La Calabaza dance AI · the dancing kittens trend, with your pets
La Calabaza Dance: Put Your Own Pets in the Dancing Kittens Trio
One to three photos · the three kittens' 14-second routine on the night road: stand up, paws out, the sync sway, the turn, the close-up · vertical 9:16 with the trend's own sound · Pets from 28 credits, People from 34 (Seedance 2.0 Mini, 480p); Seedance 2.5 by default.
One photo plays all three, or mix two cats and a dog · Middle one gets the cowboy hat, right one the round glasses · No CapCut, no app, MP4 download
Photo 1 · middle (cowboy hat)
One pet per photo, whole body if you can
Photo 2 · left (optional)
One pet per photo, whole body if you can
Photo 3 · right, round glasses (optional)
One pet per photo, whole body if you can
300–6000 px wide and high, up to 30 MB. Only Photo 1 is required: an empty slot repeats Photo 1, so one photo makes three copies of your pet. One animal per photo, face and fur clearly visible, in good light. Use photos of your own pets.
14 s · 9:16 · 480p · sound included
This video costs 146 credits. Charged when you start, refunded automatically if it fails.
La Calabaza dance examples
Community AI takes of the same routine, road and sound: three dachshunds, and three different cats in hats. Credited to their creators; not made on TryH3.
What is the La Calabaza dance?
The La Calabaza dance is the dancing-kittens trend of autumn 2026: three tiny AI-made kittens, one in a black cowboy hat and one in round glasses, stand up on their hind legs by a curb at night and dance in sync for 14 seconds to Pumpky's "LA CALABAZA (TINIEBLA Edit)". The clip was posted by the AI cat account @meowtakeover on 27 August 2026, and people now remake it with their own pets, with themselves, or by pasting the kittens over their own videos. On this page you upload one to three photos and get your own version of the same routine, with the same sound.
La Calabaza dance at a glance
| What it is | A 14-second AI clip of three kittens dancing in sync on a roadside at night, remade with your own pets or people |
|---|---|
| Song | "LA CALABAZA (TINIEBLA Edit)" by Pumpky, a fast guaracha-style edit; "la calabaza" is Spanish for "the pumpkin" |
| Original clip | @meowtakeover on TikTok, 27 August 2026 — 29.0 million plays and 4.1 million likes on 18 October 2026 |
| The moves | Heads bowed by the curb → look up, paws out wide → side-to-side sway → turn round and wiggle → face front again → bounce up to the camera |
| Modes | Pets (cats, dogs, other pets as the kittens) or People (you and friends doing the same routine on the same road) |
| Photos | 1 to 3; Photo 1 is the middle dancer in the cowboy hat, Photo 3 the right one in round glasses; an empty slot repeats Photo 1 |
| Models | Seedance 2.5 (default), Seedance 2.0 Mini, Fast and Pro, MiniMax H3 |
| Length | 14 seconds, the whole routine, on every model |
| Output | Vertical 9:16 MP4 at 480p, 720p or 1080p, with the trend's sound |
| Cost | Pets 28–581 credits, People 34–586 credits, depending on model and resolution (table below) |
| Free to try? | No: sign-up credits and the $5 Trial pack (24 credits) do not cover a video; the cheapest one is 28 credits |
| Watermark | A moving tryh3.com mark until your first purchase; after that, none (and earlier videos can be unlocked) |
| If it fails | Credits come back automatically when a video fails or a photo is refused |
| Phone or computer | Runs in the browser: Safari or Chrome on iPhone and Android, or any desktop browser; no app to install |
La Calabaza cat dance examples
Two community AI takes that follow the same routine, the same kind of night roadside and the same sound as this generator: three dachshunds in hats, and three different cats in their own hats and sunglasses. Your video follows the same 14 seconds with your own animals or people.
Shown with credit to their creators; neither was made on TryH3. Every run is a new take, so your result will differ.
How to make a La Calabaza cat dance video with your own pets
Everything happens on this page, on a phone or a computer. There is no prompt to write and nothing to edit afterwards.
- 01
Pick Pets or People
Pets turns the three kittens into your animals. People puts you and up to two friends on the same road, doing the same steps.
- 02
Add one to three photos
Photo 1 is the middle dancer and gets the cowboy hat. Add Photo 2 and Photo 3 for the left and right places, or leave them empty and Photo 1 fills all three.
- 03
Choose a model and a resolution
The button shows the exact credits before anything is charged. Seedance 2.0 Mini at 480p is the cheapest; Seedance 2.5 keeps faces and fur closest to your photos.
- 04
Download and post
In about 3 to 6 minutes you get a 14-second vertical MP4 with the sound already on it. Save it to your phone and post it to TikTok, Reels or Shorts.
