April Cat Holidays- Adopt A-Shelter-Pet Day+

April Cat Holidays- April 30 is Adopt-A-Shelter-Pet Day, World Veterinary Day, National Therapy Animal Day and National Tabby Day & More!

I missed Hairball Awareness Day yesterday but if your cats suffer from hairballs, this might help Vet 101: Hairballs in Cats

I’ll focus on what’s important to us, pet adoption and the future of veterinary medicine. As my cats are getting older and requiring more frequent veterinary care, I have more respect for veterinary medicine. We’ve really come a long way. It’s not just about vets or their team but how a veterinary practice implement innovation with advances in science.

One of the things that stressed me out during the pandemic was being shut out from observing the vet exam. In fact, our vet is still doing curbside service.

I know we have a few shelter-related pet holidays but National Adopt-A-Shelter Pet is an especially important reminder. It’s kitten season and you know what that means: 3 out of 4 kittens born will die. There just aren’t enough foster homes and shelters are extra full.

How can you celebrate other than adopting? Please add in the comments anything I missed.

1. Check your local Animal Shelter’s website. Check out what kinds of pets are available. Maybe they have more big dogs or black cats. If any pull at your heartstrings, share their profile on social media. Remember to use hashtags like #adorableadoptable, #adoptdontshop #adoptashelterpetday
2. Donate. It’s not limited to money. Most shelters will have an Amazon or other Wish Lists outlining what they need the most. It might be specific products or food to purchase or items to donate like old towels.
3. Consider volunteering. Shelters offer many options from fostering kittens or cats in your home, socializing or exercising pets at the shelter, helping with fundraising or social media and so on.
4. Be the best pet parent possible. That means taking full responsibility for the life of a pet on every level. Nutrition, wellness, vet care, environmental enrichment, micro-chipping and other safety. When in doubt, taking responsibility to learn.
5. Sharing awareness about the event. It’s amazing how we can make a difference by just TELLING SOMEONE or SHARING a graphic or post like this one. Often copied or stolen over the years but this is my original with a new border.

A publicist sent me a few new pet-related items and I really love the new pet keepsake journals from Workman. The clever prompts will help create a forever story/memento no matter what age your cat or dog is. I can’t think of a better gift for someone who just adopted a cat or dog. There is a cat and a dog journal. (Amazon affiliate links).

April 30 is also National Therapy Animal Day which was created by Pet Partners in 1977 to promote the health and wellness benefits of animal-assisted therapy, activities, and education. With more than 10,000 registered teams making more than 3 million visits annually, Pet Partners serves as the nation’s most diverse and respected nonprofit registering handlers of multiple species as volunteer teams. Pet Partners teams visit with patients in recovery, people with intellectual disabilities, seniors living with Alzheimer’s, students, veterans with PTSD, people who have experienced crisis events, and those approaching end of life, with the goal of improving human health and well-being.

Every cat lover knows how healing and supportive a cat can be regardless of life’s ups and down through the human-animal bond.

These days just about every color and breed has their own dedicated cat holiday. April 30 is National Tabby Day. Who is your favorite tabby?

Tabby cats are very popular but not actually a breed. They are categorized into 5 different patterns: Classic or blotched, Mackerel, Spotted, Ticked and Patched.

• The Classic tabby has swirls of contrasting markings like a marble cake. If they are circular on the side, they are called a bullseye tabby.
• The Mackerel or Tiger tabby has narrow vertical stripes on both sides which can resemble a fish skeleton hence the name. They have a striped tail.
• The Spotted tabby has spots large or small dots in a pattern on both sides.
• The Ticked tabby also called Agouti which the Abyssinian breed belongs to. They don’t have visible tabby stripes on their sides.
• The Patched tabby is also known as the tortoiseshell or tortie. These cats have a mix of two or three colors of tabby.

The most common tabby colors are orange or gray. They can be long or short-haired but they all have vertical or “M” pattern markings above their eyes. Most tabbies will have a patch of white but the white patches must be all over to be considered bicolor.

Odin is an example of a tabby with white mix known as bicolor or piebald and insisted on being included.

And if that’s not enough to honor or celebrate, how about the New Moon which happens to be an eclipse!

It’s the height of spring and the unofficial summer season. I’ll be doing some campfire cooking and a bonfire to usher in May Day, Beltane, Walpurgisnacht, Hela or Vappu as my Finnish ancestors call it. It’s time for going a bit wild, shake off the remnants of winter, do a crazy kitty dance, feel the earth energies growing in fertility and feline magic. Ironically, Pagan holidays have Christian overtones but I love this Nordic explanation

We usually associate cats and bonfires with Halloween but May 1 is the other time when the veil is thin between the seen and unseen worlds. It’s an excellent time to remember, honor and communicate with our ancestors and beloved OTRB pets.

Whatever you’re celebrating this weekend, be sure to take good care of your precious pets.

Love and purrs,
Layla, Odin and Nou Nou

P.S. We have a new Cat Mom Day Collection. Mostly t-shirts, hoodies and mugs but the link goes to only one T-shirt. Poke around.

Wouldn’t this be a fun t-shirt but with what word? Beltane, May Day or Halloween?