Crossword Genius

Very little matter for a cat (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

atom

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

'very little' is the definition.
'atom' can be an answer for 'little' (thesaurus). I'm not certain of the 'very' bit.

'matter for a cat' is the wordplay.
'matter' becomes 'A' (A is an example).
'for' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a cat' becomes 'tom' (a tom is a male cat).
'a'+'tom'='ATOM'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for atom that I've seen before include "A wee bit" , "A mighty particle, makes huge explosion" , "Piece of matter in moat" , "A tiny particle of matter with a big bang" , "Particle; molecule" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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