Spanish words for kids · Animals
How to say “cat” in Spanish
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 Spanish
el gato
Sounds like ≈ el GAH-toh
Good to know: A female cat is la gata. Gatito is the affectionate "kitty", and Spanish cats say miau.
Hear it in a song
Real lines from our Spanish songs, with the English meaning shown in the app:
El gato dice miau.
The cat says meow.
from El Gato y el Perro (The Cat and the Dog)
¿Leche para el gato?
Milk for the cat?
from Agua y Leche (Water and Milk)
El gato está debajo
The cat is under
from ¿Dónde Está? (Where Is It?)
2 songs that teach it
“Cat” is one of the key words in these songs. Every line is shown in Spanish with its English meaning.
Also sung in: Los Animales, ¿Qué Dice el Animal?, Agua y Leche, ¿Dónde Está?, ¡Yo Puedo!, Yo Tengo, Tú Tienes, La Orquesta de los Animales.
Practice ideas for parents
- 1Crawl around as cats and "meow" the Spanish way.
- 2When you read a picture book, point to every cat and say gato.
- 3Play hide-and-seek with a toy cat and call gato while you look.
Related Spanish words
“Cat” in other languages
Sing it in Spanish, 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). Spanishhas 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 Spanish songs with your family.