For those of you who missed it, yesterday was International Cat Day — also known as World Cat Day.
So on behalf of Eli and In Brief Legal Writing Services, Happy (belated) International Cat Day, everyone! I hope that you and your cats enjoyed it!
For those of you who didn’t get a chance to celebrate, have no fear. There’s always next year. And for those of you who didn’t know about it, here’s some background information about this special day dedicated to the coolest cats on the face of the planet.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare created International Cat Day in 2002. Since then, it has been observed as a way to honor our “feline friends” and “advocate for cats.” Specifically, it is an opportunity to:
- Adopt a cat from a local shelter or rescue group
- Visit a cat cafe
- Donate to a charity that focuses on cats
Of course, it’s important to make donations to pet-focused charities whenever we can. And of course it’s always better to adopt a companion animal than to buy one. It also goes without saying that our pets should be spayed and neutered.
After all, the stark reality is that there are millions of abused, neglected and unwanted dogs and cats in the United States of America alone. According to the ASPCA:
- Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.3 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.
- Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats).
On the other hand, there is good news, too. The ASPCA also estimates that 3.2 million shelter animals are adopted each year (1.6 million dogs and 1.6 million cats).
That’s a small step in the right direction. But there’s still along way to go.
Upcoming “holidays” devoted to pets:
- National Dog Day — August 26, 2017
- National Black Cat Appreciation Day — August 17, 2017
- National Feral Cat Day — October 16, 2017
- National Cat Day (U.S.) — October 29, 2017
- National Black Cat Day — November 17, 2017
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