It’s World Cat Day

August 8, 2013 • 8:12 am

As Panorama>>am reports, on a link I got from P.Z. (but don’t feel bad about swiping, since he disses cats whenever he can), we find that today is World Cat Day:

World Cat Day, also known as International Cat Day, is celebrated throughout the world on August 08, 2013. It was founded in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and other animal rights groups. The cat is a small, furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Although cat ownership has commonly been associated with women, a US poll reported that men and women were equally likely to own a cat.

Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years, and are currently the most popular pet in the world. Owing to their close association with humans, cats are now found almost everywhere in the world. Cats are a common companion animal in Europe and North America, and their worldwide population exceeds 500 million. In 1998 there were around 43 million cats in Western Europe, 33 million in Eastern Europe, seven million in Japan and three million in Australia. A 2007 report stated that about 37 million US households owned cats, with an average of 2.2 cats per household giving a total population of around 82 million. In contrast, there are about 72 million pet dogs in that country.

How shall we celebrate? I know: any reader who emails me a picture of their cat (and no more than two sentences about it), will have that picture posted tomorrow. (Be sure to say how you want to be identified.) Try to use a good photo, and be creative.  There will be no prizes this time as I’m running out of books. The deadline is 9 p.m. Chicago time to allow our readers in the Antipodes to contribute.

To start us off, I haz two presents. Here’s the very first LOLcat, published in 1905. Naturally, it involves noms:

lolcatwhatisdelayingmydinne

And here’s a cat in Japan who, according to the YouTube caption, always tries to catch the birds shown in the opening of this t.v. show (45 seconds in). The cat clearly knows not only the music that opens the show, but roughly when the birds will show up.

Happy cat day!

24 thoughts on “It’s World Cat Day”

  1. What?! 9,500 hundred years? How could that be when the earth is only 6,000 years old?! 😛 Hillary Rotten Kitten wants me to send a pic of her. I’ll see what I can do.

    1. What?! 9,500 hundred years? How could that be when the earth is only 6,000 years old?!

      We must be annoyed by creationism more than we want to be. This was also the first thing I thought of, too!

  2. I’m imagining the cats lining up as part of a census and providing one paw print each for later counting.

  4. My parents had a cat who came running when he heard the Star Trek Next Gen theme. Something about how the Enterprise swooped by fascinated him and for several months he kept trying to line up for the kill.

      1. Thank you, but gah! I had to be out all day and missed the whole shebang anyway.

  6. I know this isn’t the best place to ask, but I have been trying to find Jerry’s email and haven’t been able to. He has mentioned that it is publicly available, but all I can find is the email for media requests. Can anybody help me out regarding the official email for the blog?

    Thanks!

    1. Click on “research interests” in the upper right of your screen. His email address is in the text by his photo.

      (and WEIT isn’t a blog!)

        1. To tempt the uninitiated into saying the b-word so that oldtimers can jump in and correct the noobs.

    1. Anywhere “domestic” cats go they kill songbirds, rodents, and small amphibians just for the fun of it if they have food at home. Cats should never be allowed outdoors!

      1. Minor correction: cats should get plenty of time outdoors…but only on a leash or otherwise suitably supervised and protected.

        You wouldn’t let a dog roam free, and you shouldn’t let a cat run free for all the same reasons. But you should also be taking your cat on walks just as much as you would a dog.

        b&

  9. My dearest Darwinette, who was featured here, as been gone for three days now. She probably fell off the 4th storey window. Friends and commenters told me she’ll be back soon, but she doesn’t have the keys to the building. We have contacted all shelters and vets in the area, put posters everywhere. I’m lost (and most probably depressed).

    3. That’s aweful, but 4th storey sounds within the capability of your average cat.

      Hope Darwinette shows up very soon.

  10. Clearly the cat is out of the bag. (Audrey Pearl, Russian Blue) – Daniel

    Editorial review. (Tula Pride, Tabby/Calico) – Daniel

    Thanks-

    Enjoy your day!

  11. Great clip, tough on the kitteh.
    The show is “Amachan”, NHK’s current “asadora” (morning drama) – NHK calls them “serial TV novels” – 15 minutes each morning except Sunday. Set on the Sanriku coast of Tohoku, hence the small train and sea.

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