Catitude Gratitude: 5 Things Cat Lovers Can Be Thankful For

As proud cat parents, we’re totally head over paws for our furry sidekicks! But let’s not forget to give a big shout-out to all the pawtastic resources in our communities and online that help us be the best cat parents we can be. We are incredibly grateful to many individuals who have contributed to ensuring our cats enjoy fulfilling lives, from vets to volunteers, researchers, and animal rights advocates. In this blog, we celebrate positive changes in social attitudes toward cats, the amazing work of cat nonprofits, the increase in free online resources for cat parents, groundbreaking research that will help cats live longer, and new laws that save abused pets and provide assistance to responsible pet owners.

1. Increasingly Positive Public Perception of Cats

Upward Trends in Cat Ownership

In recent years in the US, more humans have been owned by cats than ever before. The rate of cat ownership has remained fairly steady in the past four years (between 30 and 33% of all households having at least one cat), but is expected to rise to a new high of 35% by 2030. We hope this means that even more cats will be adopted from shelters and rescues!

Cats Continue to Rule the Internet

We’re blown away by figures reporting that in “2014 there were more than 2 million cat videos posted on YouTube.com with nearly 26 billion total views (Marshall, 2014). That is an average of 12,000 views for each cat video—more views-per-video than any other category of YouTube content.” But the internet cat craze doesn’t stop there. Data analysis shows that “In 2010, it was estimated that there were about 1.3 billion cat pictures on the internet. Today, that number is expected to be more than 6.5 billion.”

Cat Videos Are Healthy for You

Watching cat videos is not a waste of time– it is now a proven method of stress relief and may actually be one of the most useful things you do on social media and YouTube. Survey participants revealed a lot about their emotional state while watching videos focused on cats. “Even if they are watching cat videos on YouTube to procrastinate or while they should be working, the emotional pay-off may actually help people take on tough tasks afterward,” said Assistant Professor Jessica Gall Myrick at Indiana University Bloomington. “The results also suggest that future work could explore how online cat videos might be used as a form of low-cost pet therapy.”

2. Cat Nonprofits Saving Lives

Although there is still much to be done to save homeless cats from sterilization and improve the quality of life for cats everywhere, we are thankful for the incredible progress that has been made. Below are just a few of several great strides taken by nonprofits and their volunteers to increase adoptions, rescue pets affected by emergencies, and protect ferals.

Adoption Progress

Cat adoption rates saw a general increase across the US in 2020, but despite an overall dip in adoptions afterwards, some states are going the extra mile to keep up adoption targets or even increase them. The top three states leading pet adoptions are New Mexico, which adopts out 12.34 pets per 1,000 people; Colorado, which averages 11.31 adoptions per 1,000 people; and Idaho, with 9.98 adoptions per 1,000 people. Armarkat is proud to be partnered with Wild Blue Cats Rescue, one of the driving forces behind the high adoption figures in Colorado! Wild Blue Cats also offers spay and neuter services in addition to medical care for rescues.

Disaster Relief

During the recent hurricanes (Helene and Milton), thousands of pets have been saved through nonprofits such as Best Friends Animal Society, which is coordinating a massive operation to transport animals from storm-affected shelters to shelters in safe locations. They have also provided supplies and veterinary care for lost cats and dogs in their efforts to reunite pets with their owners. The organization reports that as of October 25, “A total of nearly 1,000 cats and dogs have been transported to safety: 577 following Hurricane Milton and 355 following Hurricane Helene. The mobile vet clinic in North Carolina continues to provide critical veterinary care to families impacted by Hurricane Helene, having helped 526 animals from 337 families.”

Awareness and Assistance for Feral Cats

More than half of the total cat population of the US are strays or ferals. Nonprofits such as Wild Blue Cats Rescue and feral cat coalitions across the US are educating the public about the importance of monitoring and supporting feral cat populations. TNR (trap, neuter, return) initiatives, along with making sure ferals have a safe environment to roam in, help feral cats access the resources they need to live happy lives.

3. Free Resources for Cat Parents

Pet Health

Fetch by WebMD provides detailed information on a wide variety of medical conditions affecting cats, including details about symptoms to watch for and treatment options. Their online Cat Health Center allows you to search by diet, behavior, kitten care, preventative care, and common conditions. Chewy’s Connect with a Vet chat service is only free for Chewy customers, but it is a reliable option when you are uncertain if you should take your cat to the vet. Veterinary professionals can provide advice through web chat, which is available every day from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. (ET).

Our Armarkat Blog also provides cat medical information, along with topics about cat behavior and news about cats in pop culture.

Assistance with Lost Pets

When your pet is missing, the internet can provide support, in addition to seeking help from vets and shelters. Facebook hosts hundreds of local groups dedicated to finding lost pets.

If you are interested in a mobile phone option, the ASPCA offers a free pet-finding app that “allows users to receive a personalized missing pet recovery kit (including step-by-step instructions on how to search for a lost animal in a variety of circumstances) and build a lost pet digital flyer that can be shared instantly on social media channels.”

Additionally, the service PetRadar allows pet owners to list information on lost cats and dogs for free on their site.

4. Research Improving Our Cats’ Health

New antiviral therapy is saving the lives of cats with Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), a terminal disease known for causing organ failure. "We've gone from zero cats surviving to now up to as many as 96% surviving. That's a game changer," said project leader Jacqui Professor Norris from the University of Sydney.

Merck Animal Health recently developed a new vaccine that prevents infection from feline leukemia virus (FeLV), one of the most highly contagious diseases among cats.

The FDA has approved new medications for diabetic cats in liquid and tablets that are 80% effective. “This is the first anti-hyperglycemic medication other than insulin that is effective in cats and diabetic cats,” said Dr. Orla Mahony from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

5. New Laws That Help Cats and Responsible Owners

Below are some of the pet-focused laws that have taken effect in 2024 (or will soon go into practice in December of 2024). Information is provided by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Humane Society.

• Massachusetts’ Coercive Control Bill helps abused individuals and their pets “by updating the Commonwealth’s legal definition of abuse regarding ‘coercive control’ to include committing or threatening to commit cruelty to the animal companion of a human abuse victim.”

• California’s New Legislation on Providing Shelter to Companion Animals in Disasters helps pet owners seeking emergency shelter by “requiring counties in California to designate emergency shelters that can accommodate companion animals.”

• Oregon’s Bill to Strengthen Cruelty Laws has been signed into law, improving “current cruelty laws and making it a crime to interfere with investigations into animal abuse and neglect.”

We strive for many more victories in cat wellbeing yet to come, thankful for all of the cat lovers who have dedicated themselves to helping cats and other cat parents!

Meta: This Thanksgiving we celebrate the advancements in cat wellbeing, from free resources for cat parents to groundbreaking veterinary research and disaster relief efforts. Armarkat provides information for keeping your cat happy and healthy.

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