How to make an origami cat
Origami Cat: try all 10 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.
An Origami Tutor seated cat folded from one card: a triangle head with a flat forehead and two pointed ears, above a slim chest and two broad folded paws. Add the eyes, whiskers and front-leg lines with a pen. No glue or scissors.
- You need
- One 3 × 5 in index card, or any rectangle with sides about 3 to 5, and a pen for the face. No glue or scissors.
- Start
- Stand an index card (or any rectangle about 3 to 5) upright, colored side up. Its lower square becomes the head and the strip above it becomes the body.
- Tips
- Match the two ear creases so both ears stand the same height.
- Draw the face after all the folding is done.
Your model is ready
Press the folds flat. Stand the cat up, then draw two eyes, a nose and whiskers on its head. Add two short upright lines above the paws for the front legs. The finished seated cat, with a broad head above its narrow chest and paws.
Step-by-step diagrams
- 1
Crease the first diagonal
Fold the bottom edge up to the left edge, so the fold runs from the bottom left corner to the right edge. Press and open.
- 2
Crease the other diagonal
Fold the bottom edge up to the right edge the same way. The two creases make an X in the lower square. Press and open.
- 3
Crease across the middle
Fold the bottom edge up behind the card, level with the top of the lower square where the diagonals meet the side edges. Press and open.
- 4
Collapse the square into a triangle
Push the middles of the two side edges of the lower square inward. The square folds along its creases into a triangle with its point at the top, and the strip above swings down behind it.
- 5
Flatten the forehead
Fold the top point of the triangle down a little, taking every layer with it.
- 6
Raise the left ear
Fold the lower left corner of the triangle up along the slanted line that starts at the middle of the bottom edge. Its tip should stand above the forehead.
- 7
Raise the right ear
Fold the lower right corner up the same way to match the first ear.
- 8
Fold the body up
Fold the hanging strip up in half in front of itself, so its bottom edge meets the base of the head. The colored side now shows on the body too.
- 9
Narrow the body on the left
Fold the left edge of the body back along a line that slants out toward the bottom. The tip of the folded corner peeks out below as a front paw, and the body is narrower than the head at the top.
- 10
Narrow the body on the right
Fold the right edge back the same way to match, making the second paw.
- ✓
Finish
Press the folds flat. Stand the cat up, then draw two eyes, a nose and whiskers on its head. Add two short upright lines above the paws for the front legs. The finished seated cat, with a broad head above its narrow chest and paws.
Fold next
Crane ↗
The crane begins with a square base. Two petal folds turn it into a bird base with separate points for the neck and tail; the broad flaps become the wings. Work through one side of the body before repeating the narrowing folds on the back.
Swan ↗
The traditional kite-base swan, with a pointed tail, a long neck and a small head.
Pig ↗
The traditional kindergarten pig, recorded in 1863. It stands on four pointed feet, with a raised tail and a short snout.
Japanese rabbit ↗
The cupboard-base Japanese rabbit recorded in 1935, with long ears and a small turned-up tail. Fold its broad head, narrow ears, body and reversed tail.