National Cat Day is celebrated in various countries. In some areas it is an

awareness day Lists of holidays by various categorizations. Religious holidays Abrahamic holidays (Middle Eastern) Christian holidays *Christmas (Nativity of Jesus, Nativity of Jesus Christ, the beginning of Christmastide) *Solemnity of Mary, Mother ...

to raise public awareness of cat adoption.

Italy

In Italy, National Cat Day is celebrated on February 17. The date was chosen in 1990 after a vote by readers of ''Tuttogatto'' magazine.

Japan

In Japan, National Cat Day is celebrated on February 22, as the date resembles the words "nyan nyan nyan" (meow meow meow). The date was decided on in a poll between cat-keepers by the Executive Cat Day Committee in 1978. It is celebrated with people posing with photographs of themselves with their pet cats, and businesses selling cat-themed cuisine.

Russia

In Russia, National Cat Day is celebrated on March 1. In Russian culture, cats are considered symbols of spring, and March is also associated with cats.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, there is also a National Black Cat Day which is marked on October 27. It was established in 2011 by animal welfare charity, Cats Protection, who found that black (and black-and-white cats) took around a week longer to home than cats of other colours. They attributed this to black cats' perceived connection with bad luck and the supernatural, and the fact that the cats do not photograph well on social media.

United States

In the US, National Cat Day is an

on October 29 each year, to raise public awareness of cat adoption. The National Cat Day website states that the holiday was first celebrated in 2005 "to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of

cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

that need to be rescued each year and also to encourage cat lovers to celebrate the cat(s) in their life for the unconditional love and companionship they bestow upon us." The day was founded by Colleen Paige, a pet and family lifestyle expert, who was supported by the

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...

, which is a nonprofit

pet adoption Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters, rescue groups, or other pet owners. Some organizations give adopters ownership of the pet, while others use a guardi ...

organization.

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