32 Cat Sketchbook Ideas of Cats in Bookshops, Gardens and Window Boxes

A cat sketchbook is my favorite kind of sketchbook because every page gets to be a tiny story. Not just a cat sitting there looking pretty, but a cat doing something: stalking a butterfly, dozing on a pile of books, squeezed into a window box full of geraniums. Gouache is perfect for this because it goes down fast and opaque, so you can block in a whole warm little scene in one sitting.

Below you will find 32 cats in 32 different places, from easy first pages to a few with a bit more going on. Grab your gouache, pick whichever one makes you smile first, and paint that one today.

Start your cat sketchbook with the easiest kind of pose: a sleeping cat. Ginger Cat Asleep on Books needs almost no anatomy at all, because a sleeping cat is really just one soft loaf shape with ears and a tail tucked somewhere nearby.

Paint the stack of books first as flat rectangles of warm color, letting two or three edges overlap so the stack feels real. Drop the cat shape on top while the book color is still a little damp, so the edges where fur meets book stay soft rather than cut out.

Finish with a few whisker lines in white gouache, dry and light, once everything else is dry. That one touch is what sells the whole sleepy mood.

Move from sleeping to sneaking with Tabby Stalking a Butterfly, a classic low crouch that tells its whole story through the line of the back. Keep the cat’s spine as one long curved stroke, lower at the shoulders, rising slightly toward the hips, with the belly nearly touching the ground.

Lay in the lavender bushes first as loose dabs of violet and sage so the cat has somewhere to hide. Then paint the tabby stripes last, in short curved strokes that follow the body rather than straight lines across it, because straight stripes flatten the whole pose.

Today’s tip: paint the butterfly tiny and slightly out of focus, a soft blur of yellow, so the eye lands on the cat first.

Here is a lovely compact subject for anyone who loves a cottage feel: Black Cat in a Window Box, curled among red geraniums on a sill. Black cats trip people up because they paint them pure black and lose the whole shape, so mix your black with a touch of deep blue or violet instead.

Measure the cat against the window box: the curled body should fill about two thirds of the box width, with the head tucked just inside that line so it reads as settled in, not perched on top. Paint the geraniums in loose dabs of red after the cat so a few petals overlap the fur.

Use that mixed black everywhere on the cat, never flat black straight from the tube.

Kitten Tangled in Yarn by the Fire is a lively one to paint after three calmer poses, so give yourself a loose ten minute version first: a few quick shapes for the kitten, loops of yarn, a warm fireplace glow behind. That rough pass tells you if the composition works before you commit.

The forty minute version adds the fun part: individual strands of yarn crossing over the paws and body, painted last in a bright contrasting color so they sit clearly on top of the fur. Keep the kitten’s proportions young and round, with a head close to a third of its whole body length.

Let the fire glow stay soft and blurred behind the kitten so it never competes with the tangled yarn.

Siamese Cat on a Piano Bench brings in a breed with real color contrast: pale cream body, dark chocolate points on the ears, face, paws and tail. Paint the cream base first and let it dry fully, because the dark points need a clean edge and will bleed into wet cream otherwise.

Place the piano keys as a simple striped band behind the cat, just enough black and white rectangles to read as a keyboard without drawing every key. Sit the cat with one paw resting near the keys as if it just stepped on a note.

Paint the dark points with a smaller brush than you used for the body, so the edges stay crisp.

Orange Tabby in a Fruit Stand is a fun color exercise, because the cat and the oranges around it sit close in hue and you need a trick to keep the cat from vanishing into the fruit. Paint the oranges first in rounder, more saturated strokes, then paint the cat in a slightly warmer, more muted orange so your eye can still separate the two.

Build the stand itself from simple wooden crate shapes, just a few horizontal and diagonal lines for slats. Perch the cat on top of or beside the crates, tail hanging down over one edge for a natural, settled feel.

Keep that value difference between cat and fruit and the whole scene stays readable at a glance.

