Cat Drawing Ideas
Twelve cat drawings you can copy straight onto paper, from a sleeping cat curled in a circle to a cat peeking out of a teacup. Every one is a clean pencil outline drawn by hand, with no shading and no colour. Pick one, keep it next to you, and copy it line by line.
How to draw a cat step by step
Cats are the animal most people try first, and for good reason. The head is a circle, the ears are triangles and the body is an oval. Almost every drawing on this page uses those three shapes and nothing else.
- Draw a circle for the head, pressing lightly so you can adjust it later.
- Add two triangle ears sitting on top of the circle. Cat ears are wide at the base and come to a clear point. Leave a gap between them.
- Put the eyes a little above the middle of the face, then a small triangle nose below them and a curved mouth under that. Two short curves under the nose give you the classic cat mouth.
- Add an oval body under the head. For a sitting cat this is tall and narrow. For a standing cat it is wide and horizontal.
- Finish with the tail. The tail is what gives a cat drawing its character, so give it a real curve rather than a straight line. Curled around the paws, lifted up, or hooked at the end all work.
Add the whiskers last, as three or four straight lines on each side. Then darken your final lines and rub out the guide shapes.
Which cat should you start with
If this is your first cat
Start with the easy sitting cat or the big cat face. Both face forward and have no background, so you are only drawing one shape at a time. The sleeping cat curled in a circle is also very forgiving, because the body is a circle and the face is hidden.
If you have drawn animals before
Try the cat in a teacup, the cat playing with a ball of yarn or the cat reaching for a butterfly. Each adds one small prop, but the cat itself stays simple.
If you want a challenge
The cat with an arched back is the hardest here. The curve of the back has to look springy rather than stiff, and that takes a few tries. The cat sitting in a window is the busiest drawing, with the frame, the sun and the clouds all in one page.
What you need
An HB pencil, plain paper and an eraser is enough for every drawing on this page. A 2B pencil helps if you want darker final lines. Nothing here needs a tablet, a light box or special paper, and none of these were drawn with any.
Three things that make a cat look like a cat
- The ears are too small or too round. Cat ears are large triangles with a clear point. Rounded ears turn your cat into a bear.
- The eyes are too low. Cat eyes sit slightly above the middle of the head, not halfway down. Moving them up is often the single fix a drawing needs.
- The tail is stiff. A straight tail looks dead. Give it a curve, a hook or a curl, even a small one.
Drawing a kitten instead
A kitten is the same drawing with different proportions. Make the head bigger compared to the body, the eyes larger and rounder, the legs shorter and the tail thinner. The round fluffy cat and the cat in a teacup on this page both use kitten proportions if you want to see the difference.
Ways to use these drawings
Copy any of these by hand, or download and print them for yourself, for your children or for your classroom. They work as colouring sheets, tracing practice, a warm up before a bigger drawing, or line art for a card. If you want to use one in something you sell, write to us first.
Questions people ask
What is the easiest cat drawing on this page?
The easy sitting cat for beginners. It faces forward, has no background and is made of a circle, an oval and a curved tail. The big cat face is just as easy if you would rather skip the body altogether.
Are these cat drawings free to download?
Yes. Every drawing here can be downloaded and printed for personal use, school use or classroom use at no cost. For commercial use, please contact us first.
Can young children draw these?
Most of them. The round fluffy cat, the sleeping cat, the cat face and the cat peeking over a ledge are all suitable for children around five and up, because they are built from circles. The arched back cat is better for older children and adults.
How do I draw cat whiskers?
Three or four straight lines on each side of the muzzle, starting near the nose and fanning outwards. Draw them last, in one confident stroke each. Do not make them curve, and do not add too many.
Why does my cat look like a dog?
Usually the ears and the snout. Cat ears are tall pointed triangles, dog ears are rounded or floppy. A cat has a very short muzzle with a tiny triangle nose, while a dog snout sticks out. Fix the ears first.
How do I draw a kitten instead of a cat?
Use the same shapes but change the proportions. Bigger head, larger and rounder eyes, shorter legs and a thinner tail. The cat in a teacup on this page is a good example to copy.
What pencil should I use?
An HB for the light guide shapes and a 2B for the final lines. If you only have one pencil, an HB is fine. Press lightly at the start so the guide lines rub out cleanly.
Are these drawings made by hand?
Yes. Each one was drawn in pencil on plain paper and photographed. They are not computer generated or traced from photographs.