Here's how the connection was made:
* Cat's Grain: This refers to a specific arrangement of bricks in a building, specifically the corners of a building. It is believed that the corner bricks were laid out in a pattern that resembled a cat's paw, hence the name.
* Kitty Corner: Over time, the Dutch phrase "kattekorn" was anglicized to "kitty corner," possibly due to its association with the familiar animal "kitty."
* Spatial Orientation: The phrase "kitty corner" eventually came to describe the position of something diagonally across from another object. This makes sense considering the corner brick pattern mentioned above.
However, there is no definitive documentation to confirm this origin. It's important to note that the origin of "kitty corner" is a subject of debate, and some sources propose alternative explanations.
Regardless of the exact origin, "kitty corner" has become a widely used idiom in English to describe a position that is diagonally across from something else.