CATÜ

noun and adjective (Environment) noun: Short for catalytic converter, catalyst, or catalyser, a device which filters pollutants from vehicle exhaust emissions, thereby cutting down air pollution. adjective: Catalysed; fitted with a catalytic converter (used especially in cat car). Etymology: Formed by shortening catalytic converter, catalyst, or catalyser to its first syllable. History and Usage: Catalytic converters were first developed in the fifties, but the abbreviation cat did not start to appear frequently in print until about 1988, when the first models of car fitted with a cat as a standard option became available in the UK. Although quite separate from the issue of unleaded fuel, the desirability of cat cars has tended to be discussed in connection with the widespread switch to lead-free petrol, since a cat can only do its job--to 'scrub' carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and hydrocarbons from the exhaust--in cars which run on unleaded fuel. At first, new models were produced in both cat and non-cat versions, but cat-only models look increasingly likely in the nineties. Unusually, Ford have been completely wrong-footed on this one by arch-rival Vauxhall, who are to start supplying cat cars in the UK this autumn. Performance Car June 1989, p. 20 The new Turbo's exhaust system...features a metallic-element catalytic converter, while even the wastegate tailpipe is equipped with a cat and a muffler. Autocar & Motor 7 Mar. 1990, p. 13 'Cats' are like honeycombs with many internal surfaces...covered with precious metals which react with harmful exhaust gases. Independent 3 Aug. 1990, p. 2