How to Celebrate World Cat Day

It’s World Cat Day!

Are you wondering how to celebrate? We have a few ideas.

Donate to a Local Cat Rescue Organization

Most communities have cat rescue organizations, and if they don’t, they have animal shelters for both cats and dogs. It’s expensive to keep a shelter running, so shelters always need donations.

If you don’t have cash to donate and happen to do your shopping at Amazon, head over to their Amazon Smile site to do your shopping. Once you designate your shelter as your charity organization of choice, .05% of eligible purchases automatically go to your charity of choice. You just have to remember to go to the Amazon Smile site instead of Amazon site. Check with your shelter to see if they have an Amazon Affiliate link, because that gives a higher return for them.

red tabby cat at computer keyboard, image credit: depositphotos/belchonock

Orange tabby cat at computer keyboard. Image credit: depositphotos/belchonock

Don’t forget that most shelters and rescues don’t just need money. Most organizations have wish lists, which often contain things like towels, paper plates, bleach, etc. They may not be the first thing you think of as donations, but they can save a rescue money by not having to use their funds to purchase cleaning supplies and other necessities, allowing their funds to instead go toward care of the cats at the organization.

Volunteer for your Local Shelter

Your local animal shelter or rescue organization could use your help! I can say this without knowing where you live because every shelter or rescue is always shorthanded. Volunteers are scarce.

A lot of people think they can’t volunteer to help at a rescue because they worry it might make them feel sad. Others worry they will end up adopting more cats than they intended because they can’t resist a hard luck case. So they just don’t volunteer.

Senior cat awaits a home in shelter cage at Great Plains SPCA

But your local shelter probably has ways you can help that don’t put you on the rescue organization’s grounds. You can see some of them from home in the comfort of your pajamas. Our friends at Island Cats have more information about Non-Traditional Ways to Volunteer with an Animal Shelter or Rescue.

Visit a Cat Cafe

Do you have a local cat cafe? Most US cat cafes work with local rescue organizations and feature adoptable cats in comfortable, home-like environments where you can visit with them.

Orlando Cat Cafe adoptable brown tabby cat

Cat enjoys a chin scratch at Orlando Cat Cafe

Who knows, maybe you’ll fall in love and adopt a cat who needed a home you met on World Cat Day!

Bag Follies

Cupcake: Mr. Newton! What are you doing in there?

Cupcake: I know it’s you. I would know that tail anywhere.

Newton: This bag is occupied, kid.

Cupcake: It’s okay, Mr. Newton. I’ll rescue you!

Newton: I don’t need rescuing. Hey, watch the ear!

Cupcake: I’ve got you!

Newton: I was fine without the getting, kid. Really.

Cupcake: I didn’t do anything!

Newton: Sure you didn’t.

Cupcake: I’ll just wait right here for you to come back.

Newton: Do you see what I put up with?

Cat Show Glimpse

Last weekend, I went to learn about cat agility. It just happened to be at a cat show, so of course I had to walk around and visit there, too.

I made the mistake of walking in at lunchtime, so almost everyone was busy eating rather than wanting to talk, so I didn’t take a lot of photos. Most of the cats were in their enclosures, waiting for their turns in the ring. Unlike the previous cat show I visited recently, this one wasn’t as dominated by Maine Coons, so there was a bigger variety of cats.

One of the most surprising things that happened was when I paused by a woman who was eating a personal pizza in front of her cats’ enclosure. She had two cats inside her enclosure, and her Bengal kitten was howling for some of her lunch. I didn’t realize Bengals had such a distinct voice. I made a comment about her kitten wanting her lunch, and the woman said, “Oh, she’s just a brat!” Then she unzipped the enclosure, took out the kitten, and handed her to me.

I was totally flabbergasted to be handed someone else’s cat out of the blue like that. I don’t know if she thought I was asking to hold her cat, which I know would be really impolite at a cat show or anywhere else. Maybe she thought she might be able to sell the kitten to me. Either way, I don’t know which of us must have had a more surprised expression on our face, the kitten or me. We stared at each other a minute, then the kitten scrambled up on to my shoulders. I didn’t have the presence of mind to take selfies, but I did get in a very nice visit with the kitten before I gave her back. My cats haven’t forgiven me for bringing Cupcake into the house, so adding another kitten isn’t in the cards right now.

In addition to the usual fancy cats, there were a lot more household cats at this show than the last one I attended. This kitten was a three-month-old bottle baby at his first show. Doesn’t he have wise eyes?

One of my favorite things at the cat shows are the local vendors who bring out their wares. I discovered a wonderful new cat tree builder, Furkid Furniture, at this show. He usually builds more traditional cat trees, but his whimsical ones are really adorable. I think he really missed his calling by mostly sticking to the carpet-covered type of tree when he can build tulips for a cat to lounge in!

