National Cat Lovers’ Month – December 1, 2026

Expected National Cat Lovers’ Month Deals

Throughout December, expect major pet retailers and brands to roll out special promotions for National Cat Lovers’ Month. While we await official 2027 announcements, history shows discounts on cat food from brands like Purina and Friskies, as well as deals on toys and accessories from retailers such as Chewy and PetSmart. Look for adoption fee waivers at local shelters and special bundles from subscription boxes like KitNipBox. Some local pet stores may host special events or offer grooming discounts. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as December approaches.

History of National Cat Lovers’ Month

Cats were first seen in the early Pliocene Epoch, approximately five to four million years ago, and have marched into modern times with remarkably little change. The earliest known association between cats and humans can however be traced as far back as the origins of agriculture in the Middle East around 9,500 years ago.

In recent years, the skeleton of a cat was found buried along with that of a human in southern Cyprus. Although some sources noted that this discovery suggested that cats had undergone some forms of domestication in that region, other sources argued that cats may have chosen to domesticate themselves by living in human-altered landscapes. They cited the evidence that the cat genome was not so different from that of the African wildcat at that particular period.

Fossil evidence unearthed in China which dates back to about 5,300 years ago shows that cats having similar sizes to modern domestic cats used to feed on small grain-eating animals such as rodents. In contrast, the cats in agricultural settings went for millet.

There’s also a common belief that cats were domesticated in ancient Egypt because of the Egyptians’ great affinity for cats and the fact that these animals had social and religious significance in their culture. Although cats were proclaimed to be sacred animals in Egypt around 2465 B.C. to 2150 B.C., they had not yet been domesticated at that time. There is the possibility that the ancient Egyptians kept cats because of their value in protecting their barns from rodents. Their respect and affection for this majestic predator resulted in the development of religious cat cults and worshiping of cats in temples.

However, there are no authentic records of domestication earlier than 1500 B.C.