Gray Cat Watching Rain From a Windowsill is quieter than the last few ideas, a good one for an evening sketchbook session. Set your eye level low, roughly at the cat’s own height on the sill, so the window above feels tall and the rain outside reads as a big soft wash rather than a small patch.

Paint the window glass first as a graded wash of cool blue-gray, then add the cat sitting in silhouette against it once that wash is dry. A faint warm light source from a lamp just out of frame can throw a soft gold edge along the cat’s back.

That one warm edge against all the cool blue is what gives the painting its mood.

Calico Cat in a Vegetable Garden gives you three fur colors to balance at once: white, ginger and black patches scattered across one body. Lay the white base first, leave it mostly as the paper’s white or a very pale cream, then drop in the ginger and black patches as irregular shapes rather than neat spots.

Build the garden behind the cat from a few leafy rows, tomato plants or lettuce heads painted as simple rounded clusters of green. Let the cat sit low among the rows, perhaps with one paw resting on a fallen tomato.

Keep the patches irregular and uneven in size, since a too-regular calico pattern looks painted-by-numbers rather than furry.

White Persian on a Velvet Cushion is about painting white fur without leaving it flat and empty, so lean on your shadow color rather than outline. Mix a soft lavender-gray for every shadow area under the chin, between the ears and along the belly, and leave the lit side as bare paper or the faintest wash.

The cushion underneath should be a rich jewel tone, deep red or emerald, painted in broad soft strokes so it reads as velvet rather than flat fabric. Push the cat’s flat round face and short nose, a Persian trait, by keeping the features close together in the center of the face.

That shadow color is doing all the work, so mix a bit more than you think you need.

Tuxedo Cat Perched on a Mailbox borrows its graphic punch from the black and white coat, which makes a strong silhouette against almost any background. Measure the cat at roughly one and a half heads tall when sitting upright on the narrow mailbox top, so it feels balanced rather than precarious.

Paint the mailbox itself in a weathered red or green, with a bit of dry brush texture scraped across the surface for rust or worn paint. Keep the white chest and paws as crisp clean shapes against the black body, since that contrast is the whole charm of a tuxedo cat.

Let the background stay soft and simple so the mailbox and cat silhouette stay the star.

Maine Coon Guarding a Garden Gate calls for one of the bigger breeds, so get the proportions right before you paint fur detail: a Maine Coon’s body reads close to four heads long nose to tail base, noticeably longer and more muscular than a typical tabby. Block that long body in first as one simple shape before adding the ruff and tufted ears.

The garden gate behind can be a simple wooden arch with a climbing rose or ivy painted in loose dabs along the top. Sit the cat upright and alert beside the gatepost, chest out, as if standing watch.

Getting that longer body length right first saves you from an accidentally stubby, wrong-breed cat later.

Black Cat Perched on a Pumpkin Patch Fence pairs nicely with the earlier window box idea since both use that same mixed, never-flat black, but this time against a warm autumn palette instead of green leaves. Paint the pumpkins first in rounded orange shapes scattered along the ground, then the fence as a few simple horizontal rails.

Perch the cat along one fence rail, tail curled down and wrapped partway around the wood for balance. If you enjoy this kind of seasonal cat scene, the halloween sketchbook ideas page has more in the same spirit.

Keep the pumpkins varied in size and tilt so the row feels natural rather than lined up like a display.

Scottish Fold Curled in a Teacup is a playful bit of scale play, a kitten-sized cat tucked into an oversized cup as if it belongs there. Exaggerate the cup size generously, large enough that the curled cat fills most of the inside, since a true-to-scale cup would make the whole joke fall flat.

Round ears folded forward and down are this breed’s signature feature, so paint them small and tucked close to the head rather than upright like most cats. Set the cup on a simple saucer with a few painted steam curls rising beside it for warmth.

That oversized scale is the whole point, so do not be shy with it.

Tabby Chasing a Falling Leaf asks for a mid-air pose, trickier than a sitting cat but worth the stretch. Picture the body on a diagonal line from back paw to front paw, all four legs extended or bunched as if caught mid-leap, rather than a static standing shape.

