National Kitten Day, celebrated every year on July 10th, was inaugurated in 2012, in an attempt to raise awareness of issues surrounding kitten homelessness. Established in 2012 by Colleen Paige, a passionate animal rights advocate, National Kitten Day is a day to help the homeless kittens in your area, as well as ensure the kitty in your care is spayed or neutered to help keep overpopulation down. Another main goal of National Kitten Day is getting cats in shelters across America adopted.

Ways to Celebrate National Kitten Day

For cat lovers who want to celebrate this special holiday, the following are great ways to contribute:

• Donating money to your favorite shelter is the easiest way for most people to help. Money gives shelters what they need to house and treat more kittens and cats. If you want to give in a more tangible way, reach out to the shelter directly and ask them for specific cat supplies they need. Then go out and purchase it and take it to them. This not only makes you feel better knowing where your money went, but it helps the employees at the shelter as well and gets the supplies to the kittens in their care faster.
• Let others know about the kittens at the shelter in need of forever homes. You can share pictures of the kittens that need to be adopted on your social media profiles and even link directly to the kitten's adoption page. You never know! One of your friends may be thinking about adopting a pet!
• If you want to adopt a kitten on National Kitten Day, it can be a wonderful chance to enrich your life and help a cat in need. However, pet owners should be thinking about why they want a kitten. As great as encouraging the adoption of kittens can be, you should expect the kitten to grow up. Getting a kitten means you will be responsible for a fully grown cat for fifteen years or more. Be certain that if you do adopt a kitten, you are ready to meet their needs long-term. Read this checklist to determine what supplies you'll need when you bring home a kitten
• Focus on your kitten's health. Schedule a checkup at the vet, get your cat a new litter box with fresh litter and conduct a safety check around your home. You can even celebrate National Kitten Day with new toys for the cat in your home!
• Another way to celebrate National Kitten Day is by taking photos of your kitten and posting them on social media using #NationalKittenDay to show off your cat with other celebrants. While this doesn't directly help kittens in the same way donating or adopting does, spreading awareness about the holiday brings eyes and ears to issues affecting kittens. Plus, it's a proven fact that looking at pictures of kittens is good for your mental health.
• If you're not ready for a pet just yet, consider helping your local pet shelter by volunteering. They can always use an extra set of hands to help care for the cats in their care. Just be sure you're ready to really work though! From cleaning litter boxes to playing with the cats to feeding and watering cats, you could end up getting a little dirty!! So be sure you're up for the job!

Raising awareness around kitten mills and how horrible they are is also another issue that National Kitten Day brings attention to. If you want to take an extra step to stop kitten mills, write your government representatives and ask them to support bills banning kitten mills. These mills often breed cats beyond their physical capacities and often don't appropriately provide vet care for the kittens or their mothers. They often treat animals like commodities. If you ever decide to purchase a kitten from a breeder or a private home, be sure to do extensive research on the breeder to ensure you are not purchasing a cat from a kitten mill. Educating yourself on this issue and writing to your representative is a great way to honor the lives of kittens everywhere.

Conclusion

Anyone and everyone can celebrate National Kitten Day, whether you own a kitten or not! Whether you're planning on adopting, volunteering at a shelter, or donating money, know that you're helping a cat who has yet to find its forever home.