Wonderful French vocabulary with cats

Knowing wonderful French vocabulary with cats will help you engage in conversation and make new francophone friends. Pet vocabulary is definitely a fun topic to dive into when you’re starting out learning a language.

Get ready for a furry and soft article!

Table of content :

1. Basic vocabulary related to cats
2. Verbs to talk about your favorite pet
3. French idioms with cats

If you are looking for a feline friend, consider checking first the Société Protectrice pour les Animaux (SPA). All cats deserve a cosy and loving home !

How to call your beloved pet

Firstly, to sound like a native speaker, you need to master these different names for cats in French :

• Un chat = a male cat
• Une chatte = a female cat
• Un chat domestique = a pet cat
• Un chat errant = an alley cat / a stray cat
• Un chat sauvage = a feral cat
• Un chaton (mâle ou femelle) = a kitten (male or female)
• Un matou = a tomcat / a big male cat
• Un minou = a male pussycat
• Une minette = a female pussycat

Cats accessories and must-have

Next, you can learn these everyday words for your adored feline :

• Un arbre à chat = a cat tree
• Le bac à litière = the litter box
• Un collier (pour chat) = a cat collar
• Des croquettes = dry cat food
• Une caisse / cage de transport = a cat carrier
• Un grattoir / griffoir = a scratching post
• Un jouet pour chat = a cat toy
• La litière = the litter
• La nourriture pour chat = cat food
• Un panier pour chat = a cat basket

How to describe your furry friend

Finally, these terms are useful to outline cat specifics :

• Les griffes = claws
• Les moustaches = whiskers
• Le museau = the muzzle / nose
• Les pattes = paws
• Le pelage = fur
• Les poils de chat = cat hairs
• La queue = tail

Let’s now learn the French cat verbs and avoid an embarrassment!

Be careful with the false friend ‘chat’. To have a chat is avoir une discussion ou bavarder in French.

Actions a cat does

• Chasser = to hunt
• S’étirer = to stretch
• Feuler = to hiss
• Se frotter contre moi / contre mes jambes = to rub against me / my legs
• Griffer = to scratch
• Grogner = to growl
• Mettre bas = to give birth
• Miauler = to meow
• Ronronner = to purr
• Sauter = to jump

Verbs you do to/with your cat

• Adopter = to adopt
• Câliner = to cuddle
• Caresser = to pet
• Castrer un chat = to neuter
• Emmener son chat chez le vétérinaire = Bring your cat to the veterinarian
• Jouer = to play
• Nettoyer le bac à litière = to clean the litter box
• Nourrir = to feed
• Pucer un chat = to chip
• Stériliser = to spay

Last but not least, here are a few common French idioms referring to our dearest cats. If you’ve read previous articles, you know that French loves strange expressions. We’ve compiled a few food and colourful French idioms.

The most popular idioms with the word ‘chat’

• Appeler un chat un chat = saying things straight, as they are (to call a cat a cat)
• Donner sa langue au chat = running out of guesses (to give your tongue to the cat)
• Il n’y a pas un chat = there’s nobody (there’s not one cat around)
• Avoir un chat dans la gorge = to have a sore throat (to have a cat in your throat)
• Avoir d’autres chats à fouetter = to have other things to do (to have other cats to whip)
• Jouer au chat et à la souris = to play at cat and mouse
• Quand le chat n’est pas là, les souris dansent = people enjoying themselves when unsupervised (when the cat is away, the mouse are dancing)

Expressions used in a formal context and/or in written French

• La nuit, tous les chats sont gris = when it’s dark, all people look the same (at night, all the cats are grey)
• Chat échaudé craint l’eau froide = someone hurt in the past will fearful being hurt again (a scalded cat fears cold water)
• A bon chat, bon rat = monkey see, monkey do (to a good cat, a good rat)

In conclusion, if you’d like to use some of this vocabulary in context, feel free to reach out today ! And, of course, dog lover or any other pet aficionado is welcome.