What does “Fellball” mean in German?

Fellball — literally “fur ball” — is the word Germans reach for when a kitten or puppy is too small and round to look like anything but a ball of fur. It’s affectionate, not clinical: you’d use it for a fluffy rescue kitten like the one in this clip, not for a grown cat. Fell is an animal’s coat specifically (not Haar, which is more for human hair) — and Ball needs no translation.

The word works because Fell + Ball is instantly visual — no memorizing needed, just picture a small animal round enough to roll. It sits in a small family of cute compound nicknames for young or tiny animals, alongside diminutives like Kätzchen (kitten, literally “little cat”) and Hündchen (puppy, “little dog”).