’s is the singular possessive form of cat. You use it to mention something that belongs to one cat.
You will know whether a sentence refers to one cat by observing the other words in the sentence. For example, in the sentence below, we have the word toy, which is singular, combined with the singular verb was. Therefore, we know it refers to one cat.
- The cat’s toy was under the couch.
Cats’
The term cats’ is the plural possessive form of cat. You use it to mention something that belongs to multiple cats.
In this example, the word owners is plural, and we have the plural verb were. Therefore, we know the sentence refers to more than one cat.
- The cats’ owners were all members of the same family.
Cat
The term cat is the singular form, while cats is the plural form. When you need to refer to more than one cat, simply add an “s.”
This follows the standard rule for making countable nouns plural in English.
- I have one cat.
- She has three cats.
As this example shows, to refer to a plural quantity of cats, you simply add an “s.”
This guide should help you understand the correct usage of possessive forms for the word “cat.”
