Cat Astronaut Coloring Page

Whiskers in a bubble helmet! This cat astronaut coloring page sends a grinning tabby out past the clouds in a striped space suit. The cat floats above the gray Moon with arms spread wide and one boot kicked up. Its tail even has a space sleeve of its own. A ringed planet, a spotted moon, a small rocket and lots of stars fill the sky around it.

Space fans around 4 to 9 will have a great time here. The suit and the helmet are large, simple shapes, so it is an easy page, and you can finish it in about 25 minutes.

Mission plan

Kids love a good mission, so give this page some steps.

Step 1: Build the suit. Our cat wears white with blue bands on the arms and legs, red gloves and boots, and a blue belt with a yellow buckle. The bands on the tail can be orange. Change anything you like, since this is your own space agency.

Step 2: Set the control panel. The chest has two small screens and two round buttons. Use the brightest colors in your box here: a red screen, a green screen, a yellow button and a blue button. Older kids can decide what each one does. One may be the fish launcher.

Step 3: Fill in the cat. The orange face, the stripes and the green eyes come next. The helmet glass can stay white or get a very light blue, so the face stays clear. Keep the little shine marks at the top of the helmet white. They make it look like real glass.

Step 4: Color deep space. Save this for last. It is the biggest area.

Cat astronaut coloring page color ideas

Navy blue makes a great night sky, and it lets the yellow stars pop. Purple works too, or try a mix of blue and purple that blends across the page. Press hard with crayons for a rich, dark look. A tip for markers: work in small circles, and it will not leave stripes.

The planet with the ring is orange with a yellow ring in our version. The moon on the right can be pink with red craters, which is not real science but looks wonderful. The ground below is light gray, with pale blue inside the five craters.

Want a more real look? Look at a photo of the Moon together and match the grays.

The real space cat

Our cat is make believe, but there is a true story behind the idea. On October 18, 1963, France launched a cat named Felicette on a small rocket from a site in Algeria. She came back safely from the flight. She is still the only cat ever launched into space. In 2019, a bronze statue of her was unveiled at the International Space University in France. It shows her sitting on top of the Earth and looking up at the sky.

Older kids may want to read more about early space flights and why scientists tested with animals first. Please preview that reading, because parts of her story are sad. For younger kids, the fact that a real cat flew on a rocket is usually more than enough.

Blast off activities

• Name the mission: Write a mission name on the rocket, like Tuna One or Paws to the Moon.
• Design a patch: Real space crews wear mission patches. Have your child draw a round one for this cat on the back of the page.
• Countdown game: Count down from ten together, then shout "Blast off!" and color one more star.
• Space log: Older students can write a diary entry in the cat's voice. Day one on the Moon: no fish here.

For a dark room trick, add dots of glow paint to the stars and hang the page near a night light. Stick a few foil star stickers on the sky if you have them.

Keep exploring

The crew is ready for more. Print the astronaut coloring page for a human space walker, or send your cat a ride with the rocket coloring page.

Questions