Italian words for kids · Animals
How to say “cat” in Italian
Cat is a short, friendly word to say, and nearly every child has a favorite cat from a book, a show or the house next door.
Cat in Italian
il gatto
Sounds like ≈ eel GAHT-toh
Good to know: Hold the double t: GAHT-toh. Italian cats say miao, and a kitten is a gattino.
Hear it in a song
Real lines from our Italian songs, with the English meaning shown in the app:
Dov'è il gatto?
Where's the cat?
from Il Gatto e il Cane (The Cat and the Dog)
Ape, cane, delfino, farfalla, gatto, luna, mela, pesce!
Bee, dog, dolphin, butterfly, cat, moon, apple, fish!
from A come Ape (A Is for…)
Verso del gatto?
Cat sound?
from Cosa Dice l'Animale? (What Does the Animal Say?)
2 songs that teach it
“Cat” is one of the key words in these songs. Every line is shown in Italian with its English meaning.
Also sung in: Gli Animali, Cosa Dice l'Animale?, Dov'è?, Gli, Gn e le Doppie, Ciao, Autunno!, Io Ho, Tu Hai, L'Orchestra degli Animali.
Practice ideas for parents
- 1Crawl around as cats and "meow" the Italian way.
- 2When you read a picture book, point to every cat and say gatto.
- 3Play hide-and-seek with a toy cat and call gatto while you look.
Related Italian words
“Cat” in other languages
Sing it in Italian, free
The first unit, 6 greeting songs with lyrics and English translation, is free forever. No card needed. Premium unlocks all 134 songs.
About the pronunciation: the “sounds like” spellings are rough English approximations for parents (capital letters show the stressed syllable). Italianhas sounds English doesn't, so treat them as a starting point and let the songs be the model. Songs are original and produced with AI music tools. Ideas for using Italian songs with your family.