One Health

It’s National Cat Day! 🐾

Whether they’re curled up on our keyboard or quietly supervising from across the room, cats have a way of shaping our daily routines--and even our health. Research shows several fascinating things about how cats build relationships with us:¹

• Early gentle handling during 2-7 weeks of age helps kittens feel safe and build trust with people.

• Cats use specific social signals with humans, including tail-up posture, cheek rubbing, head bunting, slow blinking. These are the same signals they use with other cats to show affiliation.

• Cats don’t seem to prefer any particular age or gender group; they respond differently based on our behavior and body language.

• Relationship quality improves when humans let the cat initiate more contact.

• Simply being near or interacting with a cat can help reduce negative moods like anxiety or sadness.

With this in mind, I’d love to hear from you all:

• How has a cat impacted your well-being or perspective on care?

• And because we need it, cat pictures are fully encouraged!

Let’s celebrate the joy, mystery, and lessons our feline friends bring to One Health. 😸

For fun, here is a picture of one of my cats, Trixie Mayflower:

Reference

1. Turner DC. The mechanics of social interactions between cats and their owners. Front Vet Sci. 2021;8:650143. doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.650143

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Katy Carpenter
Editorial Operations Manager
Program for Pet Health Equity
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Thanks @Katy Carpenter for the post! 

National Cat Day, first established in 2005 by animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige to raise awareness of cats in need and to honor the special role cats play in our lives.

According to the AVMA, there are about 73.8 million pet cats in the U.S., and the APPA reports that nearly 49 million households share their homes with at least one cat. Cat families are on the rise! The APPA reports a "23% increase in ownership in 2024, more multi-cat homes, and a growing appetite for quality time with their cats show today's owners are redefining what it means to be a "cat person"." Every one of those human–feline relationships contributes to better health and well-being-for both species. 

The cat that changed my life was Misty, my first feline family member. When she got pregnant because she could come and go as she pleased, I had to take her kittens to the shelter. That experience changed everything for me-and led me into animal welfare to help others avoid the heartbreak of "too many kitties."

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T' Fisher, Director of Operations
Program for Pet Health Equity
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That photo is so sweet! My cat does the same "office supervisor" routine every morning-parks herself right by the keyboard like she's managing my emails. It's wild how much calmer I feel just having her around while I work.

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Saimon Leutorino
Antreprenor
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TX
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