Severely criticise she is grabbing puss (6)

I believe the answer is:

scathe

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

'severely criticise' is the definition.
'scathe' can be an answer for 'criticise' (thesaurus). I'm not sure about the 'severely' bit.

'she is grabbing puss' is the wordplay.
'is grabbing' indicates putting letters inside.
'puss' becomes 'cat' (I've seen this in other clues).
'she' going around 'cat' is 'SCATHE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for scathe that I've seen before include "Harm, injure" , "To scorn" , "Carpet" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.