Kitten Coloring Pages

A kitten is a cat that has not yet learned where it is allowed to go. These kitten coloring pages follow them into every corner of the house and garden, which is exactly what real kittens do in their first months.

Many of the pages are about hiding places. A kitten peeks out of a teapot under its lifted lid, another dives head first into a flower pot until only its tail shows, one sits in the pocket of an apron hanging on a door, one pops out of a tote bag and two tumble out of a paper grocery bag. There is a kitten asleep in a bowl on a shelf, one curled up in a straw sun hat on a garden bench, one fast asleep on a kitchen scale, one on a pile of folded towels in the closet and one sitting very seriously in an open violin case. Others are busy exploring: climbing a chair leg, tangling themselves in the curtains, tiptoeing along the back of the sofa, stepping onto a HOME doormat where a beetle is crawling, lapping a puddle in the garden shed, pawing at the drops from an outdoor faucet and watching tadpoles in a jar. Litters get pages of their own too: three kittens asleep in a blanket-lined crate, five huddled in a crate of straw, four crowding around a cat flap, a whole pile of them napping on a patient puppy, and a mother cat leading two kittens along a stone wall.

The holidays are covered as well. A kitten carves a jack o'lantern, another trick-or-treats in a starry witch hat, one puts the star on the Christmas tree, one hugs a present in a Santa hat, one builds a snowman, two chase a painted Easter egg across the kitchen, one carries an Easter basket, one holds a heart balloon and one blows out the candles on a birthday cake.

When is a cat still a kitten?

A cat is usually called a kitten until it is about a year old. Kittens are born with their eyes and ears closed, and open them after one to two weeks. By four weeks they are wobbling around and starting to play, and between two and seven weeks they learn the most about the world: this is when handling, new sounds and gentle play make them relaxed, friendly adult cats. Most kittens go to a new home at around twelve weeks, once they are weaned and have had their first vaccinations.

A few things children often ask:

• Kittens sleep a great deal, often most of the day, which is why so many of these pages show one napping somewhere odd.
• All kittens are born with blue eyes. Their adult eye color appears over the following weeks.
• A group of kittens born together is called a litter, and the kittens in one litter can have different fathers, which is why they sometimes look very different from each other.
• The climbing and pouncing that ruin the curtains are practice for hunting. A toy on a string gives them the same exercise.

What color should the kitten be?

Any color a real cat can be. Try:

• Orange tabby, with darker orange stripes on the forehead, legs and tail. Most orange cats are male.
• Tuxedo: black all over with a white chest, white paws and sometimes a white chin.
• Calico: patches of white, orange and black. Calico cats are almost always female.
• Gray or silver tabby, with thin dark stripes and an M shape on the forehead.
• Siamese: a cream body with dark brown ears, face, paws and tail.

A litter page is a good place to use several of these at once, since kittens in the same litter often wear different coats. The witch hat, the Christmas tree and the birthday cake are the places for bright colors.

One big kitten or a busy room

The simplest pages show one kitten, drawn large, with very little around it, so a young child can color it in a few minutes with a thick crayon. Quick to color, above the grid, begins with:

• Big eyes
• Pot hideout
• Snowman

The detailed pages are full rooms: curtains, a kitchen, a garden shed or a litter squeezed into a crate. Lots of detail begins with:

• Daisy vase

Kitten pages for a new pet

A kitten coloring page is a gentle way to prepare a child for a new kitten at home. Color a few pages together and talk about what each kitten is doing: sleeping a lot, hiding in small spaces, climbing where it should not, needing fresh water and a quiet corner. Children can color their future kitten in the coat it really has, then hang the page near its bed or bowl. The pages also work well for a cat-themed birthday party, a visit to an animal shelter or a school lesson on pets.

Printing the kittens

Every page is a free A4 PDF drawn at 300 dpi. A4 prints at full size, and on US Letter "fit to page" shrinks the drawing by about six percent so every whisker stays on the paper. The printing guide shows the setting. Add to pack gathers a whole litter into one file. Grown-up cats are in the cat coloring pages, and more young animals in the dog coloring pages, the bunny coloring pages and the animal coloring pages.