La gata deja de maullar en cuanto la granjera le pone comida.

In Spanish, it is very common to use the definite article with nouns where English might not.

So la gata means the female cat. In a sentence like this, Spanish normally wants the article: la gata.

A bare noun like gata by itself would usually sound incomplete here.

Gata is the feminine form of gato.

• gato = male cat, or cat in a general sense
• gata = female cat

The sentence is specifically talking about a female cat, so gata is used.

The pattern is:

dejar de + infinitive

It means to stop doing something.

So:

• deja de maullar = stops meowing

Literally, it is something like ceases to meow.

This is a very common Spanish structure:

• dejar de hablar = to stop talking
• dejar de correr = to stop running
• dejar de llorar = to stop crying

Yes. Maullar is the verb for to meow.

It is an animal-sound verb, like:

• ladrar = to bark
• mugir = to moo
• piar = to chirp / peep

So la gata maúlla means the cat meows, and deja de maullar means she stops meowing.

En cuanto means as soon as.

It introduces the moment when something happens:

• La gata deja de maullar en cuanto...
  = The cat stops meowing as soon as...

Other similar expressions are:

• tan pronto como = as soon as
• apenas = as soon as / hardly

In this sentence, en cuanto is a very natural choice.

Granjera means female farmer. It is the feminine form of granjero.

So:

• el granjero = the male farmer
• la granjera = the female farmer

Spanish nouns often change ending to show gender when referring to people.

Le is an indirect object pronoun. Here it means to her, referring back to la gata.

So:

• la granjera le pone comida
  = the farmer puts food down for her / gives her food

A very literal breakdown is:

• la granjera = the farmer
• le = to her
• pone comida = puts food

Spanish often uses an indirect object pronoun where English may just use a normal object or rephrase the sentence.

Because the cat is not the direct object here. The food is the thing being put, so comida is the direct object.

The cat is the indirect object: the food is being put for/to the cat.

That is why Spanish uses:

• le = to her

not:

• la = her

Compare:

• La granjera le pone comida a la gata.
  = The farmer gives/puts food for the cat.

But:

• La granjera la ve.
  = The farmer sees her.

In the second example, her is the direct object, so la is used.

It could.

Spanish often uses both the pronoun and the full phrase together:

• La granjera le pone comida a la gata.

This is called clitic doubling. It is very common and often sounds natural.

In your sentence, a la gata is omitted because le already makes the relationship clear, and the cat has already been mentioned as the subject of the first part of the sentence.

So the sentence is perfectly natural without repeating a la gata.

Yes, poner basically means to put. But in Spanish, poner comida can naturally mean to put food down or to serve food for an animal or person.

So in this sentence:

• le pone comida = puts food down for her / gives her food

Spanish often uses poner in situations where English might prefer give, serve, or put down depending on context.

The whole sentence is in the present tense because it is describing a general or habitual situation, or it could be narrating an event vividly in the present.

Forms used:

• deja = she stops
• pone = she puts

Spanish uses the present tense a lot for:

• habits
• general truths
• vivid narration

So this could mean something like The cat stops meowing as soon as the farmer gives her food as a regular pattern.

Yes. In this sentence, la granjera is the subject of pone.

So the structure is:

• La gata = subject of deja
• deja de maullar = stops meowing
• en cuanto = as soon as
• la granjera = subject of pone
• le = to her
• pone comida = puts food / gives food

So the two actions are:

1. the cat stops meowing
2. the farmer gives the cat food

Not usually in this exact sentence. Here comida is being used in a general sense: food.

If Spanish wanted to make it specifically the food, it would normally say:

• la comida

So:

• pone comida = puts down food
• pone la comida = puts down the food

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things. The version without the article sounds more general.

The structure is:

La gata + deja de maullar + en cuanto + la granjera + le pone comida

So, piece by piece:

• La gata = the cat
• deja de maullar = stops meowing
• en cuanto = as soon as
• la granjera = the farmer
• le pone comida = gives her food / puts food down for her

This is quite natural Spanish word order. Nothing here is especially unusual once you know the fixed expressions dejar de + infinitive and en cuanto.