Or at least it was when I started writing. By the time I’m done it will be the early morning after National Cat Day, but it still needs to be celebrated, right?!?

Cats have been kept as pets for a very very long time, and lots of us have cats living in our households, now. I got my first cat when I was a senior in vet school, and he was a wild man! He was an orange tabby and part of a litter that one of my classmates found in a dumpster in her apartment complex.

He got along great with my dogs, but it didn’t take long before I realized he needed a cat friend. It was near Halloween when someone brought me a little black kitten. It didn’t take too much convincing for me to take him, but couldn’t resist after it was pointed out that I’d have Halloween cats (orange and black)! Over the next couple years I ended up with two more, and since then we’ve pretty much stayed a four cat household.

All of my cats have always been indoor cats for many reasons, but the main one is that it keeps them safe. I can’t say my favorite chore is cleaning the litter box, but I definitely prefer that to having one of my cats hit by a car, poisoned, attacked by wildlife, or otherwise harmed. I also like to feed to birds and squirrels, and it wouldn’t be fair if I was setting them up to be hunted by my cats!

So for all of you cat lovers out there, keep your cats safe. Vaccinate them. Fix them. And if at all possible, keep them in! Give all your furry kids a kiss, and wish them a Happy Cat Day!!!