Thumbnail Image

Lily's Essential Kitty Vocabulary

Sara.TEFL

If you haven't already met her, this is my teaching assistant, Lily.

She has been known to help me out by jumping over my head, tickling my chin with her tail and, on one spectacularly brilliant occasion, chewing through my laptop adaptor cable!  

 
 

She thinks it's about time you learned how to talk about her in English.

 

Here's some vocabulary that might help you! 

 

kitten: a baby cat

Several other baby animals are also called 'kittens', such as rabbits.

 

For example:

When Lily was a kitten, she was very quiet and shy.  Nowadays, she likes to let everyone know she's around by miaowing and jumping on them.

My friend is going to get a new kitten from her neighbour; it's only seven weeks old at the moment.

 

 

 

paw: a cat's foot

The feet of most furry pets are called 'paws'; as well as cats, dogs, rabbits and mice all have paws.  It can also be a verb, to mean 'touch with a paw'.

 

For example:

Lily pawed the spider gently then watched it run away!

My cat won't go out in the rain because she doesn't like to get her paws wet.

 

 

 

to tiptoe/to walk on tiptoe: to walk on the front part of your foot, usually because you're trying to be quiet

Cats always do this; it helps them to jump, balance and creep up on mice.

You might also 'stand on tiptoe' to make yourself taller.

 

 

Examples:

I tiptoed past the living room because I knew my father was asleep on the couch.

My little sister can't reach the top of the cupboard, even when she stands on tiptoe.

 

 

 

 

to prowl: to sneak or to walk quietly, trying not to be seen, while looking for something or someone to hunt

Cats and criminals can both do this!

 

Examples:

My cat goes out every night; I suppose he's prowling for mice.

The burglar was on the prowl, looking for somewhere to break into.

 

 

 

claws: the sharp bits of cats' paws

Most mammals have claws; only humans and other primates have 'nails'.

 

Examples:

Dogs cannot hide their claws, unlike cats.

Cats mostly use their claws to defend themselves; they use their teeth to kill mice.

 

 

 

 

to scratch: to injure somebody with claws or nails

Cats need 'scratch posts' to help them take care of their nails.

 

Examples:

Lily has a bad habit of scratching me when she gets angry.

Cats need to scratch things, or else their claws will get too long.

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow, we'll try to post some kitty idioms!

 

What pets do you have?

 

Try my lesson 'Animal English' if you'd like to talk about cat, dogs or any of our other furred and feathered friends. :)

专栏文章仅为讲师个人观点,不代表 Cafetalk 立场。

回应 (2)

登录之后,添加评论 登录 »
  • Sara.TEFL

    She says thank you for the compliment. =^_^= I hope your cat doesn't scratch too hard!

  • bluefox

    Thank you , Sara, My cat always scratches my foot, Your assistant, Lilly , is very cute !

来自:

住在:

授课种类

讲师会的语言

英语   母语程度
印地语   日常会话程度
法语   只能说一点

Sara.TEFL 讲师的人气专栏

  • 英语

    Things to Notice in the News: Human vs Cheetah (Intermediate+)

    In this post I will focus on some interesting vocabulary in a news article (I have chosen 9 words/p...

    Sara.TEFL

    Sara.TEFL

    0
    7862
    2013 年 11 月 16 日
  • 英语

    Early Bird

    Has anyone ever called you 'an early bird?  Here are some example sentences for this common i...

    Sara.TEFL

    Sara.TEFL

    0
    7698
    2014 年 6 月 2 日
  • 英语

    Word of the Day: Obsolete

    Obsolete (ˈɒbsəliːt) You can listen to the pronunciation here. Obsolete means out-of-date or...

    Sara.TEFL

    Sara.TEFL

    2
    7552
    2013 年 11 月 3 日
  • 英语

    Word of the Day: Vagaries

    Vagaries (ˈveɪɡəriz) You can listen to the pronunciation here. Vagaries are unpredictable or u...

    Sara.TEFL

    Sara.TEFL

    0
    7449
    2013 年 11 月 1 日
« 讲师专栏首页
在线客服咨询