Definition of "clowder"

A Brooklyn friend who persists in feeding the host of creatures - including me - who appear at her door will be delighted to know that the most nonchalant recipients of her largesse may be referred to as a clowder of cats.

1984 15 April, Nelson Bryant, “Bevies of Terms Befuddle Prides”, in The New York Times

Real cat fights are rare in established clowders. So instead of risking serious injury, cats resort to menace and threats.

2007, Kathryn Soper, Cat Wrangling Made Easy

Leonard: You’re clearly upset about Amy being gone, and you’re trying to replace her with a bunch of cats. / Sheldon: Clowder. / Leonard: What? / Sheldon: A group of cats is a clowder. Or a glaring. It’s the kind of thing you ought to know now that we have one.

2010, The Big Bang Theory, episode “The Zazzy Substitution”

How ‛bout organizing a party of clowder chowder. You know, big servings of chowder for the cat clowder.

2011, M.D. Pueppke, Fuzzy the Cat, The One and Only, “Getting on terms with the terms”