DOTD For Thursday, June 4, 2026
Today's Drink Will Hit You Right In The Puss - Then Give You A Kiss
Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a Lion’s Tail cocktail inspired by National Hug Your Cat Day. It’s a real holiday!
History of National Hug Your Cat Day
For thousands of years, cats and humans have been getting along by building close, symbiotic relationships.
Cats were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, a region encompassing modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. By 3500 BCE, cats had demonstrated their worth to farmers by regulating pests such as rodents, and establishing a mutually beneficial partnership.
Ancient Egyptians paid homage to cats with grand ceremonies and even built specialized cat cemeteries with thousands of mummified felines somewhere around 3000 BCE. While cats may not quite be worshipped today, they continue to be seen as by many as symbols of grace and poise.
In 1979, The International Cat Association (TICA) was founded to promote global appreciation of cats through genetic research and education.
Although, the exact date is unknown, National Hug Your Cat Day began being celebrated some time in the 1980s with the aim to increase warm interactions - and adoptions - between people and cats. The holiday was celebrated officially for the first time in 1986 by members of TICA. To celebrate the holiday they gave workshops on how to adopt, how to take care of cats, and how to recognize common domestic cat behaviors. They also held some of the first known cat hugging contests.
This holiday quickly gained popularity in other countries, and many countries began observing it to promote adoption of homeless cats by 1990.
National Hug Your Cat Day is one of those pleasingly straightforward holidays where the name says it all. The intention is not for the day to be complicated or over-thought, but just to go with what comes naturally!
Embrace your little bundle of furry joy and take some time to appreciate them. Of course, if they don’t want to be hugged, you may need some Band-Aids.
How To Celebrate National Hug Your Cat Day
The most important thing you can do on this holiday is to hug your cat, or any cat you know well enough to hug it.
While a cat owner may love his or her cat immensely, it’s easy to forget to show a furry friend how much love there is to go around when you’re managing a busy schedule and family. It’s best to start by petting the cat softly and having it warm up before going in for a hug. Be gentle and approachable, so the cat is more likely to welcome the embrace.
Of course, there are some other ways you can celebrate this unique holiday.
• Volunteer with a Shelter
Shelters are always looking for help and assistance. They also need responsible people to adopt available pets.
Therefore, consider volunteering time at a local shelter or adopting a cat to celebrate National Hug Your Cat Day.
Not everyone has a kitty at home to hug, but these shelters are filled with cats that need a little extra attention on this day. Be there to help the cats find homes and to give them a few extra snuggles while at the shelter.
• Enjoy Some Cat Photos & Videos Online
It’s also a good excuse for a pet owner to take pictures of the cat that’s always been by his or her side. Share these photos on social media and with friends and family to express the love that the cat is receiving.
It may also be fun to print out some favorites and create a photo album with them to review later on. One can never take too many pictures of a pet or cat, so now is a chance to go wild.
Be glad to know that those who suffer from allergies need not be left out of this holiday either. These people can watch cute and funny cat videos on YouTube as a way to participate in the festivities!
• Host a Cat Hugging Party
Today’s holiday is also a good excuse to host a party. Human parties are fun, but cat parties are even better! Call up some friends and family members and gather together as pet owners and cat lovers to celebrate the day.
Make sure everyone is equipped with treats and prepared to dish out plenty of hugs during the party. It’ll be a blast to have best friends and best cats to come together as a group to celebrate and enjoy the day.
Reasons to Love National Hug Your Cat Day
There are many reasons to love National Hug Your Cat Day. Kitties deserve only the best from owners and humans in general.
Cats are there to provide unconditional love through thick and thin, regardless of the circumstances. The day is an excellent reminder to give cats some extra TLC and thank them for their friendship and loyalty. There’s no better time to snuggle with a cat and give them a few extra scratches they will love.
Hugging and spending time with a cat offers many health benefits as well. Snuggling with a cat is naturally a pleasant experience and can improve and elevate an owner’s psychological state. Furry friends and pets can alleviate negative moods and put a smile on one’s face.
Feeling calmer is good for a person’s cardiovascular system and will have long-term health benefits that shouldn’t be ignored. Not only can they decrease stress levels, but someone who hugs and spends time with cats may also find their blood pressure readings to improve over time.
Quite simply, it is a day in which cat owners everywhere are encouraged to hug their cats. It’s an opportunity to give back to all the cats in the world and shower them with love and attention.
The more dedicated amongst them will not need this encouragement, of course, but it’s always good to be reminded of our feline friends!
Facts About Cats You May Not Have Known
• Cats May Have Technically Domesticated Themselves
Genetic and archaeological evidence suggests that cats were not actively domesticated by humans in the way dogs were, but instead gravitated toward early farming settlements where grain stores attracted rodents, favoring bolder wildcats that tolerated people.
Over thousands of years, this self-selecting relationship led to today’s domestic cats, which remain genetically very close to their wild ancestors while still showing many of the behaviors of solitary hunters.
• Cat Purring Occupies a Unique Frequency Range
Domestic cats typically purr in a frequency range of about 25 to 150 hertz, which overlaps with vibration frequencies that have been studied for their potential to promote bone density and soft tissue healing in various animals.
While the exact purpose of purring is not fully understood, this frequency overlap has led some researchers to suggest that purring could function partly as a self-maintenance behavior that supports a cat’s physical recovery after exertion or injury.
• Shelter Cats Often Benefit From Gentle Human Contact
Behavioral research in animal shelters has found that short daily sessions of calm petting and soft talking can lower stress levels in cats that are temporarily living in shelters, reducing their fearful behaviors and increasing sociability toward people.
In addition to improving day‑to‑day welfare, these interactions have been linked with better immune responses and may help make cats more adoptable by allowing their normal personalities to emerge despite the challenges of the shelter environment.
• Living With Cats Has Been Linked to Reduced Heart Disease Risk
An analysis of data from the long‑running U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I study found that people who had ever owned a cat were significantly less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, than those who never owned one, even after adjusting for major risk factors.
The researchers proposed that the stress‑reducing effects of interacting with cats, such as quiet companionship and tactile contact, might contribute to this association, though they cautioned that the findings do not prove cause and effect.
• Cats Use Scent and Body Language for Social Bonding
Cats rely heavily on scent and body language to reinforce social bonds, often rubbing their cheeks or bodies against a favored person or companion animal to deposit facial pheromones that signal familiarity and safety.
Another common behavior, “kneading” with the paws while relaxed on a lap or soft surface, is thought to originate from kittenhood nursing and is widely interpreted as a sign of comfort and affiliative intent toward the social partner.
However you choose to celebrate National Hug Your Cat Day, we think you should at least have a drink. So join us in celebrating with today’s Drink Of The Day, a Lion’s Tail cocktail
Ingredients
Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:
