five ways to celebrate your cat’s adoption anniversary

Today we are celebrating Phoebe’s seventh adoptiversary!!! From toys to treats (and a little cat nap), here are five ways you can celebrate your cat’s adoption anniversary or birthday. 

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #DineALaCat #CollectiveBias

Seven years ago I drove home from the animal shelter in Madison, Wisconsin with a new furry family member in my backseat.

It was love at first sight. I knew the minute I made eye contact with those green eyes that this little gray kitten was coming home with me.

It was Pheebs.

For those of you that haven’t been formally introduced, meet Pheebs. Her full name is Phoebe Teen Teen Nelson (named after a TV show, my human best friend and my maiden name).

We call her Pheebs for short.

Pheebs and I have been best friends for the past seven years, ever since that September afternoon she came home with me.

We’ve been through a lot together (a cross country move to a new city, a new career, moving into a house with three other cats, a wedding, and a new puppy, just to name a few) and I honestly can’t imagine the past seven years of my life without Pheebs by my side.

So of course, when September rolled around, we had to celebrate!

What is an adoptiversary or Gotcha day?

An adoptiversary is the anniversary which you take your new family pet home from the shelter or rescue organization.

Some people also call their cat or dog’s adoptiversary a Gotcha Day, so every year on the date of the adoption anniversary, you can celebrate your pet’s adoption anniversary. 

First way to celebrate your cat’s adoption anniversary: choose the purrfect present.

The first thing I wanted to do was get Pheebs a little something special to celebrate her adoptiversary.

We have four cats in our house (yes, you read that, four!), plus a dog, so kitty toys have the tendency to do a little disappearing act once they’ve been in the house a week of two, so I knew a few new toys just for Pheebs would be a fun and affordable gift.

(I am convinced the cats have a secret stash of cat nip mice and balls filled with bells somewhere in a corner or under the bed but I have yet to find it!)

I went to PetSmart to get some kitty toy inspiration (and a few gourmet treats, those details are below!).

We always go to PetSmart for all of our cat needs, it’s a one stop shop for everything: from basics like food and little to more specialty items like toys and grooming, they always have whatever I’m looking for, plus usually more!

And did you know that you can bring your pet to PetSmart to do your shopping with you?

Unfortunately, I can’t bring Pheebs with me because while she’s great in the car, she’s finicky around other animals, so I did my best to channel her while I was there.

PetSmart has a variety of cat toys that would make the purrfect present for your cat’s adoption anniversary, and Pheebs loves anything with feathers and that makes a rattly sound (yes, rattly is a very technical cat toy term) so I picked up a couple feathered fish and a mousey for her.

She wanted to dig right into the bag as soon as I got home!

2. Ways to celebrate your cat’s adoption anniversary: play with their new toys!

The purrfect present leads us to the next way to celebrate your cat’s adoption anniversary: play!

Interactive play is a great way for cat owners and their kitties to bond, plus it gives your cat an important outlet to hone her natural skills (like hunting), release any aggression, and get a little exercise.

Plus it’s fun and a great way to spend time with your feline friend.

So of course, any celebration focused on Pheebs has to involve us doing her favorite things together, including playing.

She spent some time showing off her scratching post skills to me (she loves a good scratching session) and we broke out the mousey and feathered fish in the living room.

I love playing with Pheebs because even though she’s seven, she’s still got some spunk and plays just like she did when I brought her home when she was four months old.

3. Ways to celebrate your cat’s adoption anniversary: put pampering on the menu with a special, gourmet treat.

Just like me, Pheebs has a love of food, so I thought she deserved a special treat to celebrate her adoptiversary besides her boring old kibble.

While I was at PetSmart picking out her new toys, I wandered into the cat food aisle and found some Purina Fancy Feast® gourmet meal complements, and so I had to bring a few home for Pheebs to try.

She loves anything and everything to do with fish, so the Purina Fancy Feast® Purely Fancy Feast Filets Natural Tuna and Purina Fancy Feast® Broths Tuna Whitefish Shrimp Classic went straight into my basket, along with a few other filets, broths and appetizers to share with our other kitties.

(Right now, you can earn cash back when you buy any two Purely Fancy Feast® Filets, for a limited time!)

Purina Fancy Feast® complements are not complete meals, instead, they can complement any meal or be given as a special treat in between meals.

Pheebs really liked the Purina Fancy Feast® Purely Fancy Feast Filets Natural Tuna flaked on top of her normal kibbles, which elevated and enhanced her dinner to a fine dining level which she totally deserved on her adoptiversary (you can also serve the filets whole or flaked on their own, but Phoebe really liked it as a topper!).

Mr. Kitty also wanted to get in on the action and really loved the Purina Fancy Feast® Broths Tuna Whitefish Shrimp Classic.

If you’re celebrating your cat’s adoption anniversary soon and want to buy them a special foodie treat or elevate their meal game, hover over this photo to click through to shop what I bought for Pheebs to celebrate!

 

4. Ways to celebrate your cat’s adoption anniversary: take a cat nap!

After all of the playing and eating, we were pretty tired so we had to do another of our favorite things together: nap!

And of course, it had to be a cat nap, because well, Phoebe is a cat and I love a good pun.

Pheebs napping areas of choice at home are: one of the dining chairs at our kitchen table, a sunny patch on the floor or couch in the living room, in the nook of my left armpit while I watch TV or snooze in our bedroom.

To celebrate with your kitty, curl up in their favorite cozy spot for a snooze together or a TV binge watching sesh.

5. Ways to celebrate your cat’s adoption anniversary: donate to an animal shelter or rescue group in your cat’s name.

The last way Phoebe and I celebrated her adoptiversary was with a donation to a local animal rescue group (while I adopted Pheebs in Madison before moving to Charlotte, I ultimately made the donation to the local rescue group near Charlotte where we found our dog, Bodie).

You can celebrate your cat’s adoption anniversary with a monetary donation to a local animal shelter or rescue group or check with those groups to see if they are in need of any supplies like food, litter, blankets or toys.

A donation to help other animals in need was the perfect cherry on top to Pheebs’ adoptiversary; we are hoping that those animals find a family just like Pheebs and I found each other seven years ago!

Pheebs and I had so much fun celebrating her seventh adoptiversary with each other. Click here for other ways to pamper your cat or say “I love you” to your cat!

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