I confess upfront that I’m a cat person. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs a lot, but cats edge them out by a whisker. Felines and canines get along famously with me, but I relate to cats. A cousin once told me I like cats because my astrological Sun Sign is Leo the Lion.
Today is National Cat Day, this is in addition to International Cat Day which was on August 8th and Black Cat Day, which falls on various days of the year according to locale. These are all days when humans find excuses to post pictures of felines on the Internet.
“Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are God. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realize that, if you provide them with food and water and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are God.” Christopher HitchensÂ
Actually, National Cat Day was thought up by pet advocate Colleen Paige in 2005. The day brings awareness of the need to control cat population through spaying and neutering. Paige’s organization reminds us that around 3,400,000 cats enter rescue shelters every year. Of that population, 1,400,000 are euthanized.
The American Humane Association says the most common reason people give up or abandon cats is because their landlords do not allow them. Each of the approximately 13,600 animal shelters in the U.S. have plenty of kittens and cats ready for humans to adopt.
“Cats have a scam going – you buy the food, they eat the food, they go away; that’s the deal.” Eddie Izzard
Although my landlord prohibits pets, I do watch over the neighborhood strays. Two of them come around for kibbles in the early morning. In return, the cats help control the mouse population the neighborhood has, due to our proximity to agricultural land.
Thankfully, I have ready access to a pair of domestic cats who belong to my sister. “Sunshine” is a very laid-back, older long haired tabby. “Random Kitty” is an aggressive one year old tuxedo male. For whatever reason, Random and I have developed a close bond. He has become my favorite feline photo subject.
As Albert Schwitzer once said, “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.” Do something special with the cats in your life today, or at least watch a YouTube cat video.
Ciao
The Blue Jay of Happiness quotes news anchor Diane Sawyer. “If you’re curious, you’ll probably be a good journalist because we follow our curiosity like cats.”
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