01/09/2026
Happy September & Happy Cat Month. There are always lots of cat related holidays every month, we are sharing the best cat holidays in September. September marks a shift from summer to autumn especially after Labor Day, not that our cats know much about labor😹 Happy Cat Month takes place every September to focus on improving feline health, crushing myths about cats being aloof, and boosting enrichment to ensure companion cats live long, joyful lives. The annual event was originally created and sponsored by the CATalyst Council—a non-profit organization dedicated to animal welfare and veterinary medicine to advocate for the proper care and social needs of felines. Here is how you can celebrate and keep your feline friend thriving this month: Prioritize Wellness: Schedule routine veterinary checkups, dental exams, and preventative healthcare. Elevate Their Environment: Add vertical spaces like cat trees, wall perches, or window hammocks to satisfy their natural climbing instincts. Boost Enrichment: Keep them active with interactive feather wands, food puzzles, and dedicated daily bonding time. 🐾 Let’s celebrate our feline friends! Drop a photo of your happy cat in the comments below and tell us your favorite way to spoil them! 🐾 Spotting the Silent Sufferer: Animal Pain Awareness Month Happy September, Cat Wisdom 101 family! As we celebrate our 16th year of diving deep into the feline mind, I wanted to shine a light on a relatively new but vital pet holiday: Animal Pain Awareness Month. We all know our cats are fiercely independent, but did you know they are also evolutionary experts at hiding physical pain? In the wild, showing weakness makes you a target, so our pampered living room tigers still instinctively mask their discomfort until it becomes unbearable. Dental pain is surprisingly common, but pain of any kind from arthritis in older cats to digestive issues is a pet parent’sworst nightmare. Because they won’t cry out or whimper like a dog might, it’s up to us to read between the whiskers. This September, let’s learn how to spot the subtle, silent clues that your cat might be hurting: The “Grumpy” Shift: Sudden aggression, hissing when touched in a specific spot, or withdrawing to hide under the bed when they used to be your shadow. Hesitating at the Launchpad: If your cat suddenly pauses, measures up a jump, or refuses to leap onto their favorite high counter or windowsill, their joints might be aching. Grooming Extremes: A scruffy, unkempt coat or mats on their lower back usually means it hurts too much to bend and groom. Conversely, bald spots from obsessively licking one specific joint can signal localized pain. The “Pain Face”: Keep an eye out for a squinty, vacant stare, ears that are slightly flattened or rotated outward, and hunched posture. Litter Box “Misses”: If a previously perfect cat starts urinating right next to the box, it’s rarely spite—stepping over a high plastic lip or squatting can be incredibly painful for an arthritic kitty. The Wisdom Takeaway: Getting older isn’t a disease, but pain is. If you notice any of these shifts, skip the internet guesswork and schedule a chat with your vet to talk about safe feline pain management options. Prevent Feline Pain: Pet Dental Month Also this month National Pet Insurance Month. National Preparedness Month. Pet Sitter Education Month. New World Animal Remembrance Month is an all-inclusive global movement to honor the profound impact animals have on our lives. Sponsored and championed by major welfare groups like the ASPCA and the Humane Society, this 30-day observance moves beyond personal grief to give a collective voice to companion pets, service animals, and wildlife lost to tragedy or neglect. It’s a beautiful month dedicated to transforming the heavy heartache of loss into powerful, community-driven advocacy for the living. Sept. 1: Ginger Cat Appreciation Day. We kick off the month with probably the most popular colored cat, orange, red, ginger or flame point, these beauties are loved for their easy-going personalities. their beautiful orange coats and famously affectionate personalities. I’ve always had a soft spot for them, having once shared my life with a rare female ginger cat, Billie Beans and, more recently, briefly with the wonderful elderly Radish, whom I still miss terribly even after 11 years. Famous ginger cats include Garfield, Morris from the 9 Lives adverts, Jonesy from Alien, Puss in Boots, and Orangey, the talented cat who played “Cat” in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and appeared in several other productions. In Britain, “ginger” has long been used to describe reddish-orange hair and coloring; cat registries may call it red, orange, or flame. Flame-point cats are a specific color-point variety, such as a Siamese or Siamese mix, with