International Cat Day 2022: History, Significance About The Day Dedicated To Our 'Furry Friends'

International Cat Day 2022: The theme for International Cat Day 2022 is ‘Cat Friendly Resources’ with an aim to assist humans in ensuring physical and mental health of cats.

International Cat Day 2022: Representational Image

International Cat Day 2022: Cats are one of the most popular pet breeds. These little purring creatures require care and pampering throughout the year. But, there is a special day dedicated to them as well. 
August 8 is celebrated as International Cat Day to raise and spread awareness about cats. The day was started by International Fund for Animal Welfare to honor these furry creatures. 

International Cat Day 2022: History 

Humans have domesticated cats as pets since ancient times. The first historical human record about cats could be found in Ancient Egyptian Civilization’s culture. They adored cats and considered them as gods. Mafdet, was the first known cat deity. He was regarded as the protector against snakes, scorpions, and evil during the First Dynasty. So, for them cats were not just deities, but also protectors.

After the fall of Egyptian Dynasty, cats became popular all over the world! Cats were owned by rich and wealthy people in the East and were used as pest control by the Greeks and Romans. However, during the Middle Ages in Europe, cats were associated with superstitious beliefs and were suspected of carrying the disease during the Black Death of 1348. That is why so many cats were killed during that time period. Cats' reputation did not begin to improve until the 1600s.

Cats were included as cargo on colonisation ships in America to reduce vermin and disease. So those cats went ashore and thrived.

Presently, cats appear to be one of the pop icons in modern society, and we have approximately half a billion of them. 

International Cat Day was established by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in 2002. This event was held to protect cats from abuse. Later, this day was handed over to International Cat Care in 2020. Since 1958, the organization has been a British non-profit dedicated to improving the welfare of domestic cats worldwide.

International Cat Day: Significance 

For cat lovers, International Cat Day is extremely important. Not every cat is fortunate enough to live in extravagant homes, sleep on plush couches, and eat delicious food. There are many stray cats who are not treated well and are even abused.

This day is an opportunity to celebrate cats, educate people about their importance, and remind people of all that this beautiful species contributes to the planet. 

Cats, as pets, benefit human health by improving cognitive and physical functionality, promoting mental health, and lowering stress levels.

International Cat Day 2022: Theme 

The theme for International Cat Day 2022 is ‘Cat Friendly Resources’. The goal of this year's campaign is to assist humans in ensuring that they are providing cats with everything they require to stay physically and mentally healthy in ways that cats will enjoy.

International Cat Care collaborated with animal artist and illustrator Lili Chin to create educational materials that were distributed via social media. Domino and McTatters are two new ambassador cats that have been created to support the campaign.

Domino represents pet cats who live in a more traditional home environment, whereas McTatters represents unowned cats who live and interact with humans in a variety of ways. This is due to the fact that both require a very different care from each other, so the range of resources shared can easily be distinguished between pets and unowned cats.