International Cat Day is celebrated every year on August 8; but as any devoted cat owner can tell you, every day is cat day. What day goes by where we proud enthusiasts of felines don’t celebrate our adorable furry friends?
But what about Hanukkah? How does one celebrate the eight-day Festival of Lights and include cats?
The answer is to make sure they are included in the holiday fun.
I refer, of course, to gifts.
Cats enjoy toys. But because they can quickly grow bored with them, we often need to get them new items to keep their ever-hyperactive attention satisfied.
Fortunately, the Jerusalem area has many stores that offer affordable gifts for cats.
A quick perusal of a local Max Stock – a go-to emporium for all your low-cost needs – reveals a wide array of feline entertainment. This ranges from your classic small toy mice to more complicated contraptions. In the interest of ethical journalism – as well as to spoil my two cats, Medici (full name HaRav Medici di Cuddlebutt Reich) and Judy (full name Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi) – I went to Max Stock and bought a few of these toys to sample them for my pets.
I also bought two toy guns that shoot small pom-poms for them to chase – both just NIS 10 ($3.10) each – as well as a small tunnel for them to run through, and a tent with a scratching post inside. I even bought a rather elaborate gift: a cardboard scratch pad with a built-in whack-a-mole function for endless playtime variations – and that cost NIS 30.
Because that’s the secret about cats: They can be shockingly easy to please. I’ve found that both my cats find endless entertainment out of just a pack of hair ties, which they will bring to me to play fetch, even at odd hours of the night. Who hasn’t been woken up at 3 a.m. by a very excited cat placing a hair tie on top of you, only to then immediately have its eyes go wide with primal predatory instincts as it prepares to pounce the second you throw it?
If you haven’t experienced this, then you have truly never lived.
BUT THE best and most cost-efficient gift you can get for your cat is the humble, but classic, cardboard box.
Cats love jumping into boxes or other containers. If they can fit in it, they will find a way. So, when you buy a regular gift for someone else – most likely a human – the box that contained the present can serve a reclaimed purpose as a receptacle of endless entertainment for a cat.
But sometimes, presents for cats go beyond what they enjoy. It might also be about what you, a human, enjoy doing for them. I refer to dressing them up in costumes and outfits. This is much trickier. Not all cats are the type to enjoy being picked up, let alone have costumes put on them. It depends on their individual personality.
Between my two cats, Medici is far more open to being lifted up – as shown by the often-touted on social media “dangle test.” Over the years, I have dressed him up in a number of fine outfits, which he has suffered patiently for me. This includes a sunflower hat, which can also make him look like a little lion, as well as peanut butter and/or jelly bread costumes around his neck.
However, my personal pride and joy in this small collection is a tiny tuxedo, which I bought several years ago from Max Stock. It turns out, costumes for small dogs work for cats as well.
But be warned: If your cat’s nails have not been trimmed and your pet is much less open to being picked up, then you may end up with some nasty scratches from your fidgety feline.
But say you want to do something else for your cat. Well, you can’t go wrong with food.
Cats should not be eating food that humans eat, generally speaking, though they may certainly try to swipe whatever you’re having. But you can do other things. Making a latke out of tuna, for instance, is a nice and thoughtful Hanukkah treat for your forever friend.
But don’t just take it from me.
SPEAKING TO Jerusalemite Tzipporah Rosenzweig, who along with her mother, Chasya, operates an unofficial cat sanctuary in the city, In Jerusalem was advised that safe-for-cat food, like fish, would be great for making cat-friendly holiday treats.
Rosenzweig also suggested something regarding putting up holiday decorations.
“Get your cat something that dangles, so it can play with it while you decorate,” she suggested. “That way, it’s like it’s taking part in the decoration process with you.”
Keeping your cat safe on Hanukkah
On a more serious note, there is the matter of safety to consider. Some cats like bright objects, and other cats like knocking things off shelves. Since a core part of Hanukkah is lighting things in candelabras that can easily be knocked over by a cat, this could be cause for concern.
According to safety tips provided by the Purina pet food company, people should take care to leave their hannukkia (menorah) out of range of their cats. But just in case, you can shield it with tin foil.
Many cats avoid walking on tin foil, as the rustling sound startles them. As such, placing a layer of tin foil on the surface around a hanukkiah can effectively shield it from cats – as well as protecting the counter from melted wax from the candles.
Another option is to use an Israeli-style hanukkiah, which is in a glass box – a form of barrier much more resistant to feline mischief.
But above all, keep flames and non-cat-friendly food out of arms’ – or rather paws’ – reach. The myth that cats have nine lives is nothing more than that. May all cats and their people stay safe and happy this holiday.