Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to indulge in sexual foreplay; to have sexual intercourse; thus caterwauler, caterwauling n.

1533		J. Heywood A Merry Play in Farmer (1905) 70: For I shall order her, for all her brawling, / That she repent to go a catterwauling.
1598		Florio Worlde of Wordes n.p.: ‘Esser’ in frega, to be proud or salt as a bitch or a catterwauling as cats.
c.1604		T. Heywood Wise-Woman of Hogsdon II i: [I will] come one of these nights, and make a racket amongst your Shee-Catterwaullers.
1621		Burton Anatomy of Melancholy 3.2.1.2: [She] catterwauls, and must have a stallion.
1632		R. Brome Covent-Garden Weeded IV i: This may warne you out of such caterwaling company.
1672		Wycherley Love in a Wood II i: Hang me if I am not pleas’d extreamly with this new fashioned catterwouling, this midnight coursing in the Park.
1681		Otway Soldier’s Fortune II i: sir dav.: Trade! humph, what trade? [...] beau.: Why trade of whore and no whore, caterwauling in jest.
1694		Comforts of Whoreing n.p.: Close Kisses, kind Embraces and all the Delights of Caterwoiling are put in practice.
1714		N. Ward Miseries of Whoring 157: With their close Embraces [they] practice all Intreagues of Catterwauling, and the like.
1771		Smollett Humphrey Clinker (1925) II 128: I hope you have worked a reformation among them [...] and set their hearts upon better things than they can find in junkitting and caterwauling with the fellows of the country.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict. 96: caterwauling [...] love-making.
1884		H. Smart Post to Finish II 20: From what I hear, you came to Riddleton fooling after my daughter. Now, I’ll have no caterwauling of that sort.
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 16: Caterwauling, [...] also love-making, from the noise of cats similarly engaged.

2. to wander the streets at night, looking for excitement, esp. sexual conquests.

1520–33		J. Heywood Johan 109: I shall order her, for all her brawlyng, That she shall repent to go a catterwawlyng.
1611		R. Cotgrave Dict. of Fr. and Eng. Tongues n.p.: Gars A lad [...] Aller a gars. To hunt after lads; [a wench] to goe a caterwawling.
1673		Head Canting Academy 120: This disloyal Husband [...] left the warm bed of his hitherto constant Bed-fellow to go a catterwowling.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Caterwauling Men and Women desirous of Copulation, a Term borrowed from Cats.
1706		Rare and Good News for Wives in City and Country 4: [Husbands] when they have been a caterwouling all day, [...] come home with weeping Codpiece, to tell a sham story of straining their backs, by taking a ditch after the Buck or Hare.
1725		New Canting Dict.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Caterwauling going out in the night in search of intrigues, like a cat in the gutters.
c.1786		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: Catterwauling. You have been Catterwauling. You have been out intriguing, or on the Roofs.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc. 22: Caterwauling [...] applied to men, who go out nightly in search of adventures.