8 Cat Nursery Rhymes (With Videos): Fun Poems for Kids & Their Pets

A great way to get your kids to bond with their pet cats is to let them sing nursery rhymes and poems to them. There are several child-friendly poems and nursery rhymes that can engage their interest at various ages. We have compiled a list of the most popular videos of cat nursery rhymes and poems for kids.

Most of them are short and have words that are easy to pronounce. Some of them also have entertaining animations and words on the screen to be followed along.

This list will discuss eight different cat nursery rhymes for kids and what they are about.

The 8 Cat Nursery Rhymes

1. Three Little Kittens

The “Three Little Kittens” is a poem generally attributed to Eliza Lee Cabot Follen. The main poem is part of the Mother Goose collection and involves three little kittens and their mother cat.

The nursery rhyme in the above video is likely based on the “The Three Little Kittens” poem and entails three kittens that lose their mittens and begin to cry. They tell their mother that they have lost their mittens, and she tells them they can no longer have any pie. The kittens eventually find their mittens and are allowed to have pie while wearing mittens.

While eating, the three little kittens end up soiling their mittens and sigh. The nursery rhyme ends with the kittens washing their mittens and hanging them outside to dry. They tell their mother that they have washed the mittens and enjoy pie with their mother without wearing any mittens.

2. The Fat Cat

This fun cartoon and poem feature a little girl who has a very fat pet cat. The cat was so fat that he couldn’t sit on his mat, nor could he wear his hat as it wouldn’t fit. When he tried the hat on, the hat split on his head. This short poem is great for toddlers as it is easy to learn and includes an educational spelling clip at the end. Toddlers and young kids can learn words that end with “at” in the poem, such as cat, fat, and mat.

3. Here’s a Little Cat

The “Here’s a Little Cat” is a short nursery rhyme and animation that kids can sing along to. The lyrics are easy to remember and catchy, so they can sing it to their cat. In the nursery rhyme, a little girl signs about her fat cat that is sitting on a mat. The cat can be seen playing with a hat and the little girl sings about giving the cat a pat on the head as she will be pleased by it.

4. The Shadow Kitten

This video features the short poem “The Shadow Kittens” by Oliver Herford. The poem is read alongside a picture book clip of a kitten who discovers their shadow for the first time.

The poem begins with a little kitten who sees their shadow and describes how it is not as fluffy or round as them. When the kitten tries to meow to the shadow, the shadow never responds. When the kitten jumps into the air, the shadow never leaves the ground. The kitten notices how the shadow seems to grow and shrink but doesn’t understand it. Once when the sun came up in the garden, the kitten noticed how the shadow became very tall.

5. A Cat

This video clip of a short cat poem for kids by Micheal Rosen is extracted from Jelly Boots, Smelly Boots. Rosen describes a cat that was told to be thinner but does not care and wants their dinner. The cat thinks they are fed too little food and is grateful when they are given a massive plateful instead. The poem ends with the cat saying that they “want to get fat and that’s that.”’

6. Our Kittens

This video has a read-aloud poem called “Our Kittens” by Evaleen Stein. It includes a black cartoon cat and words on-screen that can be followed along. The beginning of the poem describes three black kittens with soft fur, velvet paws, and blue eyes. The next set of kittens is described as having tiger stripes. The poem ends off with how the cats play and run fast, and that is a pity that they must turn into cats.

7. The Fat Cat Sits On The Mat

If you are looking for a longer cat-related rhyme to read to your kids, then “The Fat Cat Sits On The Mat” by Nurit Karlin is a great choice. Kids can also read this along to their cats. The rhyming story is easy to follow along with pictures from the original book.

The story starts with a rat that hates a fat cat and wants the cat to get off a mat. The rat ends up getting a bat and a hat to help get the cat off the mat, but it doesn’t work. They end up getting a dish with a fish to lure the cat off the mat, but the cat quickly realizes it’s a trick. Wilma's broom ends up flying through the window and knocking everyone onto the cat. When the cat eventually gets up, he eats the fish on the dish and lays back in the vat.

8. I Love Little Pussy Cat

“I Love Little Pussy Cat”, alternatively called “I Love Little Kitty” is an old but popular poem dating back to the 18th century. The lyrics have been altered slightly over the years and additional lyrics have been added to make it easier to understand. The nursery rhyme in the video is based on the poem and is a fun song that kids can sing to their cats. Not only does it have a catchy tune that kids can sing along to, but also has an important message behind it. It helps kids understand how to interact with a cat without hurting them.

Conclusion

We hope that this list has helped you choose a fun cat-related poem or nursery rhyme for your kids. Although most of these poems and nursery rhymes are meant to be light-hearted, they can be educational. Some of them feature spelling clips at the end of the video, while others teach kids about handling cats properly.

Overall, they can be useful in getting your kids interested in interacting with cats and learning more about them from a young age.

Featured Image Credit: Bear Fotos, Shutterstock