How to Say Cat in Spanish: Gato, Gata, Gatito and Michi
Cat in Spanish is gato, pronounced GAH-toh: el gato (the cat), un gato (a cat), los gatos (the cats). A female cat is la gata, and a kitten is un gatito or una gatita.
When you don’t know or don’t care whether a cat is male or female, use gato; that is what Spanish speakers do. The plural gatos covers any group, including a mixed one: Me encantan los gatos (I love cats). Use gata when you want to say the cat is female, as people naturally do with their own pets: Mi gata se llama Luna. This page covers the forms, the pet names Spanish speakers really use, the words you need for a cat’s body and behaviour, idioms with gato and what they mean, the other things gato can mean, a short dialogue and practice with answers.
Cat words at a glance
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| cat (any, or male) | el gato | GAH-toh; the default word |
| female cat | la gata | GAH-tah |
| cats | los gatos / las gatas | las gatas only if all are female |
| kitten | el gatito / la gatita | diminutive of gato; also a pet name for any cat |
| kitty, puss | el minino / la minina | affectionate, understood everywhere |
| kitty (informal) | el michi / michito | very common in Peru and in online Spanish across Latin America |
| tomcat, moggy (colloquial) | el morrongo, el micho | informal words found in Spain; less common |
| stray cat | el gato callejero | literally “street cat” |
| house cat | el gato doméstico | also gato de casa |
| wildcat | el gato montés | the wild European species |
| feline | el felino / felino (adj.) | formal, also for big cats |
Gato, gata, gatos: how the forms work
Gato is masculine and takes el and un; gata is feminine and takes la and una. Adjectives follow the noun’s gender and number, so a black cat is un gato negro but a black female cat is una gata negra. If you have one male and one female, the pair is dos gatos, because the masculine plural covers mixed groups: Tengo dos gatos, un gato y una gata.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine or unknown | el gato blanco | los gatos blancos |
| Feminine | la gata blanca | las gatas blancas |
| Kitten (m.) | el gatito gris | los gatitos grises |
| Kitten (f.) | la gatita gris | las gatitas grises |
The pronoun follows the cat too. Talking about a female cat, you say la, not lo: ¿Has visto a la gata? No la encuentro. Notice the a before la gata: Spanish speakers often use the personal a with pets they treat as members of the family. For the general rules behind these endings, see Spanish gender rules.
Kitten and other small forms
Gatito and gatita are the normal words for a kitten, and they also work as pet names for an adult cat: Ven aquí, gatito. In Colombia, Costa Rica and some other countries you will also hear the -ico ending, gatico, with the same meaning. A kitten that is a few weeks old is also called una cría de gato in more formal or veterinary language. For how these endings work across Spanish, see how to say little in Spanish.
One trap: gatillo looks like another diminutive, but it means the trigger of a gun (apretar el gatillo, to pull the trigger). Don’t call a kitten gatillo.
Pet names and how to call a cat
Minino (or minina for a female) is an affectionate word for a cat that is understood across the Spanish-speaking world: ¿Tiene hambre el minino? (Is the kitty hungry?). Michi is hugely popular in Peru and in memes, social media and online communities across Latin America; michito and michis are just as common. In Spain you may also hear morrongo or micho as joking, colloquial words for a cat.
To call a cat over, Spanish speakers say ¡mis, mis! or make a “pss-pss” sound; in Peru you will often hear ¡michi, michi! The sound a cat makes is miau.
Words for a cat’s body and behaviour
| English | Spanish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to meow / a meow | maullar / el maullido | La gata maúlla cuando tiene hambre. |
| to purr / purring | ronronear / el ronroneo | El gato ronronea en mi regazo. |
| to hiss | bufar | Cuando vio al perro, el gato bufó. |
| to scratch | arañar | El gatito me arañó sin querer. |
| whiskers | los bigotes | Los gatos usan los bigotes para orientarse. |
| claws | las uñas, las garras | Se afila las uñas en el sofá. |
| paw | la pata | Tiene una pata blanca. |
| tail | la cola, el rabo | Mueve la cola cuando está nervioso. |
| fur, coat | el pelo, el pelaje | Tiene el pelaje muy suave. |
| litter box | el arenero, la caja de arena | Hay que limpiar el arenero todos los días. |
| scratching post | el rascador | Le compramos un rascador nuevo. |
| cat food | la comida para gatos, el pienso (Spain) | Se nos acabó el pienso. |
| to groom itself | lamerse, asearse, acicalarse | La gata se pasa horas lamiéndose. |
Note the written accent on maúlla (mah-OO-yah): maullar is conjugated maúllo, maúllas, maúlla, maullamos, maulláis, maúllan.
Colours and coats: un gato atigrado is a tabby, un gato carey a tortoiseshell, una gata tricolor a calico (calico cats are almost always female, so gata fits), un gato negro a black cat and un gato naranja a ginger or orange cat. With the colour naranja, both gatos naranja and gatos naranjas are in use.
Everyday sentences
- Tengo un gato y dos gatas. I have one male cat and two female cats.
- Mi gata duerme todo el día y por la noche quiere jugar. My cat sleeps all day and wants to play at night.
- ¿Es gato o gata? Is it a male or a female?
- Adoptamos dos gatitos del refugio. We adopted two kittens from the shelter.
- Soy alérgico a los gatos. I’m allergic to cats.
- Hay un gato callejero que viene todas las tardes al patio. A stray cat comes to the yard every afternoon.
- ¿Puedes darle de comer al gato mientras estoy fuera? Can you feed the cat while I’m away?