Paint one single red or gold leaf drifting just above the reaching front paw, small and simple, so there is no doubt what the cat is after. A few loose background trees in warm autumn colors keep the setting readable without pulling focus from the jump.

Paint the leaf last and slightly blurred at its edges, as if it is genuinely still falling.

Ginger Kitten in a Flower Pot keeps the usual mistake in mind from the start: painters often make a kitten’s head too small, forgetting that kittens have proportionally bigger heads and eyes than adult cats. Paint the head closer to a third of the total body length, large round eyes set wide, to keep that unmistakable kitten look.

Nestle the kitten into a terracotta pot with just its head and front paws poking over the rim, as if it climbed in among the flowers. A few daisies or marigolds painted loosely around the rim finish the little scene.

Check that head size again once the body is blocked in, since it is easy to shrink it back down out of habit.

Russian Blue Reading on a Library Ladder leans on a cool, elegant breed color: a silvery blue-gray coat with bright green eyes, best mixed from gray with a whisper of blue rather than straight gray from the tube. Sit the cat on a middle rung of a tall library ladder, one paw resting on a book as if it were reading along.

Build the ladder with a few confident straight lines rather than careful ruled ones, since a slightly wobbly hand-drawn ladder suits a gouache sketchbook page better than a stiff technical one. Rows of book spines in warm colors behind the cat add life without much extra effort.

Save the bright green eyes for last, painted as two small vivid dots once everything else has dried.

Tortoiseshell Cat in a Flower Market Cart continues the irregular-patch lesson from the calico idea earlier, but tortoiseshell colors run deeper: mottled black, ginger and brown blended rather than kept in separate patches. Mix small puddles of each color and let them touch and blend slightly while still wet for that marbled effect.

Build a simple wooden cart filled with loose bundles of flowers in pinks and yellows, letting a few stems hang over the edge where the cat has settled in among them. Curl the cat’s tail around its paws for a tidy, contented pose.

Letting those three fur colors blend wet into wet is the one trick that makes tortoiseshell believable.

Black and White Cat on a Fishing Boat moves the setting to the coast, so think about where the light comes from before you paint a single shape. Decide on an afternoon sun low over the water, light it from one side, and keep every shadow, including the one the cat casts on the deck, falling the same direction.

Paint the water behind the boat as a few loose horizontal strokes of blue and white, simpler than you think it needs to be. Perch the cat on the boat’s edge, watching the water, with coiled rope and a fishing net sketched loosely nearby.

Keeping that one consistent light direction is what makes the whole scene feel like one real moment.

Sphynx Cat Wrapped in a Blanket solves the hairless-cat puzzle, since without fur to hide behind, every fold and muscle line of the body shows through the skin. Paint the body in warm pink-gray tones with soft shading at the shoulders and hips to suggest that visible muscle structure.

Wrap most of the body in a chunky knit blanket, leaving just the head and the tip of one paw peeking out, both to keep the cat cozy-looking and to simplify how much bare skin you need to render. Big ears and a wrinkled brow are the breed’s other signature, so do not smooth those away.

Let the blanket texture come from loose, choppy brushstrokes rather than careful even lines.

Bengal Cat Prowling a Jungle Houseplant Corner pairs a wild-patterned breed with an equally lush setting, so plan the order of operations before you start. Paint the big leafy plants first in several layers of green, let them dry completely, then paint the cat’s rosette spots last in small confident dabs over the dry body color.

Painting spots over a wet base makes them bleed into fuzzy blobs, which loses the crisp Bengal pattern entirely. Give the cat a long, low prowling stance, weight forward, to match the jungle mood of the corner.

Patience with drying time here is the one thing that keeps those spots sharp.

Cream Cat Napping in a Hammock asks you to think about gravity before brush touches paper. A body resting in fabric sags in the middle, so curve the hammock’s lowest point under the heaviest part of the cat, usually around the belly, rather than painting a flat straight sling.