Do you think your cat would like to lounge on a novelty cat tree like that one?

How to Get Cats Started Learning Agility

You’ve probably seen dogs run agility courses, but you might not know that agility courses for cats are a thing, too. Even if you know, you might wonder how to get started in cat agility.

At a recent cat show, I had the opportunity to watch Jennifer Hardin, who represents the International Cat Agility Tournaments (ICAT) with a cat who had never been in an agility ring before. In moments, she had the cat jumping his first agility obstacles. I spoke with her later about getting cats started in agility.

Can Adult Cats Learn Agility?

Yes! I introduce older cats to the agility ring just like kittens, and I let them do their smell test of the place first and get familiar with the ring. Then I introduce a toy and try to find the drive for that particular cat. Sometimes it’s a toy. Sometimes it’s a little treat. Sometimes it’s a little encouragement. I’m even starting to train one of my cats on clicker training.

You have to be a little more patient with an older cat because they don’t forgive as quickly as younger kittens do. If you have an older cat who really likes to play with toys, once they are used to being in the enclosed environment of the agility ring, they can usually take off running pretty quickly.

Cat performs for the first time in ICAT agility course

With a little encouragement, this cat started working his way around the agility course moments after he first stepped inside.

Getting started, you just watch their tail to see if they’re ready. A tail that’s tucked is a frightened cat. A tail that’s down means they’re not sure. A tail that’s straight out means they can give or take a situation. A tail that’s up usually says they’re ready to play. Once you see that happy tail, you follow follow it up with a toy or treat and start to move the cat around the ring.

It’s important to have patience. Cats retain memory longer than dogs and they are pretty smart! You’d be amazed at what you can get your cat to do.

How Do You Motivate Cats for Agility?

Most cats are motivated by a toy. There are some cats who are motivated by food. Mine is motivated by both, and by the clicker training I’m trying to teach him.

I touched his nose with the clicker, and it felt weird, so he pawed at it. When he did, I clicked it at gave him a treat. Now he is pawing it readily because he knows he is going to get a treat. Now I just need to take it to the next step and have him do a trick, then look for a treat.

What if You Have Limited Space to Train Agility at Home?

Being in a house or apartment with limited space is a little more advantageous because a cat is at home in an environment where they are comfortable. They aren’t trying to show off or get distracted.

An ICAT agility course has purpose-built obstacles, but you can make agility obstacles form things you have around the house. Photo courtesy ICAT.

You have all the obstacles you need to start with agility right at home! One thing I suggest is taking chairs and tilting them over to make a triangle, then you can get your cat to go under them, or get your cat to go over the top. If it has a flat back, maybe the cat can go up one side to the peak and then back down.

You can take clothes baskets and turn them upside down and run a broom handle through through them to make a hurdle. Or just stack some pillows and lay your broom across the stacks of pillows. Grab a 2×4 piece of wood and lay it across some chairs so your cat can walk the plank. Be creative!

In your cat’s mind, your house is already an agility course. You just have to make it fun for them and more appropriate instead of trying to run across the sofa and slide into the lamp on the end table before landing on the floor.

There are lots of inexpensive things to do to create agility obstacles. The agility course I have now in the tent I made for less than $125. It just takes a little time. I found schematics online and then built from there.

See the agility course Jennifer built in the video below:

If you are on a mobile device and can’t see the video above, you can view it directly on YouTube.

How Did You Get into Cat Agility?

Agility is super-fun and a lot of people were into it for a while. Then then it faded away a little bit. It’s making a comeback now.

ICAT plans in next year or so to come up with a point system where cats can compete on a yearly basis on regional and international level for the agility competition so it isn’t just something you do for fun at a show. It’s one of those things where we really need enough participation to balance out starting to give out prize money, but we are hopeful.

An agility course at a cat show is self-contained in a screened tent. Photo courtesy ICAT.

I did agility and was really good at getting my cat to do what he needed to do. I started helping other people, too, and it just became a natural fit for me. So when the person who normally led agility had a knee surgery and was going to be out a while, she asked if I would fill in. I have continued to fill in.

It works out, since she is in New Mexico and I’m down here [in Florida], we can cover more area for cat agility. I still do quite a bit of traveling to cat shows and other events.

Agility isn’t just for cat shows. I was at just at Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando [a Florida animal shelter] last week teaching agility to their summer camp. We want to get more adoptable cats involved in agility. It really shows off what a cat can do, and adopters love it!

Big thanks to Jennifer for her time to share information about agility. I think Newton and Cupcake are going to enjoy trying it out at our house.

Do you think your cat would be good at agility?