International Cat Day (August 8): History & How to Celebrate
Every August 8, the internet's favorite animal gets an official day. Here's where International Cat Day came from, how it differs from the other cat holidays crowding the calendar, and ten ways to celebrate that your cat will tolerate.
Where the day comes from
International Cat Day was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to celebrate cats and promote their welfare. Since 2020, custodianship of the day has been held by International Cat Care, a British charity working to improve the health and wellbeing of cats worldwide — each year they give the day a welfare theme and campaign around it.
It's one of the rare "fun" holidays with a genuinely serious backbone: beyond the memes, the day exists to raise awareness about adoption, neutering, and responsible ownership. An estimated hundreds of millions of cats live as strays worldwide, so the cause isn't hypothetical.
Wait — isn't Cat Day in October?
The calendar contains multitudes. International Cat Day is August 8. National Cat Day in the United States falls on October 29, founded separately in 2005 to promote shelter adoptions. Japan celebrates its own Cat Day on February 22 — because "2-2-2" reads as "nyan nyan nyan," the Japanese equivalent of "meow meow meow," which may be the best holiday-date logic ever devised. If you love cats, congratulations: you get at least three holidays a year.
10 ways to celebrate
- The obvious one: dedicated play time. Ten minutes with a wand toy beats an expensive gadget your cat will ignore in favor of the box it came in.
- Upgrade something: a new scratching post, water fountain, or window perch.
- Treat day: a special snack — in cat-appropriate quantities.
- Photo session: August 8 is the internet's biggest cat-photo day of the year. Contribute.
- Donate: shelters always need food, litter, and funds — a small donation in your cat's name is very on-theme.
- Volunteer: an hour socializing shelter cats makes adoptable cats more adoptable.
- Foster or adopt: the biggest possible way to celebrate, if you've been considering it anyway.
- Health check: unglamorous but the day's official spirit — book the overdue vet visit.
- Build a box castle: free, and objectively the gift cats want most.
- Learn something: International Cat Care publishes accessible articles on cat behavior — understanding the slow blink is a gift to you both.
Never miss Cat Day again
Fun Calendar reminds you about International Cat Day — and 365 other fun holidays — with a daily notification, trivia, and streaks.
More animal days worth knowing
If your calendar has room for more creatures: World Whale Day (February, third Sunday), National Kitten Day (July 10), International Dog Day (August 26), and World Animal Day (October 4). And for the full tour of the calendar's strangest corners, start with 25 weird and wonderful holidays you didn't know existed.