Let the cat drape over that curve with paws and tail hanging loosely off either side. A soft garden background of blurred green and a hint of blue sky keeps the whole mood restful and simple.

Checking that sag line first saves you from a cat that looks like it is floating rather than resting.

Nebelung Cat Watching Snow From a Cabin Window brings in a long-haired silver-blue breed with striking green eyes, a cool coat color you will want to warm up with firelight reflections from inside. Paint the snowy scene outside the window first in cool blues and whites, then bring warm orange-gold light in from an unseen fire to wash across the cat’s near side.

That mix of cool exterior light and warm interior light on one cat is what makes the scene feel properly wintry and cozy at once. If quiet winter scenes like this appeal to you, the winter painting ideas collection has plenty more.

Keep the window frame simple so the light contrast stays the main event.

Egyptian Mau Lounging by a Garden Fountain gives you a naturally spotted coat to enjoy, silver-gray with darker random spots rather than the structured rosettes of a Bengal. Vary the spot sizes and spacing loosely across the body so the pattern feels organic instead of stamped.

Paint the fountain behind as a simple stone basin with a few curved white lines suggesting falling water, kept loose rather than detailed. Let the cat recline along the fountain’s stone edge, one paw trailing near the water’s surface.

Random, uneven spot spacing is what separates this coat pattern from a Bengal’s neater rosettes.

Norwegian Forest Cat Climbing a Birch Tree needs a clear sense of perspective, since a cat partway up a trunk is seen from below more than most cat poses. Set your eye level low, looking slightly upward, which shortens the visible legs on the far side and makes the front paws gripping the bark read larger and closer.

Paint the birch trunk with its distinctive pale bark and dark horizontal marks, a nice textural contrast to the cat’s thick ruffed coat. Let a branch or two of green leaves frame the top of the composition.

That low eye line is the detail that makes the climb feel convincing rather than flat.

Burmese Cat Curled in a Fruit Bowl is a compact, satisfying subject, good for a quick ten minute sketchbook session when time is short. In that short version, block in the bowl, the cat’s rich sable-brown curled shape and a couple of simple round fruits, then stop.

Given forty minutes instead, add individual fruit like a lemon and a pear with their own soft highlights, plus subtle warm and cool shifts across the cat’s glossy short coat. Either version works as a finished page, the longer one just carries more detail.

Decide which version you are painting before you start, so you do not run out of steam halfway through the detailed one.

Chartreux Cat Sitting on a Bakery Counter pairs a blue-gray coated breed with warm bakery tones, a nice color contrast to plan for before you mix a single puddle. Keep the cat’s coat cool and muted while everything around it, the bread loaves, the wooden counter, the glowing window light, stays warm and golden.

Sit the cat upright beside a basket of bread, copper-colored eyes a small bright accent against all that cool gray fur. If a market or shop setting appeals to you, the cute sketchbook ideas of animals at little jobs page is worth a look too.

That cool-cat, warm-scene contrast is what will make this page pop on the sketchbook spread.

Himalayan Cat Asleep in a Sewing Basket combines the long fluffy coat of a Persian with the darker point coloring of a Siamese, so paint the cream body first and let it dry before adding the darker points on the face, ears and paws. This keeps those point colors crisp rather than muddying into the long fluffy fur.

Nestle the sleeping cat into a woven sewing basket among loose spools of thread and a pin cushion, just enough props to tell the story without crowding the cat itself. Keep the basket weave simple, a few curved overlapping lines rather than every strand.

Letting that base coat dry fully is the one step worth the extra patience here.

American Shorthair Watching Fish in a Pond is a lovely chance to practice reflected light, since a cat crouched at a pond’s edge picks up cool blue-green bounce light along its lower body from the water below. Keep that reflected tone subtle, just a hint along the chin and chest, not a full wash of blue over the whole cat.

Paint a koi or two as simple orange shapes just under the water’s surface, slightly distorted by loose wavy brushstrokes to suggest the water moving over them. Crouch the cat low at the pond’s edge, utterly fixated.