reddish-orange markings on the face, ears, legs, and tail. September 5 🤍 The Snowy Beauties: National White Cat Day While we love all felines, September 5th gives us a reason to celebrate the rarest coat color in the feline world: National White Cat Day! Pure white cats make up only about 5% of the global cat population, and while they are often associated with good luck and high adoption rates, they come with a few fascinating genetic quirks that every cat parent should know. The Deafness Link: It’s not a myth! The dominant white gene (W) can affect the development of the inner ear. In fact, white cats with blue eyes have a very high genetic likelihood of being born deaf. If they are “odd-eyed” (one blue eye, one green/gold), the deafness is often only on the side with the blue eye! Sunscreen is a Must: Because they lack pigment in their skin, white cats are incredibly susceptible to sunburn. They love windowsills, but UV rays put them at a high risk for squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer), especially on their delicate ear tips and noses. White vs. Albino: They look similar, but true white cats simply have a gene that masks their natural color. Albino cats have a distinct genetic mutation causing a total lack of pigment, giving them pale, translucent pinkish-blue eyes instead of vibrant blue, green, or gold. September 9 🎩 Double the Dapper: Tuxie Appreciation Day If you thought we only celebrated our sharply dressed felines in November, think again! It turns out tuxedo cats are so fabulous they get three holidays a year, and September 9th marks Tuxie Appreciation Day. While it’s a newer, more informal internet holiday compared to the official day in November, I’ll take any excuse to show off my own two resident tuxedo managers, Lumi and Otto. Otto celebrated 16th birthday summer belated birthday card. He looks and acts like 16 months not years! Bicolor kitties often get overlooked in shelters, so today is all about celebrating the unique, dog-like loyalty, cleverness and big personalities wrapped up in those fancy formal coats. Sept. 13: National Pet Memorial Day. Second Sunday in September. Like many cat parents I’ve experienced a number of CAT deaths and there’s always some that are easier and some that are harder to mourn. But I firmly believe that whatever is remembered lives. This year, I’m feeling especially nostalgic for Cats that I lost a long time ago versus Odin who left us last year. I have some thoughts about all this and might write more this month. Sept. 13-19: Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable-Pet Week. I always have and have never regretted it,so if you can, do. Sept. 19: National Meow Like a Pirate Day. A perennial favorite from the early days of CAT blogging. September 19 National Cat DNA Day 🧬 Science or Marketing? Now, let’s be real for a second—this is a relatively new holiday created back in 2020 by the at-home testing company Basepaws, largely as a clever way to spotlight their own DNA kits. But brand promotion aside, the date itself has a brilliant bit of feline trivia baked right in: 9/19 was chosen to represent a cat’s 9 lives and their 19 pairs of chromosomes! Even if you aren’t looking to swab your cat’s cheeks for a breed report, it’s a fun, nerdy excuse to marvel at the complex genetic blueprints that make our cats so wonderfully unique. We have supported this cause for a long time. September 24: ®Remember Me Thursday This is an international social media awareness day that brings attention to the millions of adoptable pets waiting in shelters and remembers those pets who never got a second chance. Share your rescue pet using . September 29 🐾 Double the Luck: Beckoning Cat Day If you’ve been hanging around Cat Wisdom 101 for a while, you know we always celebrate Japan’s official Cat Day in February. Neko no Hi. The date is based on the sound of nyan, nyan, nyan “meow, meow, meow”and is a general celebration of cats. But did you know our favorite feline good-luck charms get their very own spotlight in September? Far from a corporate marketing gimmick, this day was actually established back in 1995 by The Association for Maneki Neko Japan. They chose the date 9/29 because it forms a clever linguistic pun—the numbers sound like “Kuru Fuku,” which means “Come, good fortune!” in Japanese. It’s the perfect, feel-good way to end our September calendar. Keep an eye out for those waving paws at your favorite local shops today, and may they bring plenty of luck, health, and love to your home! Peace, Love & Purrrrrrrrs, Layla, Lumi and Otto
The post Best September Cat Holidays Old & New first appeared on Cat Wisdom 101.
Happy September & Happy Cat Month. There are lots of cat-related holidays every month, but we share the best old and new ones you may not know about from quirky to life changing.