International Cat Day
August 7, 2019
To people with a cat in the family, every day may seem like “cat day.” But tomorrow, August 8, is officially International Cat Day, a holiday that celebrates felines of all forms and temperaments and encourages people to love, help, and protect the animals. Started by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in 2002, International Cat Day is celebrated in cat-obsessed cultures around the world. IFAW is one of the world’s largest animal welfare and conservation charities.
August 8 is International Cat Day. Credit: © Shutterstock
People celebrate International Cat Day in a wide variety of ways. Sometimes as particular as cats themselves, cat lovers may pamper their pets, donate to animal charities, or flood social media with cat images and videos (more than they do already). Cat parades and parties are organized, people visit cat cafés, and international names are bestowed upon cats for the day. Mister Whiskers and Fluffy become Señor Bigotes and Peluche in Spanish, Simba becomes Lion in the translation from Swahili, and little Lucy gains international flare as Lou-lou, Lucette, Lucia, or Lucinda. However you choose to celebrate the holiday, it is an excuse to take a cat nap with your pet and give the critter a little extra love and attention.
Benjamin Fink of the United States Navy holds President Calvin Coolidge’s cat, Tiger, at the White House on March 25, 1924. “Tige” had made a brief departure from the White House grounds, but was promptly returned by Fink. Credit: Library of Congress
No one knows exactly when the first cats were domesticated, but archaeologists discovered a cat buried alongside a human in a 9,500-year-old grave in Cyprus. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the earliest known recorded pet cat name was Nedjem (loosely translated as Sweetie or Precious) during the reign of Thutmose III (1479-1425 B.C.). Thutmose was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt, where cats were considered sacred.
A Maine Coon cat needs extra brushing on International Cat Day. Credit: © Linn Currie, Shutterstock
Throughout history, people have valued cats for their skill at hunting and killing mice, rats, and snakes. Cats help keep farms, homes, and businesses free of these animals. People in many societies believe cats bring good fortune. The grace and beauty of cats have made them favorite subjects of artists, and cats have been featured in almost every type of literature. They appear in the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome, and Asian writers have praised cats in their stories and poems for many centuries. Cats are also commonly mentioned in the fairy tales, folklore, and legends of many countries. In modern times, cats are commonly featured in books, comic strips, motion pictures, musicals, and television programs.
Cat holidays are not limited to August 8. October 29 is National Cat Day in the United States, and March 1 is World Cat Day in Russia. In Japan, February 22 was chosen as Cat Day because in Japanese, the number 2 (二) is pronounced ni, so the date 2/22 reads as ni ni ni, similar to the way cats “talk” (nyan nyan nyan, or meow meow meow) in that country.