That small hint of reflected pond color is what ties the cat convincingly into the scene.

Abyssinian Cat Perched on a Spice Market Stall gives you a warm ticked coat, each hair banded with two or three colors rather than one flat shade, best suggested with short varied brushstrokes rather than a single mixed color. Layer light dry-brush strokes of warm gold over a base of reddish brown to catch that ticked texture without painting every single hair.

Build the stall behind with small mounds of colorful spices, cumin, paprika, turmeric, as loose piles of warm color in simple bowls. Perch the cat alertly on the stall’s edge, tail curled neatly around its paws.

That dry-brush layering trick is worth practicing on scrap paper first if the ticked coat feels tricky.

British Shorthair Reading by a Fireplace makes good use of this breed’s round, plush build, so measure the body as noticeably wide and rounded rather than the leaner line of a tabby or Siamese. A round head sitting close to the shoulders, with hardly any visible neck, is the shape that reads as unmistakably British Shorthair.

Set the cat beside an open book on a hearth rug, firelight from one side throwing warm orange across the rounded face and body. Keep the fireplace itself simple, just a glowing opening and a mantel line or two.

Getting that round, compact body shape right first is what makes the breed recognizable at a glance.

Devon Rex Perched on a Garden Trellis is one for once you have a few cats under your belt, since this breed’s large ears, curly coat and pixie-like face are easy to overdo into caricature. Keep the ears large but set them at a gentle outward angle rather than straight up, and keep the curly coat texture to loose squiggly strokes rather than tight curls everywhere.

Perch the cat on a simple wooden trellis laced with climbing vines or small flowers, balanced and alert. Once this pose feels comfortable, try painting the same cat and trellis again from a slightly lower angle to vary the composition next time.

A light touch with that curly texture keeps the cat charming rather than overworked.

Birman Cat Lounging on a Music Room Sofa is a good subject to push toward your most finished, considered page, since this breed’s white-gloved paws deserve some care against a dark sofa. Paint the sofa and body first, then carefully reserve or lift back to white for each paw tip with a damp brush before the surrounding color fully sets.

Set the scene in a music room, an instrument case or sheet music resting nearby, sofa in a deep jewel tone to contrast the Birman’s pale coat and blue eyes. For more musical corners to paint, the music junk journal pages have related ideas worth a browse.

Lifting color back to reveal those white paws, rather than painting around them from the start, gives a softer and more natural edge.

What to Do Next

Pick whichever cat made you smile first, whether that is the sleepy ginger on the bookshop window or the leaping Turkish Van, and open your sketchbook to a fresh page of heavyweight paper. One warm little scene, start to finish, is plenty for today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What gouache colors work best for a warm cat sketchbook?

A small warm palette goes far: a yellow ochre, a burnt sienna or orange, a deep green, a soft pink or red, plus white and a dark mixed from blue and brown rather than black from the tube. Mix most fur colors from these rather than buying every shade separately.

How do I stop my gouache cats from looking flat?

Paint a shadow color, not just one flat fur tone. Mix a slightly darker, often slightly cooler version of your base color for the underside, chin shadow and areas tucked into the setting, and leave your lightest mix only where light actually hits.

Do I need to draw the cat in pencil first?

A light pencil outline helps while you are still learning proportions, especially for breeds with distinct body shapes like a Maine Coon or Sphynx. Keep the lines faint so gouache covers them easily, and skip this step once you feel confident blocking shapes straight in with paint.

How do I keep each sketchbook page from taking too long?

Pick one simple pose, like a sleeping or sitting cat, and limit the background to two or three shapes. The quick ten minute version in several ideas above shows how little detail you actually need for a page to feel finished and tell its story.

What paper should I use for gouache in a sketchbook?

Look for a sketchbook labeled for mixed media or watercolor, with paper at least 140 pound or 300 gsm, since gouache is a wet medium and thinner paper will buckle or pill under multiple layers of wash and dry brush work.