If you're talking about this "kat - desktop search enviroment" (icon of gray cat near the clock), it's probably because you removed it from the taskbar.
I'm pretty new, so I'm sorry if I didn't solve it for you.
I removed that icon myself while using Mandriva 2006, and had that "KDE crash" all the time, while booting up and at the desktop. It wouldn't always stop.
That's all I can think of. I hope I was of some help.
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