猫! (ねこ) (=^・^=)
子猫 Mini version of (=^・^=)
猫又(ねこまた) - a youkai (=^・^=) with two tails
玉猫, a nice round sphericat!?
では、叩き

Unfortunately this isn’t kanji shiritori, so 猫又 isn’t a continuation of 子猫. But since the word came up:
猫又おかゆ had a birthday concert stream today that was amazing, so if anyone here is looking for some entertainment with great music I would highly recommend watching her concert.
Since a new round should begin how about starting with this word:
お粥(おかゆ)Rice porridge
On the contrary, this is allowed per Rule No. 5, which allows two-kana overlap.
So, would you perchance change your porridge for something that matches well with my tataki!?
It’s a shame that there is no 妖怪 in the shape of a 玉猫!
Ah, I see. My bad. Sorry @NpPenguin .
金魚(きんぎょ)Goldfish, might be able to transform into 叩き if there’s a chef skilled with making small, delicate cuts with the knife.
漁業 (ぎょぎょう) - fishing industry

鰻 - Eel
Let’s keep the fishy chain going
ぎゅうにく -Beef
(sorry to break the fishy train! ;-
クレイジー

地獄(じごく)hell
籤 - Lottery
自動 (じどう) = automatic
同時 - Same time, Simultaneous
児童

馬 - Horse
枕

落籍 ( らくせき ) = lack of registration
貴族(きぞく) - aristocrat