Which photo goes where
| Photo | Place in the trio | Wears | Good choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photo 1 (required) | Middle — the one who ends closest to the camera | Black cowboy hat with a silver band | The pet or person you want people to notice first |
| Photo 2 (optional) | Left | Nothing added | Leave empty to repeat Photo 1 |
| Photo 3 (optional) | Right | Small round black glasses | Leave empty to repeat Photo 1 |
Two cats and a dog: mixing pets in one La Calabaza dance
Most La Calabaza generators copy one photo three times. Here each slot can hold a different animal, so a two-cat, one-dog household can dance together.
| You upload | You get | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| One photo of your cat | Three identical copies of your cat, like the original trio | Pets |
| Your cat (Photo 1) and your dog (Photo 2) | Your cat in the middle and on the right, your dog on the left | Pets |
| Two cats and a small dog, one per slot | Each animal in its own place; all three stand upright at about kitten size | Pets |
| One photo of yourself | Three of you dancing the kittens' routine side by side | People |
| You, your partner and a friend | A real trio: you in the middle with the hat, the others left and right | People |
People mode is for friends and couples. It keeps each person's own face, hair and clothes, follows the kittens' steps on the same night road and keeps the song; only the hat and the glasses are added. Pets and people can't share one video: a person standing in a kitten's place looks wrong at that scale.
The La Calabaza dance, second by second
One continuous low shot that creeps closer. These are the beats your video follows, timed against the original clip.
- 0–1.5s
Heads down by the curb
The three stand in a row, heads bowed, paws held together at the chest, as the camera starts to move in.
- 1.5–2.5s
Look up, paws out
All three lift their heads at once and throw their front paws out wide.
- 2.5–4.5s
The bounce
Paws held wide, small bounces on the spot; the middle one opens its mouth in a little shout.
- 4.5–8s
The sync sway
A side-to-side sway with paws crossing and rolling in front of the chest, all three exactly on the beat.
- 8–10s
The turn
They turn sideways, then show their backs and wiggle — this is the moment most AI remakes lose the face, so it is in the fix table below.
- 10–12s
Face front again
Back to the camera's side, paws up, small steps on the spot.
- 12–14s
The close-up
They bounce toward the lens and the middle dancer in the cowboy hat fills the frame as the clip ends.
La Calabaza dance price, free credits and watermark
You pay per video in credits, once, for the whole 14 seconds. One, two or three photos cost the same. People costs a few credits more than Pets because it first places the three of you on the road in a still image.
| Model | Resolution | 14s | About (Studio monthly) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedance 2.5 | 480p | 146 | $4.05 |
| Seedance 2.5 | 720p | 328 | $9.09 |
| Seedance 2.5 | 1080p | 581 | $16.11 |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini | 480p | 28 | $0.78 |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini | 720p | 60 | $1.66 |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | 480p | 60 | $1.66 |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | 720p | 130 | $3.60 |
| MiniMax H3 | 720p | 145 | $4.02 |
| Seedance 2.0 Pro | 480p | 102 | $2.83 |
| Seedance 2.0 Pro | 720p | 217 | $6.02 |
| Seedance 2.0 Pro | 1080p | 545 | $15.11 |
| Model | Resolution | 14s | About (Studio monthly) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedance 2.5 | 480p | 151 | $4.19 |
| Seedance 2.5 | 720p | 333 | $9.23 |
| Seedance 2.5 | 1080p | 586 | $16.25 |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini | 480p | 34 | $0.94 |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini | 720p | 66 | $1.83 |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | 480p | 66 | $1.83 |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | 720p | 135 | $3.74 |
| MiniMax H3 | 720p | 150 | $4.16 |
| Seedance 2.0 Pro | 480p | 107 | $2.97 |
| Seedance 2.0 Pro | 720p | 223 | $6.18 |
| Seedance 2.0 Pro | 1080p | 551 | $15.27 |
Dollar figures use the Studio monthly plan's rate ($49.90 for 1,800 credits, about $0.028 a credit); packs and other plans differ. Credits are not cash.
