Pets make our day brighter and it is only fair to set aside a day to give thanks to our animal companions. This is exactly what International Cat Day attempts to do by celebrating our feline friends and raising awareness about the ways to care for them in a holistic manner. Celebrated on August 8 every year, International Cat Day was started by the International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2002. The animal rights organisation uses the day to promote the needs and wants of cats and encourages cat owners to find new ways to improve their bond with their pets. Special focus is also made to promote the adoption of stray cats.
The official “custodian” of the International Cat Day is the organisation, International Cat Care. According to its official website, the theme of the day, this year is “Be Cat Curious- Training for Cats and their Humans”.
According to the organisation, the theme was chosen in light of data that revealed as many as 95% of cat owners needed advice on how to train their cat. Additionally, at least half of the cat parents said that they even struggled to get their cat into the cat carrier.
Speaking about the importance of the bond between cats and humans, Linda Ryan, Cat Advocacy Programme Manager at the organisation was quoted as saying, “When we work with cats positively and kindly, there's so much we can achieve together, including life skills for our cats so they can learn to enjoy having a great life in our care with freedoms and opportunities.” Ms Ryan added that working out what they love and finding the things which benefit the pets, “can enrich the human-animal bond.”
Here are some effective ways to celebrate the day:
- Visit the nearest cat shelter and volunteer
- Adopt a stray cat from a local shelter or rescue
- Spend quality time with your cat by indulging in a fun photoshoot or game session
- Take your cat for a grooming session
- Treat your cat to its favourite snacks
