Why s a small cat called kitten?

A small cat is called a kitten because the word "kitten" is simply the diminutive form of the word "cat." It's like saying "little cat."

Here's why:

* Old English: The Old English word for "cat" was "catt." To create a word for a small cat, they added the suffix "-en" which was commonly used to make diminutives. This is how "kitten" came about.

* Other Languages: Many languages have similar diminutives for "cat," like "gatito" (Spanish), "gatinho" (Portuguese), and "chaton" (French).

So, it's not a specific reason why a small cat is called a kitten; it's simply a word that developed naturally in the language to describe a young cat.