Global Cat Day {A Day to Honor Community Cats!}

Global Cat Day is an awareness day set aside for the saving cat lives, preventing harm and encouraging nonlethal neutering of cats and returning them to their homes.

When is Global Cat Day?

Global Cat Day is celebrated every October 16. The pet holiday was founded by the non-profit Alley Cat Allies in 2001 as National Feral Cat Day. In 2018, the name was changed to Global Cat Day.

In 2023, the theme of Global Cat Day is “Cats are Community.”

“Cats are our family, friends and neighbors, and our unique relationship with them spans thousands of years, across all borders and every language,” said Coryn Julien, director of communications for Alley Cat Allies. “But even with so much history together, cats still need people to stand up for them against cruelty and other threats to their lives. On Global Cat Day, we call on everyone around the world to become cat advocates and defend cats as we should defend all members of our community.”

This day is a time to embrace felines around the world who may not have a forever home to call their own, but who have found a place in our hearts and to turn a spotlight on governmental policies that harm cats.

Ways to Celebrate Global Cat Day

As in years past, all friends of felines are encouraged to participate in a Global Cat Day activity in their area.

On October 16th, and in the days preceding the event, a variety of activities ranging from fundraisers and veterinary clinics to foster and adoption events will mark the occasion.

Everyone is encouraged to share their Global Cat Day actions for cats, big or small, and their unique stories with the cats in their lives on social media using hashtags #MyCatStory #GlobalCatDay and #CatsAreCommunity.

Individuals are also invited to share their passion for compassion by registering their own event, such as a cat food drive, or teaching neighbors about the benefit of Trap-Neuter-Return. Registrants who log in will gain access to Alley Cat Allies’ free digital toolkit filled with downloadable posters, educational materials regarding a range of community cat topics and discounts on cat-related products.

Animal advocates who are unable to attend or host an event can still help the paws cause by signing a pledge to protect their local community cats.

To further help efforts to let outdoor felines live out their nine lives in peace, ask nine friends to do the same, which will aid Alley Cat Allies in reaching its goal of 100,000 pledges in support of kindness toward cats who have found their forever family in each other.

Remembering National Feral Cat Day

Cats who walk on the wild side may not have forever homes to call their own, but their cause found a home in the hearts of animal lovers who marked National Feral Cat Day with activities to help to create a better future for our feral feline friends.

“Since the very first National Feral Cat Day, hundreds of thousands of supporters have signed on to help feral cats in their communities, and the movement continues to build,” said Becky Robinson, the president of Alley Cat Allies, which initiated the campaign in 2001 as a kickoff to a national education campaign focusing on the plight of unsocialized cats. “Americans want compassionate programs for cats, including Trap-Neuter-Return.”

The pet holiday promotes compassion for community cats through TNR (Trap Neuter Return), a method which will save stray cats from becoming part of a sad statistic should they be caught and enter into the shelter system, where 70 per cent of our purring pals (and practically 100 percent of all feral felines) lose their lives.

National Feral Cat Day was established in 2001 by Alley Cat Allies, a non-profit which has guarded the welfare of cats in need for a quarter of a century. Each year, cat enthusiasts around the globe celebrate the holiday’s theme of “the evolution of the cat revolution” with more than 700 scheduled events.

Our Former Feral, Felix

We’ve always had a special connection to National Feral Cat Day. Our Felix, a former feral, was such a special cat. He was being adopted out as a barn cat because he was feral; he became a treasured member of our household.