Favourite cat maybe exchanged for racer? (7)
I believe the answer is:
whippet
'exchanged for racer?' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both animals as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'favourite cat' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'favourite' could be 'pet' (synonyms) and 'pet' is found in the answer.
'cat' could be 'whip' (cat o' nine tails or cat is a type of whip) and 'whip' is present in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'maybe' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for whippet that I've seen before include "Small slender breed of dog like a greyhound" , "Greyhound relative" , "Dog related to 9 down" , "Small greyhound-type dog" , "Dog similar to a greyhound" .)