20 Kitten Coloring Pages (Free Printable PDFs)

Big heads, short legs, huge eyes

Kittens are not just small cats, and we drew them that way, with big heads, short legs and huge eyes. The cute group has a kawaii kitten on a picnic blanket and a sleepy kitten. The playful group is where the fun starts: a kitten playing with yarn, a kitten in a boot and a kitten in a gift box that has just popped out of the wrapping.

The cozy group slows things down, with a kitten asleep on a pillow and a basket of kittens. Older cats have their own home on our cat coloring pages.

Kitten coloring pages by age

• Ages 3 to 5: The baby kitten and the kawaii kitten have large, round shapes.
• Ages 5 to 8: Try the two kittens or the kitten and puppy, with a few more small parts.
• Ages 8 and up: The kitten in a flower pot has a full garden to color around it.

Print one kitten or the whole litter

Press PDF on any card to get that drawing. Press Download all at the top of this page to get every drawing in one file, with one drawing on each sheet. The pages fit US Letter paper. On A4, choose Fit to page. No printer? Press Color on any card and fill it in on a phone, tablet or computer.

Coloring a soft kitten coat

Kitten fur looks fluffy, so keep your hand light. Press softly with a crayon or colored pencil and let a little paper show through. Short strokes that follow the shape of the body look far more like fur than one flat coat of color.

Pick a coat before you start. An orange tabby needs a warm base with darker stripes on top. A gray kitten looks lovely with a pale pink nose and inner ears. For a calico, color patches of orange and black with soft edges and leave the rest white. A tuxedo kitten is black with a white chest and paws, so color around those parts first.

Leave the small white dots in each eye alone, because they make the face look awake. Kitten eyes are often blue when they are very young, so a pale blue iris suits a baby kitten well. Whiskers can stay white, or you can add them last with a fine pen.

Which kitten page should you pick?

If your child wants something quick, go for a single kitten with a simple background, such as the baby kitten or the sleeping kitten on its bed. These take about ten minutes for most kids. If you have a long afternoon, choose a scene. The kitten in a flower pot has a whole garden around it, and the gift box page has balloons and wrapping paper to fill in.

Kids who love patterns will enjoy the yarn pages, since each ball of yarn can be a different color. The kitten and puppy page is a nice pick for two siblings, because each child can claim one animal. For a group, print a mix of easy and medium pages and let everyone choose.

Looking for a page to give away? The kitten in a gift box makes a sweet birthday card. Color it, fold the sheet in half and write a short note inside.

Pages rated easy use large spaces, so a chunky crayon works fine. Pages rated medium have a few more small parts, so sharpened colored pencils help. Use the Easy and Medium filter above the pictures to see one level at a time.

How kittens grow up

Kittens are born with their eyes and ears closed, and they depend on their mother for everything. Their eyes open at around one to two weeks. The mama cat and kittens page shows this stage well, with a gray mother in a basket, one kitten on her back and one fast asleep. Ask your child which kitten looks the youngest and why.

Play comes next, and it has a purpose. When the kitten on the kitten playing with yarn page crouches low with its tail in the air, it is practicing the moves of a hunter. Real kittens do this with anything that wiggles. One tip for families with a real kitten, though: yarn looks cute in a drawing, but it is not a safe toy, because kittens can swallow the string. Stick with toys made for cats.

Matching props to each kitten's coat

Most of these drawings pair a kitten with one big object, and the fun lies in making those two look good together. Here are some ideas for the pages in this set.

• Kitten in a boot: This one is a tuxedo, so a bright yellow boot with red or blue polka dots will pop against the black and white.
• Kitten in a flower pot: A silver tabby looks cool next to a warm clay pot. Use light gray for the coat and a darker gray for the stripes.
• Kitten with a butterfly: The coat is white with brown patches, so give the butterfly the strongest color on the page.
• Kawaii kitten: The strawberry should stay a bold red, with pale pink or cream on the kitten beside it.
• Two kittens: One is gray and one is ginger, and the tiled floor can take a soft checker of two pale colors.

A class project for your local shelter

Animal shelters often need help from the community, and a stack of kitten pages is an easy way for a class to take part. Students can color pages, add a short message such as "Take me home," and make simple posters. Call the shelter first to see what they can use. Some are glad to hang cheerful art in a lobby, and others may prefer that you hold a small drive for towels or food.

The kitten and puppy page suits a sign for a pet food drive, since it covers both groups of animals. Young kids can sign their names, and older ones can write one fact about what a kitten needs.

Ideas for kitten lovers

If your family has a kitten, ask your child to color a page to look just like it, then pin the picture by the food bowl. If you are thinking about getting one, these pages are a gentle way to talk about what a kitten needs each day, like food, water, a clean box and a safe place to sleep.

Teachers can use a kitten page as a story starter. Ask the class where the kitten in the boot came from, or what the two kittens are planning next. Young kids can dictate a sentence for a grown up to write on the back.

For a party, print a stack and set out crayons. Each guest picks a kitten and gives it a name. Then hang the finished kittens in a row and vote on the funniest name.

All pages are free for home, class and library use. See our free use license for the simple rules. Dog fans can head to our dog coloring pages next.

Questions