Meaning
A slingshot — a forked stick strung with a rubber band, made and used above all by boys to fire small stones, most often at birds and at fruit high in the tree. A classic piece of Jamaican boyhood, the cyattie (or 'catty') is home-made and carried on country rambles, and learning to shoot one straight is a rite of passage. It belongs to the world of yard and bush play alongside the gig and the kite, remembered fondly from childhood.
Examples
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Di bwoy dem mek a cyattie fi shot bird.
The boys made a slingshot to shoot at birds.
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Him lick down di mango wid him cyattie.
He knocked down the mango with his slingshot.
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Nuh shot di window wid dat cyattie.
Don't shoot the window with that slingshot.
Origin
From English 'catapult', shortened to 'catty' and pronounced with the palatalised Jamaican 'cy-' as 'cyattie'.
How it’s used
A staple of old-time country boyhood. Also plainly 'catty'. Not to be confused with the English 'catty' meaning spiteful.