From the now lost hypothetical Romanian root *cată or *cat (from Latincatta(“cat”)/cattus) + the Romanian diminutive suffix -ușă. Was once attested in an old gloss as having the meaning of "cat" (pisică in Romanian), and this is also preserved in some place names such as Dealul-Cătușii, Cătușa, and Cătească. Compare Aromanian cãtushi, which preserved the original sense. [1]