Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah.

When talking about your own mother in Indonesian, people often just say Ibu (capitalized) without saya, and context makes it clear.
ibu (lowercase) can also mean mother in general, or be used as a polite title for an older woman (like Mrs./Ma’am).

So in a normal context, Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah is understood as My mother takes care of my cat at home, not just “a woman.”

Why is there no word for is / am / are in this sentence?

Indonesian usually does not use a separate verb like is / am / are before verbs.

English: My mother is taking care of my cat.
Indonesian: Ibu merawat kucing saya.
(literally: “Mother care-for my cat.”)

The verb merawat already functions as the main verb, so you do not say Ibu adalah merawat… or Ibu sedang merawat… by default.
You only add aspect markers like sedang (in the middle of doing) when you want to emphasize the ongoing nature of the action:

Ibu sedang merawat kucing saya di rumah.
= My mother is (right now) taking care of my cat at home.

What exactly does merawat mean? Is it just to take care of?

Merawat means to take care of / to look after / to nurse, often involving some effort or attention. Common uses:

merawat kucing – to care for a cat (feeding, grooming, etc.)
merawat pasien – to nurse a patient
merawat taman – to take care of a garden

It comes from the root rawat, with the prefix me- (in this case realized as mer-), which often turns a root into an active verb.
The bare root rawat is rarely used by itself; you see it in forms like:

dirawat – be treated / be cared for
perawatan – treatment, care

So in this sentence, merawat is a natural choice for “takes care of / looks after.”

How does kucing saya work? Why is my after the noun instead of before it?

In Indonesian, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun:

kucing saya – my cat
rumah saya – my house
teman saya – my friend

So the order is [noun] + [possessor], compared to English [possessor] + [noun].

Some equivalent patterns:

kucing saya – my cat
kucingmu – your cat
kucingnya – his/her/their cat (depending on context)

Could you also say saya punya kucing instead of kucing saya?

Yes, but they are used differently:

kucing saya = my cat (like a noun phrase; used when the cat is the subject or object)
- Ibu merawat kucing saya. – My mother takes care of my cat.
saya punya kucing = I have a cat (a whole sentence expressing possession)

You wouldn’t replace kucing saya with saya punya kucing inside this sentence.
Ibu merawat saya punya kucing is not natural here. Stick with kucing saya when it’s the object.

What does di rumah mean exactly? Is it at home or in the house?

Di rumah can mean either at home or in the house, depending on context.

di = at / in / on (a general location preposition)
rumah = house / home

In this sentence, di rumah is most naturally understood as at home, since it’s about caring for a pet.
If you wanted to be more specific, you could say:

di dalam rumah – inside the house
di rumah saya – at my house / in my house

Why is there no word for the in kucing saya or rumah?

Indonesian has no articles like a / an / the. Nouns are generally bare, and definiteness is understood from context or pronouns:

kucing – cat / a cat / the cat
kucing saya – my cat (definite because of saya)
rumah – house / a house / the house

In Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah, English naturally adds the or my as needed:

My mother takes care of my cat at home.

How is tense shown here? How do we know if it’s takes care, took care, or will take care?

Indonesian verbs like merawat usually do not change form for tense.
The sentence Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah can mean:

My mother takes care of my cat at home. (habitual / general)
My mother took care of my cat at home. (past, if context is past)
My mother will take care of my cat at home. (future, with context or extra words)

To make time clearer, Indonesians add time words:

Kemarin Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah. – Yesterday my mother took care of my cat at home.
Besok Ibu akan merawat kucing saya di rumah. – Tomorrow my mother will take care of my cat at home.
Setiap hari Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah. – Every day my mother takes care of my cat at home.

Is the word order in Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah fixed, or can we move things around?

The basic and most natural order is:

[Subject] [Verb] [Object] [Place]

So:

Ibu – subject
merawat – verb
kucing saya – object
di rumah – place

Other orders are theoretically possible but can sound awkward or change the focus. For a clear, neutral sentence, keep:

Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah.

Could we say Ibu saya merawat kucing saya di rumah? Is that more correct?

Ibu saya merawat kucing saya di rumah is grammatically correct and means My mother takes care of my cat at home.

Ibu saya = my mother

However, in everyday speech, when it’s already clear you’re talking about your own mother, people often just say Ibu:

Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah.

Both are correct; Ibu saya is slightly more explicit; Ibu alone is very common and natural.

Why is the subject Ibu and not dia (she)?

Indonesian usually prefers to name the subject rather than use a pronoun if it’s the first mention or if you want to be clear who you mean.

Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah. – My mother takes care of my cat at home.
After that, if it’s clear, you could use dia:
- Ibu merawat kucing saya di rumah. Dia sangat sayang pada hewan.
  – Mother takes care of my cat at home. She really loves animals.

So Ibu here is perfectly natural because it tells you exactly who is doing the action.

What is the difference between saya and aku in a sentence like this?

Both saya and aku mean I / me, but they differ in formality:

saya – more formal / neutral, safe in almost any situation, including with strangers, elders, or in writing.
aku – more informal / intimate, used with close friends, family, or in casual settings.

In kucing saya, using saya keeps the sentence neutral and widely appropriate.
You could say kucing aku in casual speech or writing to friends, but in this kind of example sentence, kucing saya is the standard choice.