Crossword Genius

Kitty grabbing hold of one large recoiling furry mammal (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

polecat

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'furry mammal' is the definition.
'polecat' can be an answer for 'mammal' (polecat is a kind of mammal). I'm not sure about the 'furry' bit.

'kitty grabbing hold of one large recoiling' is the wordplay.
'kitty' becomes 'pot' (both can mean a shared fund).
'grabbing hold of' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are grabbed).
'one' becomes 'ace' (ace has a value of one in some card games).
'large' becomes 'L' (eg in clothes sizes).
'recoiling' says the letters should be written backwards.
'ace'+'l'='acel'
'acel' written backwards gives 'leca'.
'pot' going around 'leca' is 'POLECAT'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for polecat that I've seen before include "Kind of weasel, called skunk in America" , "weaselly type" , "weaselly creature" , "Weasel-like mammal" , "Malodorous carnivore" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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