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International Cat Day Is Fur Real

One of the purriest, head-nuzzle-iest, super-scritch-iest celebration on the calendar is here to offer us much-needed snuggles.

Beech Photography Tokyo

What to Know

  • Aug. 8 is International Cat Day
  • There are a number of cat-related holidays, including Oct. 29, which is Cat Day in America
  • Shine some love on your own purr pack or consider adopting a feline

Every precious little paw bean, every twitch of the end of a soft tail, every sunbeam snooze: We celebrate our cat with the arrival of each small and sweet moment, each and every day.

That's often how our felines like to run their lives — low-key, full of love, and with plenty of time for play and naps — and we sense that if we offered them the spotlight, they'd avoid it. (Or, more likely, they'd chase it, much like they merrily pursue the light cast by a laser pointer.)

And Aug. 8 is about shining the spotlight on our furry roommates, for it is International Cat Day, an adorable occasion that asks people to ponder the care of our domestic buddies and all felines.

True, the cat-iest occasion on the American calendar is still to come — and it is a Saturday, too, in 2022 — but if you can't wait for Oct. 29, you can offer an extra scritch or two to your sweetie on the eighth of August.

"Scritching," of course, falls somewhere between a gentle scratching and petting, and while it may not be the official act of International Cat Day, we're reasonably certain that plenty of feline enthusiasts are engaging in it, as they do every day of the year.

But if you don't have something sweet to scritch, love upon, and spoil? We're right in the thick of Kitten Season, when shelters are full of home-needing felines, animals that are both brand-new to the world and more marvelously mature.

NBC4 and Telemundo 52 are partnering to Clear the Shelters this August; find out ways to help our effort to find loving homes for numerous pets in search of their forever people.

You can also view oodles of cuties on the LA Animal Services site, and learn how to schedule an appointment at one of the department's Southern California centers.

Here's more information on adoption hours, and whether you'll need to book a visit before you go.

And at Pasadena Humane? The venerable rescue organization sent out the call on social media: Share your feline photos and reveal why your cat is the bestest cat around.

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