Does your little one love cats? Does your family have a cat as a pet at home? Maybe their favorite character from a book is a cat. If this sounds like your child, we have the cutest little cat for you to draw with them!
This little kitty may look hard to draw, but with our step-by-step directions, it’s the easiest way to draw a cat. You may even learn a few interesting facts about cats along the way!
Once you and your little artist have drawn your cat, you can check out some of our cat-tastic books we have to read on the Caribu app!
How To Draw A Cat
If you’re looking for something cute and cuddly to draw, the cat is a perfect option. Before you start drawing, tap on the How to Draw: Cat coloring sheet, on the Caribu app, for a visual of the step-by-step directions.
Next, you’ll need to pick out what color you want the outline of your cat to be. Will you go out of the box and pick purple or green? Or, are you looking for something a little closer to nature, like black, orange, or brown? Either way, you choose, it’ll look super cute!
Step One
Once you have your color picked out, it’s time to start drawing. The first step is to make the head. Near the top of the page, draw a circle for the head. The size of your head will determine the size of the rest of the cat, so keep that in mind when drawing your circle.
Step Two
Once you have the head drawn, draw an oval under the head. The top of the oval should overlap the bottom of the circle. Don’t worry, we’ll erase the overlap in a later step.
Step Three
Now that you have the head and body, it’s time to add in the rest of the cat. First, start with the ears. To make the ears, all you need to do is add small two triangles to the top of the head. They should each be slightly down from the center on both sides. It’s okay that the triangles overlap the head a little bit. We’ll erase the extra marks later.
It’s known that dogs have amazing hearing, but did you know cats do too? In fact, cats have one of the broadest hearing ranges of all mammals. They can hear both low and high frequencies just as well.
Step Four
Next, it’s time to add the front paws. At the bottom of the oval, add a small oval on each side. It should almost look like the big oval (body) is balancing on the smaller ovals (front paws).
Step Five
Next comes the back paws. The back paws will be the same size ovals as the front. Draw the back paws at the top sides of the front paws. Thinking about a clock, the back paws should be at about 10 o’clock on the left front paw and 2 o’clock on the right front paw.
Step Six
Now, it’s time to make the legs. The front legs are also ovals, just a little bigger than the paws and smaller than the body. Starting about halfway up the body on the left side, draw an oval that reaches down to the top of the front paw, with a little bit of an overlap. Repeat this same direction on the right side.
For the back legs, these ovals should be even smaller than the front legs. Using the back paws as a guide, draw an oval that is slightly slanted, that just overlaps the body and front leg. Do this on both sides. Again, we’ll erase these overlaps eventually.
Step Seven
Now, it’s time to draw the cute little tail. The tail should start off of the back right leg. To make the tail, think about the top of a candy cane. The tail should have that same hook to give it a little movement.
Step Eight
Once the main parts of the cat are finished, it’s time to add the details. The first detail is the face. To make the face, you’ll need to draw guidelines (you can just eyeball the face too, especially if your artistic partner is new to drawing). To make the guidelines, draw a vertical line right down the middle of the head. Then, draw a horizontal line right through the middle.
Now that your guides are drawn, right under the horizontal line, draw two eyes. These should be on either side of the vertical line. Next, draw a little triangle nose about halfway between the horizontal line and the bottom of the circle for the nose. It should be on top of the vertical line.
It’s now time for the mouth. Starting at the point of the nose, draw a small curved line on both sides for the mouth. The lines should curve down and then up. Then, connect those two lines with a tiny half-circle in the middle for the tongue.
Have you ever felt a cat tongue? It feels a lot like sandpaper! Researchers are learning more about this phenomenon all the time, but they believe the cat tongue actually has backward-facing spines made of the same material as nails, (keratin). Their little tongues are textured this way so they can groom themselves.
Step Nine
Now it’s time to give this kitty a little more cat shape, instead of a bunch of shapes. First, using the triangles as a guide, round out the tips of the ears. Then, you can smooth the connection from the ears to the head, giving them a more organic look, instead of harsh lines. While working on the ears, following the shape of the ear, draw the line for the inside of the ear.
Next, you can give its head a little more definition. Using the circle as your guide, give your cat little cheeks and a chin. The cheeks can be pulled down just under the circle line, and the chin can be brought up above the circle. This line resembles that of an open safety pin.
Don’t forget about the paws! At the bottom of each paw, add a wavy line with three bumps that should look like their little digits or fingers.
Finally, using the ovals as your guide, draw darker lines to indicate the areas that should not be erased. For example, the lines for the front legs and the tops of the paw.
Step Ten
For this step, it’s time to erase all of the extra lines you drew to get the general shape of the cat. Once your extra lines are gone, you should have a picture of a sitting cat.
Step Eleven
Once you have your cat drawn, it’s time to add some details. Our cat has little stripes on it, but you can add spots, leave it solid, or even give it star polka dots. Here is where you get to use your imagination!
To make the stripes, add little curved triangles starting at the edges and going into the center of the cat. Don’t forget the tail!
Now is when you’ll want to add those cute little whiskers, as well. Their whiskers are very important for helping them balance. They also give them an added sense of smell. Whiskers help them fit through small spaces and identify obstacles. Cats need their whiskers, so don’t forget them!
Step Twelve
Finally, the very last step is to color your little kitty. Let your imagination run wild! You can use the colors of your favorite pet kitty, color it like a tiger, or use any color of the rainbow! Regardless of what you choose, it will be perfect because you made it.
What Are Fun Books To Read About Cats?
When you’re finished with your masterpiece, you can read all about cats on the Caribu app. There are tons of stories about cats, both fiction and nonfiction. There are even stories for emerging readers, like Scram Sam! Some of our other favorite stories about cats are A Cat Named Cow, Ginger and Giles, and Alycat and the Tournament Tuesday.
Conclusion
Drawing a cat may seem hard, but once you follow a few easy steps, you’ll have a picture of the cutest little cat around! Once you’re finished, you can keep up the cat theme with some fun books your kids will love.
At Caribu, drawing and reading are two of our favorite things, especially when they’re done with the people we love! Next time you video-chat with your family, let your little one teach them how to draw a cat!
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