How would you interpret the word “steaming”?
Dear Shepherd,
All right pal, keep your hair on. Probably this is not going to be the salutations you’ve been waiting for. Merry Xmas and all that. Things have changed here, it can’t be helped. I collared a job in ads. No fish! Me myself, in an office full of neck ties, and let me tell you, these cats are steaming. I don’t want to be the jerk that can’t keep up.
…
How would you interpret the word “steaming” in the sentence “…these cats are steaming”?
Thanks. And this excerpt is taken from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.

Question

Answer

I think that it means the workmates work at a frenetic pace, particularly given the sentence afterwards. The idea could be that they are working so hard and so fast that there is steam coming off them, or also that they are 'powered by steam'.

Answer

The more a locomotive (powered by coal) runs, the more steams comes out
from it. The metaphor is exactly as Gary said, in my view.