- ¿Eres más de perros o de gatos? Are you more of a dog person or a cat person?
Idioms and sayings with gato
Spanish has many fixed expressions with gato. These are real, current and worth knowing; the literal meaning is in brackets.
| Expression | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Aquí hay gato encerrado. (There’s a cat shut in here.) | Something’s fishy; there’s a hidden reason. | Tan barato… aquí hay gato encerrado. |
| dar gato por liebre (to give cat instead of hare) | To pass off something inferior as better; to con someone. The picture is of an inn serving cat meat as hare. | En esa tienda te dan gato por liebre. |
| cuatro gatos (four cats) | Hardly anyone; very few people. | Al concierto fueron cuatro gatos. |
| llevarse como el perro y el gato | To fight constantly; to get on badly. | Mis hermanos se llevan como el perro y el gato. |
| buscarle tres pies al gato (to look for a third foot on a cat; also cinco pies) | To overcomplicate things, or to look for trouble where there is none. | No le busques tres pies al gato: el plan es sencillo. |
| ponerle el cascabel al gato (to put the bell on the cat) | To be the one who takes on the risky job everyone avoids; English “bell the cat”. | Todos quieren quejarse al jefe, pero ¿quién le pone el cascabel al gato? |
| llevarse el gato al agua (to drag the cat to the water) | To win, to come out on top in a contest or argument. | Al final, el equipo visitante se llevó el gato al agua. |
| De noche, todos los gatos son pardos. (At night all cats are grey.) | In the dark, or without close attention, differences disappear. | Used about appearances that fool you. |
| Gato escaldado, del agua fría huye. (A scalded cat flees cold water.) | Once bitten, twice shy. | Después de aquel préstamo, no presta nada: gato escaldado… |
| Cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan. | When the cat’s away, the mice will play. A variant ends hacen fiesta. | El profesor salió y… cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan. |
| tener siete vidas, como los gatos | To survive one danger after another. Spanish cats have seven lives, not nine. | Ese piloto tiene siete vidas, como los gatos. |
| andar a gatas, gatear | To crawl on hands and knees. | El bebé ya gatea. |
Other meanings of gato
- A car jack. El gato is the tool you use to lift a car: Saca el gato del maletero.
- The # sign. In Mexico and parts of Central America, # is commonly called gato or signo de gato; in Spain it is almohadilla, and numeral is also used.
- Tic-tac-toe. In Mexico and Chile the game is called el gato; in Spain it is tres en raya.
- Someone from Madrid. People born in Madrid are jokingly called gatos, traditionally those whose parents were born there too.
- An insult in Mexico. Gato or gata used about a person can be a contemptuous word for a servant or domestic worker. It is offensive; don’t use it about people.
A short dialogue
Ana is adopting a cat at a shelter.
- Ana: Hola, vengo a ver a los gatitos. (Hi, I’ve come to see the kittens.)
- Voluntario: Tenemos cinco. Este gris es macho y la atigrada es hembra. (We have five. This grey one is a male and the tabby is a female.)
- Ana: ¡Qué cosita! ¿Cuántos meses tiene la gatita? (How cute! How old is the little female?)
- Voluntario: Tres meses. Está vacunada y ya usa el arenero. (Three months. She’s vaccinated and already uses the litter box.)
- Ana: Perfecto. Mi gato mayor es muy tranquilo; espero que se lleven bien. (Perfect. My older cat is very calm; I hope they get along.)
- Voluntario: Seguro que sí. Al principio puede que bufe un poco, es normal. (I’m sure they will. At first he may hiss a little; that’s normal.)
Notice macho and hembra: these are the usual words for an animal’s sex, and you can use them with any species (un gato macho, una tortuga macho, una jirafa hembra).
Mistakes to avoid
- Feminine adjective with a female cat: Mi gata es muy cariñosa, not cariñoso.
- Mixed groups: a male and a female together are dos gatos, not dos gatas; use gatas only when every cat in the group is female.
- Nine lives: in Spanish cats have siete vidas.
- Gatillo: it is a trigger, not a kitten.
- Gata about a person: depending on the country it can be flirty slang or an insult; keep it for animals.
Practice
- Translate: The kitten is sleeping. (female kitten)
- Fill in: Tengo dos ______ : un macho y una hembra. (gatos / gatas)
- Fill in: Mi gata es muy ______. (juguetón / juguetona)
- Which idiom? Only a handful of people came to the meeting.
- Which idiom? The price is suspiciously low; something is going on.
- What is el gato in a car boot?
- Conjugate: La gata ______ (maullar) toda la noche.
Answers: 1. La gatita está durmiendo (or La gatita duerme). 2. gatos. 3. juguetona. 4. Fueron cuatro gatos (Había cuatro gatos). 5. Aquí hay gato encerrado. 6. The jack. 7. maúlla.
Quick answers
How do you pronounce gato?
GAH-toh, with a short, clear a and a soft t, the tongue touching the back of the teeth.
What is a female cat in Spanish?
La gata. Use gata when the cat is known to be female; otherwise gato is fine.
How do you say kitten in Spanish?
Gatito (male or unknown) or gatita (female).
What does michi mean?
It is an informal, affectionate word for a cat, very common in Peru and in online Spanish across Latin America.
How do you say “I love cats” in Spanish?
Me encantan los gatos. Spanish uses the definite article for a whole class of animals.
What does “dar gato por liebre” mean?
To trick someone by giving them something worse than what they paid for or expected.
For more animals and everyday words, go back to the Spanish vocabulary hub or see how to say dog in Spanish and how to say love in Spanish.
