The cat is the number-one star of children's sketchbooks around the world, and for good reason: its shape is built from the simplest geometric forms a child knows — a circle, a triangle, and an oval — and the result is adorable no matter how simple. In this lesson we draw a sitting cat looking straight at us, in ten numbered steps a five-year-old can genuinely follow on paper. Then we'll fix the most common mistakes together and finish with coloring ideas that make your child's cat unlike anyone else's.
Before starting, prepare: white paper, a pencil, an eraser, and any colors you have. And an important reminder for parents: sit next to your child and draw along on your own paper — sharing doubles both the fun and the benefit.
The Cat Drawing Steps, in Order
- 1) Draw a big circle in the upper half of the paper — this is the cat's head. Don't worry about an imperfect circle; real cats' heads aren't perfect either!
- 2) Add two triangles on top of the circle, one right and one left — the ears. Make each triangle's base touch the circle.
- 3) Inside each ear, draw a smaller triangle — the pink inner part of the ear.
- 4) Below the head, draw a wide oval touching the circle — the sitting cat's body. Make it slightly wider than the head.
- 5) Now the face: two big dots for eyes around the middle of the circle, and a small upside-down triangle between and slightly below them — the nose.
- 6) From the bottom of the nose, draw a short line down, then two small arcs to the right and left — the famous cat smile.
- 7) Whiskers: three straight lines coming out of each side of the face. Light and long — that's the secret of the cute look.
- 8) Front legs: two vertical lines coming down inside the body, with a small oval paw at the end of each.
- 9) The tail: a long curved arc coming out of the side of the body and curling upward — like a sleeping question mark.
- 10) Review your drawing: darken the lines you love, erase the extras, and add your personal touches — little fur strokes on the chest or a collar with a bell.
Common Mistakes and Instant Fixes
We've watched hundreds of children draw their first cats, and these four stumbles repeat every time — each fixable with a single guiding sentence:
- Ears in the middle of the head instead of on top: remind your child the triangles "stand on the surface of the circle," they don't float inside it.
- Body much smaller than the head: say "the cat is sitting on a big cushion" — they'll widen the oval automatically.
- Eyes too close together: teach the "imaginary third eye" trick — leave enough space between the eyes to fit a third one.
- Whiskers short and thick like fingers: ask for whiskers "long like spaghetti," drawn with a light touch.
And the golden rule for any mistake: don't grab the pencil and fix it yourself; draw the correct version on your own paper and let the child compare and adjust with their own hand.
Time to Color: Every Cat Has a Personality
Here's where the real fun begins — color is what makes your child's cat truly theirs:
- The orange tabby: color the body light orange, then add short dark-orange stripes on the head and tail.
- The elegant gray cat: light gray with a white chest and green eyes — an aristocat!
- The party cat: let imagination loose — purple with yellow dots? Why not! In drawing, all colors are allowed.
- The finishing touch: two small pink cheeks under the eyes give the cat an irresistibly shy look.
Also try the "cat family" game: after mastering the first cat, draw a small kitten next to it using the same steps at a smaller size — and you'll have a mother and her kitten in one picture.
Bonus Exercise: The Sleeping Cat in Just Four Steps
Once your child masters the sitting cat, surprise them with this easier, even cuter version — a cat curled up asleep:
- 1) Draw one big circle — this time it's the entire curled-up body.
- 2) At the top of the circle, draw a small bump of a half-circle — the head resting on the body.
- 3) Add two small triangle ears above the head, and two simple closed curves for the eyes — sleeping shut.
- 4) A tail wrapping along the bottom edge of the circle up toward the face, and one or two little Z letters above the head — the cutest snore symbol!
This exercise teaches a golden idea: the same animal can be drawn in different poses by rearranging the same shapes — the first step toward drawing freely from imagination.
The Bottom Line
A circle, two triangles, an oval, and ten small steps — that's all that separates your child from the first cat they draw themselves and feel proud of. Repeat the lesson two or three times during the week and you'll notice a steadier hand and a more confident cat. And if your child loves this numbered, simple-shapes style, the Rasm Kids course is built entirely on it: animals, characters, and full scenes, one video lesson after another.
