У кота їжа в роті.

The cat has food in its mouth.

Breakdown of У кота їжа в роті.

• їжа: the food
• кіт: the cat
• в: in
• у: in

Questions & Answers about У кота їжа в роті.

Why is кота used instead of кіт?

Because after у in the phrase у кота, Ukrainian uses the genitive case.

• кіт = cat in the dictionary form
• кота = of the cat / used after certain prepositions and in possession patterns

In this sentence, у кота literally looks like at the cat or by the cat, but it is a very common Ukrainian way to express possession:

• У кота їжа = The cat has food

So кота is there because the grammar requires the genitive, not because the meaning changes to a different cat.

What does у кота literally mean?

Literally, у кота means something like at the cat or by the cat.

But in normal Ukrainian, this structure often means someone has something:

• У мене є книга = I have a book
• У кота їжа = The cat has food

So in your sentence, У кота їжа в роті, the idea is:

• The cat has food in its mouth

A very literal breakdown would be:

• У кота = at the cat / the cat has
• їжа = food
• в роті = in the mouth