Cheapest way to try it. Pets on Seedance 2.0 Mini at 480p is 28 credits, about $0.78 at the Studio monthly rate; People on the same settings is 34. For the closest likeness, Seedance 2.5 at 480p is 146 credits for Pets and 151 for People.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is it free? | No. Every video costs credits; the cheapest is 28. |
| Do sign-up credits cover a video? | No. The credits a new account gets are fewer than the cheapest La Calabaza dance video. |
| Does the $5 Trial pack cover one? | No. It gives 24 credits; the cheapest video here needs 28. |
| Do I need a card to sign up? | No. You only pay when you buy credits or a plan. |
| Is there a watermark? | Until your first purchase, videos carry a small moving tryh3.com mark. After any purchase, new videos have none and earlier ones can be downloaded without it. |
| What if it fails? | If the video fails or a photo is refused, every credit comes back automatically. A finished video you don't like is not refunded. |
La Calabaza dance origin: where the dancing kittens came from
The kittens were never real. They come from @meowtakeover, a TikTok account that posts AI-made kittens almost every day, and the trend grew in three steps: the kitten trio, then the pumpkin song, then everyone's own version.
| Date (2026) | What happened |
|---|---|
| 28 June | @meowtakeover posts three AI kittens dancing in sync on a street at night ("Gatitos know the streets"), to a different sound. It passes 107 million plays — the clip known as Three Kittens Dancing. |
| 27 August | The same account posts the trio again by a curb at night, now with a black cowboy hat on the white kitten and round glasses on the black-and-white one, set to Pumpky's "LA CALABAZA". This is the La Calabaza dance: 29.0 million plays by 18 October. |
| 28 August | Green-screen cut-outs of the kittens appear within hours, and CapCut templates follow, so people can drop the trio into any video. |
| 9 September | @salchihermanosoficial posts three dachshunds doing the routine on the same road. With 54 million plays it overtakes the original. |
| 11–12 September | Mexican media explain the trend: El Informador credits Pumpky for the song and @meowtakeover for the kittens; Infobae reports singer Kenia Os reposting fans' kitten videos. |
| Mid–late September | Pet owners and AI accounts recast the trio with their own cats, pugs and Pomeranians, and dancers learn the kittens' steps. |
| October | "La calabaza" means "the pumpkin", so the song comes back for Halloween costume edits and pumpkin-month memes. |
Three Kittens Dancing vs La Calabaza
| Clip | Sound | What you see | Recognised as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Kittens Dancing (28 June) | Another creator's sound, not the pumpkin song | Three plain kittens dancing on a night street | The earlier dancing-cats meme |
| La Calabaza (27 August) | Pumpky's "LA CALABAZA (TINIEBLA Edit)" | The same trio by a curb, cowboy hat in the middle, round glasses on the right | The Halloween trend — the one to recreate |
| Remakes (September onward) | The La Calabaza sound | Dachshunds, pugs, people, costumes — same moves | What this page makes |
Play counts were read on 18 October 2026 and keep changing. TryH3 is not affiliated with @meowtakeover, Pumpky or any creator named here.
La Calabaza dance song: original, remix and lyrics
Search "la calabaza song" and you get several different tracks. The one in the dance is short, fast and mostly the title chanted over a club beat; the others are unrelated songs that share the word.
| Track | What it is | In the dance? |
|---|---|---|
| "LA CALABAZA (TINIEBLA Edit)" — Pumpky | The original: a guaracha-style edit by the independent producer Pumpky, released as a single of about two minutes; his TikTok sound is the one the kittens use | Yes — this is the La Calabaza dance song |
| "LA CALABAZA – Pumpky Edit (Viral Dancing Cats Remix)" | Pumpky's official visualiser on YouTube, named after the dancing cats | Same track, the version people search as the remix |
| "La Calabaza – Versión Cumbia" | A separate cumbia song by Sonic Piñotas Music | No — different song |
| "La Calabaza Que Baila" | A children's song by abcDAR niños | No — different song |
The lyrics are mostly the title. The hook repeats "la calabaza" ("the pumpkin") on the beat; Mexican coverage reads it as a play on the producer's own name, Pumpky. We don't print the lyrics — the song belongs to its owners — and there is no hidden story behind them.
Your video already has the sound. It comes with the same 14 seconds of the track the kittens dance to. If you would rather post with TikTok's own sound, mute the clip in the editor and pick the Pumpky sound that the La Calabaza videos use, then line the clip up with the sound's first beat.
Sources: @meowtakeover's La Calabaza clip · the June kitten trio · Pumpky's visualiser (YouTube) · the single (Apple Music) · El Informador, 11 Sep 2026 · Infobae, 12 Sep 2026
When your La Calabaza dance goes wrong
The same few problems come up in almost every AI version of this trend. Most come from the photo, not the model.
