kono hogoneko ha sizuka desu.

It is pronounced:

Kono hogo neko wa shizuka desu.

A more natural smooth pronunciation is:

Kono hogoneko wa shizuka desu.

A few helpful notes:

• この = kono
• 保護猫 = hogo neko or very commonly said smoothly as hogoneko
• は is written ha but pronounced wa here because it is the topic marker
• 静か = shizuka
• です = desu (in casual speech, the u is often very light)

この means this and must be followed by a noun.

So:

• この 保護猫 = this rescue cat

This is different from これ, which means this by itself.

Compare:

• この保護猫 = this rescue cat
• これは保護猫です = this is a rescue cat

So in your sentence, この directly modifies 保護猫.

保護猫 is read ほごねこ.

It literally combines:

• 保護 = protection, rescue
• 猫 = cat

So 保護猫 means a rescued cat or rescue cat, usually a cat that has been taken in and is being cared for, often before or after adoption.

は marks the topic of the sentence.

So:

• この保護猫は = As for this rescue cat, ...

Then the rest of the sentence says something about that topic:

• 静かです = is quiet

This is one of the most basic Japanese sentence patterns:

• X は Y です

which often corresponds to X is Y in English.

This is a special case in Japanese grammar.

The particle は is normally written with the hiragana は, but when it is used as the topic marker, it is pronounced わ.

So in this sentence:

• written: は
• pronounced: wa

This is something you simply memorize for particles.

In Japanese, です often plays the role of the English is / am / are in polite sentences, but it is not exactly the same as the English verb to be in every situation.

Here:

• 静かです = is quiet

Japanese often does not need a separate verb in the same way English does. The sentence is complete with:

• topic: この保護猫は
• description: 静かです

So even though it may feel like something is missing from an English perspective, the Japanese sentence is fully natural and complete.

Yes, but more specifically, 静か is a na-adjective.

Japanese has two major kinds of adjectives:

• i-adjectives: like 大きい (big)
• na-adjectives: like 静か (quiet)

That matters because na-adjectives behave a little differently from i-adjectives.

For example:

• 静かな猫 = a quiet cat
• 猫は静かです = The cat is quiet

So 静か is an adjective, but it belongs to the na-adjective group.

Because な is only used when a na-adjective directly modifies a noun.

Compare:

• 静かな猫 = a quiet cat
  (静か
  • な
    • noun)

But when the adjective comes at the end of the sentence as the predicate, you do not use な:

• 猫は静かです = The cat is quiet

So in your sentence:

• この保護猫は静かです is correct
• この保護猫は静かなです is incorrect

です makes the sentence polite.

Compare:

• この保護猫は静かです。 = polite
• この保護猫は静かだ。 = plain / less polite
• この保護猫は静か。 = very casual, often conversational

So です is commonly used in beginner-friendly polite Japanese.

It does not add a new meaning like very or really; it mainly adds politeness and helps complete the sentence politely.

Yes.

If you remove この, you get:

• 保護猫は静かです。

That means something like:

• Rescue cats are quiet
• The rescue cat is quiet

depending on context.

Adding この makes it specific:

• この保護猫は静かです。 = This rescue cat is quiet

So この helps point out a particular cat.

The spaces are usually added only for learners.

Normal Japanese writing would usually be:

この保護猫は静かです。

Japanese does not normally separate words with spaces the way English does. Beginner materials often add spaces to make the structure easier to see.

Sometimes, but it would change the nuance.

• この保護猫は静かです。
  As for this rescue cat, it is quiet.
  This sounds like a neutral statement about the cat.

• この保護猫が静かです。
  This would put more focus on this rescue cat itself, as if contrasting it with others or identifying which one is quiet.

So for a simple basic sentence, は is the most natural choice.

It can do both, depending on context.

静か can mean:

• quiet in terms of sound or environment
• calm, peaceful
• quiet in behavior or personality

So for a cat, 静かです could mean:

• it does not make much noise
• it is calm
• it is not very active or disruptive

The exact nuance depends on the situation.

You can use that kind of literal breakdown to understand the grammar, but it is not natural English.

A helpful structural breakdown is:

• この保護猫は = as for this rescue cat
• 静かです = is quiet

So the natural translation is:

• This rescue cat is quiet.

Literal glosses can help you study, but they should not be treated as good English translations.

The plain version is:

この保護猫は静かだ。

You may also hear:

この保護猫は静か。

Differences:

• 静かです = polite
• 静かだ = plain
• 静か = very casual / conversational shorthand

For beginners, です is usually the safest form to use.

Yes.

• この猫は静かです。 = This cat is quiet.

That is simpler and very natural.

Using 保護猫 adds extra information:

• この保護猫は静かです。 = This rescue cat is quiet.

So the choice depends on whether you want to mention that it is a rescue cat.