September is National Happy Cat Month

September is National Happy Cat Month, no kidding. You can bet that we are thrilled about that. What else could possibly make your cat more happy then the bliss of crack for kitty. However, happy cat month is not about catnip (well not officially anyways). What then is National Happy Cat Month about if not bliss and catnip?

Happy Cat Month is a initiative started by The CATalyst Council to discover ways to keep cats happy and healthy. Formed in 2008, The CATalyst Council is a grassroots organization made up of different animal welfare and health organizations. Their initiative is to, “Work on behalf of cats”. They are a not for profit organization that is comprised of three groups: Shelter/Animal Welfare, Veterinary Medicine, and other industry such as Cat Fanciers, commercial companies and the media.

The vision of The CATalyst Council is to, “Make a difference in the way the United States sees and experiences cats”. They desire to change the stereotype attitude of people’s image that cats do not require contact or care from humans. The organization noticed that, although there are more cats owned in America than dogs, cats were not being treated as well of dogs. The numbers are higher with cats versus dogs for being dropped off at shelters. Also, cats are not taken to the vet as much as dogs are. The CATalyst, “Believe that cats deserve better care, hence its mission to elevate the status of the cat and reverse these trends”. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), there are 81.7 million cats owned by humans with only 72 million dogs owned by humans. Therefore, it is their belief that cats deserve to receive their overdue recognition as The United State’s number one companion pet.

So it is more of a health and wellness kick then a catnip fix. This does not mean that you should not give you cat catnip this month. Anything that makes kitty happy should make you happy as well.