| Problem | Usual cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your pet's face or markings change after the turn | The model has to redraw the face after showing the back; a dark or side-on photo gives it little to go on | Use a bright, front-facing photo where the eyes and face markings are sharp, and choose Seedance 2.5 |
| One dancer starts late or moves out of sync | Very different animals (a big dog next to a small cat) pull the dancers apart | Mix animals of similar size, or use one photo for all three |
| Paws turn into hands | Upright dancing pushes the model toward a human body | Pick a photo where the paws are visible; run it again on Seedance 2.5 |
| Two pets merge into one | A group photo with several animals in one slot | Crop to one animal per photo and use the three slots |
| A white or cream kitten sneaks back in | Your pet's coat is close to one of the original kittens | Use a sharper photo that shows the coat pattern clearly |
| It looks soft after uploading to TikTok | 480p is upscaled by the app | Make it at 720p; 1080p only pays off on large screens |
Dancing the La Calabaza dance yourself
If you want to film it for real, the routine is short: stand with feet together and head down for the first beat, look up and throw both arms out wide, bounce on the spot, then sway side to side while rolling your forearms in front of your chest. Around second 8 turn sideways, show your back with a hip wiggle, turn back, and finish by stepping toward the camera. Prop the phone low, near the ground, the way the kittens are filmed. Too much effort before Halloween? People mode above makes the same routine from a photo.
La Calabaza dance generators compared
The main ways to make the trend today, as listed on each site on 18 October 2026.
| Tool | Who dances | Photos | Sound | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TryH3 (this page) | Pets, or people on the same night road | 1–3, mixed pets allowed | Included | 28–586 credits; five models, 480p–1080p |
| MakeViral | Your pet ×3 (cats or dogs reel), or one person in their own room | 1 | Included | 213 credits for pets at 720p, 49 for the person version |
| AptVideoAI | Your pet ×3, pets only | 1 | Included | From 10 credits; single videos from $7.99 |
| Jump on the Trend | Three pets, pets only | Exactly 3 | Included; free still preview first | 100 credits ($9.90 pack) |
| AI Dance | One person, a human solo version of the moves | 1 | None — add it in TikTok | 1 credit; packs from $4.49 |
| CapCut template | The original kittens pasted over your own video | None (your clip) | In the app | Free; Pro effects cost extra |
Posting your La Calabaza dance
- Keep it vertical. The MP4 is 9:16 and 14 seconds, which fits TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts without re-editing.
- Turn on the AI label. TikTok and Instagram ask for it on realistic AI video; it does not stop a video from being recommended.
- Hashtags. #lacalabaza is the main tag; add #catdance, #dancingcats and #halloween, and #gatitos or #lacalabazatrend for Spanish-speaking viewers.
- Ask first. Use your own pets, yourself, or friends who agreed to be in it. The song belongs to its owners, so check the platform's music rules before using the clip in an ad.
We use your photos only to make your video. Details: Privacy Policy
La Calabaza dance questions
Can I put two cats and a dog in one La Calabaza dance video?
Yes. In Pets mode each of the three slots takes its own photo: put the pet you want in the middle (with the cowboy hat) in Photo 1 and the others in Photos 2 and 3. Animals of a similar size dance most in sync; a large dog is drawn at about kitten size.
Is there a free La Calabaza dance maker without a watermark?
Not one that uses your own pet. The free route is a CapCut template, which only pastes the original kittens over your clip. Here the cheapest video is 28 credits; it carries a small tryh3.com mark until your first purchase and none after it.
Why does my pet's face change after the turn, and do I pay again?
The model redraws the face after the dancers show their backs at second 8, so a dark or side-on photo drifts. Use a bright, front-facing photo and Seedance 2.5. A failed video or a refused photo refunds every credit; a finished video is charged once.
Does it work in Safari on my iPhone without an app?
Yes. The whole page runs in Safari or Chrome on a phone: pick photos from your library, generate, then download the MP4 straight to Photos. Nothing to install.
What's the difference between Three Kittens Dancing and La Calabaza?
Both come from @meowtakeover. Three Kittens Dancing (28 June 2026) is the earlier trio on a different sound; La Calabaza (27 August 2026) adds the cowboy hat and the round glasses and uses Pumpky's pumpkin song. The La Calabaza version is the one people recognise as the Halloween trend.
Is 1080p worth it for TikTok and Reels?
Usually not. 720p looks sharp on a phone and costs much less; likeness depends more on the photo and the model than on resolution. 1080p is offered on Seedance 2.0 Pro and Seedance 2.5.
Can I use the La Calabaza song in a paid ad?
Not on the strength of this video. Your clip comes with the song so you can post it, but the music belongs to its owners and TryH3 grants no rights to it. For ads, use the platform's commercial music library or get permission.
Which La Calabaza dance song is the original, and which is the remix?
The original is "LA CALABAZA (TINIEBLA Edit)" by Pumpky. The "Viral Dancing Cats Remix" is the title of his official YouTube visualiser of the same track. The cumbia "La Calabaza" and the children's "La Calabaza Que Baila" are different songs.
Make your own La Calabaza dance
One to three photos, 14 seconds, the pumpkin song. Your pets or your friends, on the night road, in a few minutes.
Start with Photo 1