A bat or cudgel bused by boys in a game at ball. It is known by the same name in England, though used for a different play. I have never heard the word here except in Rhode Island.
When the cat is laid upon the ground, the player with his cudgel or catstick strikes it smartly, it matters not at which end, and it will rise high enough for him to beat it away as it falls in the same manner as he would a ball.--Strutt, Sports and Pastimes.
Your petitioner most earnest implores your immediate protection from the insolence of the rabble, the batteries of catsticks, and a painful lingering death.--Tattler, No. 134.