Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also go catting) to search for a sexual partner.

1818		‘A. Burton’ Adventures of Johnny Newcome I 30: Here many a Fish-fag sat and stunk, And Sailor rolled, and catted Punk — But Muse, avast! — pray shift the scene, If thou would’st keep thy fingers clean!
1900		E.H. Babbitt ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 26: cat, v. i. To go with bad women.
1927		(con. 1917) J. Stevens Mattock 123: One night I was cattin’ down Clark Street.
1933		G. Milburn No More Trumpets 302: That would give you a little time to cat around and enjoy your freedom some, huh-huh-huh.
1942		H. Miller Roofs of Paris (1983) 180: Jean isn’t the only one who’s catting for a fuck.
1953		L. Uris Battle Cry (1964) 210: Bastard forgets the night he was catting around in Dago.
1962		P. Mandel Mainside 125: Bachelor. He cats around a good deal. He’s been sleeping with Mrs. Howland.
1966		Trimble 5000 Adult Sex Words and Phrases.
1977		C. McFadden Serial 98: I think he’s out catting around.
1985		Yeager & Janos Yeager 12: I was fifteen [...] catting around with three or four different gals.

2. to be sexually unfaithful.

1948		(con. c.1910) J. Stevens Big Jim Turner 89: Last winter she had wound up there, after a year of catting around and leaving her brats on Aunt Sue Hurd’s hands.
1956		H. Ellison ‘I’ll Bet You a Death’ in Deadly Streets (1983) 35: Cherry had been making too many catting motions around Checker recently.
1979		in J. Raban Old Glory 379: ‘Been catting around?’ ‘No, she weren’t catting around.’.

3. to wander purposelessly about.

1927		AS II 386/2: From cat comes the activity of catting around, that is, moving from place to place.
1938		‘Sl. among Nebraska Negroes’ in AS XIII:4 Dec. 317/1: Some verbal usages among Nebraska Negroes are to [...] jive around, to cat around. They are used with a rather indefinite meaning, perhaps ‘to fool around.’.
1949		Hal Ellson Duke 155: We only been catting around, but we’re all on fire.
1953		W. Brown Run, Chico, Run (1959) 17: ‘The trim’s not bad. Let’s pull a midnight review.’ ‘Cut it,’ Thomas ordered. ‘We ain’t got no time to cat around.’.
1963		M. Braly Shake Him Till He Rattles (1964) 54: We were out cattin’ around most of the night.
1965		C. Brown Manchild in the Promised Land (1969) 183: Catting was staying away from home all night .... Guys catted when they were afraid to go home .... They slept everywhere but in comfortable places.
1975		G. Underwood ‘Razorback Sl.’ in AS L:1/2 57: cat around vi Loaf, wander, or drive around without any particular purpose.

4. (US black) to ask questions.

1949

Hal Ellson Duke 149: They started catting around trying to find out what was wrong.