pet cat; house cat
A cat kept as a pet, as opposed to a stray or wild cat.
Our pet cat is very friendly.
Pet cats and stray cats have different lifespans.
野良猫 is a cat with no owner living outdoors, while 飼い猫 is a pet cat that has an owner and lives indoors.
Standard modern spelling.
Older or abbreviated kanji form; less common in contemporary writing.
Compound of 飼い (kai, 'keeping, raising', the continuative form of 飼う) + 猫 (neko, 'cat').