Kedi patisini yalıyor.

A useful breakdown is:

• kedi = cat
• pati-si-ni = paw-its-(definite) object
  • pati = paw
  • -si = its / his / her
  • -ni = accusative marking on a possessed noun
• yalıyor = is licking
  • from the dictionary form yalamak = to lick
  • -yor is the present continuous marker

So the sentence is literally something like:

cat its-paw-OBJ is-licking

Because Turkish is showing two things on that word:

1. whose paw it is

   • pati = paw
   • patisi = its paw / his paw / her paw

2. that it is the direct object of the verb

   • patisini = its paw as the thing being licked

In English, we use a separate word like its. In Turkish, that meaning is built into the noun with a suffix.

That n is a linking consonant.

The basic idea is:

• patisi = its paw
• then you add the accusative ending
• after a 3rd-person possessive suffix, Turkish usually inserts n before the case ending

So:

• patisi + -(y)i does not become patisii
• it becomes patisini

This is a very common pattern in Turkish:

• araba = car
• arabası = his/her/its car
• arabasını = his/her/its car (as the object)

Yalamak is the dictionary form, meaning to lick.

To say is licking, Turkish uses the present continuous suffix -yor:

• yala- = lick
• yala + -ıyor = yalıyor

So:

• yalamak = to lick
• yalıyor = he/she/it is licking

Since the subject is kedi, the meaning is the cat is licking.

Because kedi has no object marking, while patisini is clearly marked as the object.

In this sentence:

• kedi = the one doing the action
• patisini = the thing receiving the action

Turkish often leaves the subject unmarked in basic sentences, while definite direct objects are marked. That helps you see the roles.

Because kedi here is the subject, not a possessor phrase.

• Kedi patisini yalıyor = The cat is licking its paw
• Kedinin patisini yalıyor would mean something like He/she/it is licking the cat’s paw, where kedinin patisini is the object phrase

So in your sentence, the cat is the one doing the licking, not just the owner of the paw.

Turkish has no words exactly like English a/an and the.

So kedi can mean:

• a cat
• the cat
• sometimes just cat in a general sense

The exact meaning depends on context.

In a sentence like this, English often translates it as The cat is licking its paw or A cat is licking its paw, depending on the situation.

Usually, yes — that is the most natural reading here.

So Kedi patisini yalıyor is normally understood as:

The cat is licking its own paw.

However, the form itself is literally just his/her/its paw. In the right context, it could refer to another previously mentioned animal or person.

If you want to make own extra explicit, Turkish can use kendi:

• Kedi kendi patisini yalıyor = The cat is licking its own paw

That sounds more emphatic.

The neutral, most common order here is:

Kedi patisini yalıyor.
Subject + Object + Verb

That is the default Turkish pattern.

But Turkish word order is flexible, and different orders can add emphasis:

• Patisini kedi yalıyor. = emphasis on its paw
• Kedi yalıyor patisini. = possible, but less neutral and more marked

So the original sentence is the most natural basic version.