Cats, being cats, have accumulated more holidays than most heads of state. If you only learn one date, make it this one: National Cat Day in the United States is October 29. But the full calendar is longer, more international, and considerably fluffier. Here's every cat holiday worth knowing in 2026, plus how to actually celebrate each one.
The big one: National Cat Day, October 29
Founded in 2005 by animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige, National Cat Day exists for a serious reason wrapped in a fun one: promoting cat adoption and celebrating the roughly one-third of US households that include a cat. Shelters run adoption specials, the internet floods with cat photos, and somewhere in your group chat, someone will claim their cat "doesn't know it's their day." Their cat knows. Cats know everything. (Cats even know their own names.)
How to celebrate: adopt if you've been on the fence, donate to a local shelter, or upgrade your own cat's kingdom (a new box counts; cats measurably love boxes).
The 2026 cat holiday calendar
- February 17: World Cat Day (Europe). Much of Europe celebrates cats in the dead of winter, which is when a warm lap cat earns it most.
- March 28: Respect Your Cat Day. Legend ties it to a 1384 English decree. Your cat already assumed your respect; this is merely the paperwork.
- April 6: National Siamese Cat Day. For the loudest opinion-havers in the cat world (their color-changing coat is genuinely wild).
- April 30: National Tabby Day. The people's cat gets a day (and the "M" on every tabby forehead gets its due).
- August 8: International Cat Day. The global one, established by the International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2002. Today, as it happens. Happy International Cat Day.
- August 17: Black Cat Appreciation Day (US). Dedicated to the tiny panthers still fighting a medieval PR problem.
- September 1: Ginger Cat Appreciation Day. A day for orange cats, who will celebrate by doing something inexplicable.
- October 16: National Feral Cat Day / Global Cat Day. Focused on humane care for community cats.
- October 27: National Black Cat Day (UK). The British do their black-cat celebrating just before Halloween, on purpose.
- October 29: National Cat Day (US). The main event.
- December 15: Cat Herders Day. Technically a workplace joke holiday, spiritually a cat holiday.
The best way to celebrate any of them
Here's our professional opinion, and yes, we're biased: the single funniest way to mark a cat holiday is to give someone the gift of mandatory daily cat facts. You put in a friend's number, we text them a real, verified cat fact every day, and their confusion slowly blossoms into acceptance, and then, in documented cases, genuine love. It's the internet's most famous harmless prank, it works on any phone, and one STOP reply ends it.
National Cat Day is October 29. The prank takes thirty seconds. You have time to plan, but you won't need it.