Sabah kedim patisini yalayıp mırlarken tüyleri güneşte parlıyordu.

Here sabah means in the morning / this morning, depending on context.

Turkish often uses time words without a preposition:

• sabah = morning / in the morning
• akşam = evening / in the evening
• dün = yesterday
• bugün = today

So Sabah kedim... naturally means This morning, my cat... or In the morning, my cat...

Kedim already means my cat.

Breakdown:

• kedi = cat
• -im = my

So:

• kedim = my cat
• benim kedim = my cat

The version with benim is more explicit or emphatic, but usually unnecessary unless you want contrast, such as My cat, not yours.

Patisini means its paw or his/her paw in this sentence.

Breakdown:

• pati = paw
• -si = its / his / her
• -ni = accusative ending, marking it as the direct object

So:

• patisi = its paw
• patisini = its paw (as the object of the verb)

Since the subject is kedim, the paw belongs to the cat. Turkish often uses a possessive ending for body parts:

• elini yıkadı = he/she washed his/her hand
• gözlerini kapattı = he/she closed his/her eyes

Because yalamak is a transitive verb, and here the object is specific: the cat is licking its paw, not just licking in general.

Compare:

• pati yalıyor = it is licking paw / licking a paw-like thing in a general sense
• patisini yalıyor = it is licking its paw specifically

In Turkish, definite or specific direct objects usually take the accusative.

Yalayıp is from yalamak (to lick) plus the linking ending -ıp / -ip / -up / -üp.

It means something like:

• licking and...
• having licked and...
• more naturally here: while licking...

In this sentence:

• patisini yalayıp mırlarken...

This links actions smoothly. Turkish uses this structure a lot instead of and.

A rough comparison:

• patisini yalıyor ve mırlıyorken = possible, but heavier
• patisini yalayıp mırlarken = more natural and flowing

Here -ıp connects yalamak to mırlamak as part of the same action sequence.

Mırlarken means while purring.

Breakdown:

• mırla- = purr
• -r = aorist/base connector often used before -ken
• -ken = while / when

So:

• mırlarken = while purring / when it was purring

This tells you the action was happening at the same time as the main action:

• the cat was licking its paw and purring,
• while its fur was shining in the sun.

Because they do slightly different jobs.

• yalayıp links licking to the next verb
• mırlarken sets the time frame: while purring

So the structure is roughly:

• licking its paw and purring, its fur was shining in the sun

A more literal feel:

• having licked/licking its paw and while purring...

In natural English we usually smooth this out, but in Turkish this combination is very normal.

Tüyleri here means its fur or more literally its hairs/fur strands.

Breakdown:

• tüy = hair, fur, feather
• -ler = plural
• -i = its / his / her

So literally it is its hairs/fur.

Turkish often uses the plural for things that English may express more collectively:

• saçları = his/her hair
• tüyleri = its fur / its hairs

Because the subject is the cat, tüyleri naturally means the cat’s fur.

Güneşte means in the sun.

Breakdown:

• güneş = sun
• -te / -de = in / on / at

Because of consonant harmony, it becomes -te here:

• güneşte = in the sun

This is the locative case, used for location.

Examples:

• evde = at home
• masada = on the table
• güneşte = in the sun

Parlıyordu is the past continuous / imperfect-like form: was shining.

Breakdown:

• parla- = shine
• -ıyor = is ...-ing
• -du = past

So:

• parlıyor = is shining
• parlıyordu = was shining

It describes an ongoing action in the past, which fits well with the other ongoing background actions in the sentence.

Because the real grammatical subject is understood as the cat’s fur as a collective whole, and in Turkish third-person plural subjects do not always require a plural verb.

So:

• tüyleri parlıyordu = its fur was shining / its hairs were shining

Turkish often keeps the verb in singular third person even when the subject is plural, especially when the plural is non-human or treated collectively.

Compare:

• Çocuklar geldi. = The children came.
• Yapraklar düştü. = The leaves fell.

No extra plural marking on the verb is necessary.

The basic main clause is:

• tüyleri güneşte parlıyordu
  = its fur was shining in the sun

Before that, Turkish adds a descriptive subordinate part:

• Sabah kedim patisini yalayıp mırlarken...
  = This morning, while my cat was licking its paw and purring...

So the full sentence is structured like:

[time] + [subject] + [background action] + [main clause]

This is very common in Turkish. The main verb often comes at the end:

• parlıyordu is the final verb of the whole sentence.

Yes, that is the natural reading.

The sentence presents a scene where:

• it is morning,
• the cat is licking its paw,
• the cat is purring,
• and at the same time its fur is shining in the sun.

The endings -ıp and -ken, together with parlıyordu, create an overlapping, continuous picture rather than a sequence of fully separate actions.

Yes. Even if the meaning is already known, several natural English versions are possible:

• This morning, while my cat was licking its paw and purring, its fur was shining in the sun.
• In the morning, as my cat licked its paw and purred, its fur shone in the sunlight.
• My cat’s fur was gleaming in the sun as it licked its paw and purred this morning.

The Turkish sentence is rich in participle-like structures, so English can express it in slightly different ways while keeping the same overall meaning.