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Origami Cat Face

Fold a flat cat face with two pointed ears, a small chin and rounded-off cheeks. Add drawn eyes, a nose and whiskers if you like.

Preparation + 13 numbered steps

Materials

Square origami paper · 6 × 6 inches

One flexible 6 × 6-inch square (15.24 cm, approximately 15.2 cm). Start with the intended face color down. A ruler helps place the matching folds; a pencil or pen is optional for the face. No cuts or glue.

Start the interactive guide ↓
Read all illustrated steps ↓Download PDF ↓ · one-page illustrated guide
Flat folded cat face with two upright ears, shaped cheeks and optional drawn eyes, nose and whiskers
Illustrated flat cat face · optional drawn features

Follow along

Preparation

The interactive guide needs JavaScript. Read every illustrated step below.

Camera only; does not change the fold.
Help · controls & diagram

Play or drag the progress slider to watch a fold from 0% to 100%. Use the view buttons or drag the diagram to look from another angle.

Blue and gold track the original left and right halves of one sheet. Darker shades show the reverse. Orange outlines indicate moving paper. Black facial features are optional drawn marks.

With the diagram focused: Space plays or pauses, ←/→ change steps, and Home resets.

Every step, at a glance

Compare your paper with each diagram after completing the action. Blue and gold track the original left and right halves of one sheet. Darker shades show the reverse. Orange outlines indicate moving paper. Black facial features are optional drawn marks.

  1. 0. Prepare a square
  2. 1. Bring the bottom corner up
  3. 2. Mark the middle
  4. 3. Reopen the triangle
  5. 4. Raise the right ear
  6. 5. Raise the left ear
  7. 6. Make a short chin
  8. 7. Turn the face over
  9. 8. Lower the forehead
  10. 9. Turn to the back
  11. 10. Trim the right cheek with a fold
  12. 11. Match the left cheek
  13. 12. Show the front
  14. 13. Draw an optional face
  1. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    PREPARATION · Traditional cat face

    Prepare a square

    Place the square as a diamond, with one corner up and the face color down.

    Layers: One sheet.

    Check: The side corners are level.

    Explore this step ↑
  2. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 1 · Traditional cat face

    Bring the bottom corner up

    Match the bottom corner to the top corner and crease the horizontal diagonal.

    Layers: Lift the lower half over the upper half.

    Check: A two-layer triangle points upward.

    Explore this step ↑
  3. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 2 · Traditional cat face

    Mark the middle

    Fold the right corner onto the left corner, aligning the edges. Press a light center crease.

    Layers: Fold both layers together.

    Check: The base midpoint is marked.

    Explore this step ↑
  4. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 3 · Traditional cat face

    Reopen the triangle

    Return the corner to the right. Keep the first diagonal fold closed.

    Layers: Undo only the center fold.

    Check: Both side corners are level again.

    Explore this step ↑
  5. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 4 · Traditional cat face

    Raise the right ear

    On the right sloping edge, mark a point three sevenths of the way from the side corner toward the top. Fold along the line from this mark to the base midpoint, lifting the right corner up.

    Layers: Move both layers of the right corner together.

    Check: The ear points upward and slightly right of the center.

    Explore this step ↑
  6. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 5 · Traditional cat face

    Raise the left ear

    Use a matching point on the left sloping edge. Fold from it to the base midpoint, raising the left corner.

    Layers: Move both layers of the left corner; leave the right ear in place.

    Check: The two ear tips match in height.

    Explore this step ↑
  7. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 6 · Traditional cat face

    Make a short chin

    At the bottom center, fold the point upward. Place the crease one tenth of the original triangle height above the base midpoint.

    Layers: Fold the whole small lower packet.

    Check: A short horizontal edge replaces the bottom point.

    Explore this step ↑
  8. TURN THE WHOLE PACKETOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 7 · Traditional cat face

    Turn the face over

    Lift the whole model and turn it over from side to side, keeping the ears up.

    Layers: Turn the complete packet; make no new crease.

    Check: The large center panel faces you.

    Explore this step ↑
  9. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 8 · Traditional cat face

    Lower the forehead

    Fold the middle top point down along a horizontal line at 72% of the original triangle height. Keep both ears extended.

    Layers: Fold the two central layers, not the ear packets.

    Check: A triangular flap lies below the straight forehead edge.

    Explore this step ↑
  10. TURN THE WHOLE PACKETOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 9 · Traditional cat face

    Turn to the back

    Turn the whole model over again, keeping the ears at the top.

    Layers: The forehead fold stays closed.

    Check: The earlier ear and chin flaps face you.

    Explore this step ↑
  11. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 10 · Traditional cat face

    Trim the right cheek with a fold

    Fold the outer right point inward. Use a vertical crease just over halfway (55%) from the centerline to the original triangle corner.

    Layers: Move only the small right-side packet.

    Check: The side of the face becomes straighter; the ear stays pointed.

    Explore this step ↑
  12. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 11 · Traditional cat face

    Match the left cheek

    Fold the left point inward by the same amount.

    Layers: Move only the matching left-side packet.

    Check: The cheeks have matching vertical edges.

    Explore this step ↑
  13. TURN THE WHOLE PACKETOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 12 · Traditional cat face

    Show the front

    Turn the complete model over one last time.

    Layers: Keep all shaping folds closed.

    Check: Two upright ears sit above the shaped face.

    Explore this step ↑
  14. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold

    STEP 13 · Traditional cat face

    Draw an optional face

    Add two eyes, a small nose and whiskers on the central panel. The black marks shown are a drawing suggestion.

    Layers: No paper moves.

    Check: Your flat cat face has matching ears and cheeks.

    Explore this step ↑
Sources & notes

Origami Guide, Easy Origami Cat Face (2018 image sequence; undated page).

Cat-face folds and ears ↗ · Forehead, cheeks and finish ↗

The source describes this construction as traditional. Its photographs, diagrams and wording remain the publisher’s work. This guide uses independently authored English instructions, geometry and illustrations; no reference media or text is redistributed. No design-license clearance is asserted.

Adaptation: Uses a 6-inch square and a fully folded/reopened center guide. The source allows adjustable ear and face proportions. Our ear creases run from the base midpoint to points three sevenths of the way up each sloping side; the two-layer chin crease is one tenth of the triangle height above the base. The two-layer forehead crease is at 72% of that height and the cheek creases at 55% of the triangle half-width. These repeatable proportions and extra handling steps are authored, not measured from photographs. The final model is flat; the source’s freestanding display use is not demonstrated.

Original instructions and diagrams, made with AI assistance. About & reuse

Accuracy notes

Real-paper follow-along and paper weight have not been tested. Diagrams illustrate the sequence, not paper thickness, contact, collisions or exact layer visibility. Rigid folds of a single 36-square-inch sheet, with explicit two-layer packets, complete turns and shared static/interactive endpoints. Zero-thickness diagrams do not simulate paper thickness or crease retention. Real-paper folding has not been tested.