Aug. 8 is International Cat Day, 24-hours devoted to the worship of our feline deities.
No, we're not kidding. The holiday was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, an animal rights group, to celebrate one of the world's most popular pets since the ancient Egyptians venerated them as sacred creatures.
Here's all the recent cat-related news we recommend you catch up on today:
Pedro Rosario climbed a tree outside 1216 Burke Ave. in Allerton to rescue a two-year-old skittish tabby named Missy. She didn't take kindly to Rosario's interference, bitting and scratching her savior, but her thanklessness didn't seem to faze him.
► The feline mascot of a Park Slope bookstore went missing for a day
When Tiny the Usurper, the resident cat at Community Bookstore on Seventh Avenue and Carroll Street for the past seven years, went missing on a Monday night in June, news of his disappearance went viral. A woman living nearby recognized the missing cat in her backyard after seeing a notice on a local blog. It took several people 45-minutes to catch the slippery feline.
► A Brooklyn cat cafe installed a live, 24/7 kitten cam
For three weeks in June, you could stream video of kittens Jem, Rumple and Jelly play, eat and sleep in a terrarium at the Brooklyn Cat Cafe at 149 Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn Heights. It was way better entertainment than anything on Netflix.
► A Bed Stuy-based freelance artist has been drawing portraits of Brooklyn bodega cats
Sunny Eckerle began illustrating the cats in 2014, three years after moving to Brooklyn. Her first subject, Smoochie, has since moved to Connecticut, because New York real estate.
► A Fort Greene pet store cat was reunited with her feline pal after being dragged off by a dog
Prissy, a resident of Who's Your Doggy at 354 Myrtle Ave., ran off one June morning after a customer's dog grabbed her in its mouth and dragged her outside. Prissy's owner, store manager Julia Rosenfeld, discovered her later that afternoon in a basement two doors down. Prissy's male companion Bella was inconsolable while she was missing.
► A team of Hell's Kitchen residents rescued a missing cat from construction scaffolding
Pazzo the cat had been missing from his home on West 50th Street, between Ninth and Tenth avenues, for a month when a neighbor spotted him from a window and called his owner. Another neighbor climbed up a fire escape and along scaffolding to scoop up the feline, whose name means "crazy" in Italian, while others stood below to ensure he didn't fall.
Jill Riker and Jason Corso, who call themselves the "Bed Stuy Kitty Crew," have paid out of their pocket to get about 80 cats fixed and fed over the past three years. Their assistance prevents feral cats from reproducing, offers sick cats care and finds more domesticated cats homes.
