catting, n.¹ — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

catting n.¹

[orig. cat n.¹ (1); strengthened in 20C by SE tomcat, a stereotypically libidinous animal; obs. in the UK by the early 19C; 20C+ use is US black]

looking for female company and/or sexual conquests.

1725		New Canting Dict. n.p.: catting [...] Whoring.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. 1725].
1961		C. Himes Pinktoes (1989) 19: Still cats keep right on catting.
1961		Jazz Rev. 7: Davis, the featured tenor soloist at the time, was ‘catting’ with a young lady at ringside.