Bossier Parish Librairies: Celebrate Cats Day is August 8

Bossier Parish Library Column – 32
Annie Gilmer, Community Engagement Librarian   
August 5, 2026

This Saturday, August 8th, we celebrate cats! Every year, since it was created in 2002 by International Fund for Animal Welfare, International Cat Day has been observed on the 8th; this holiday is now sponsored by International Cat Care, having been taken over by the non-profit organization in 2020. Since cats and books are a common pairing, and some libraries even have library cats, it seems fitting to write about this holiday and share some fun facts I learned about cats during my research.

For example, if you’ve ever wondered why your housecat sometimes acts like it’s a much larger predator than it is in reality, it could be because domestic cats and tigers share about 96% of their genomes. Cats are also nearsighted, causing objects that are further than about 20 feet from them to look blurry. Is this a reason that your cat sometimes stares at you from about 3 inches away? Unlikely, considering studies show that cats also struggle to see anything clearly that’s closer than 10 inches away; this is why their sensitive whiskers are so important, as they help them feel objects near their nose.

There are 71 standardized breeds of cats, and over 500 million domestic cats worldwide. This Saturday, we suggest you kick back with a good book, or a good cat movie, and cuddle up with your cat. If you don’t have a cat, take some time out to watch some of the multitudes of funny cat videos the internet hosts. While it doesn’t fall on International Cat Day, you can stop by our East 80 Branch on August 14th at 3:00pm where there will be shelter cats ready and waiting to be read to; contact the branch or check out our website calendar for additional details!

Questions? Email us at: [email protected] 
 
Website: https://www.bossierlibrary.org/ 
 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bossierlibrary 
 
Library Hours: 
Central
Monday – Thursday, 9:00am – 8:00pm 
Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm 
Saturday, 9:00am – 5:00pm 
Benton 
Monday – Thursday, 9:00am – 7:00pm 
Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm 
Saturday, 10:00am – 2:00pm 
Haughton 
Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm 
Saturday, 10:00am – 2:00pm 
Aulds/East 80/Plain Dealing/Tooke 
Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm 
History Center
Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm
Saturday, by appointment
 
Library Locations: 
Aulds Branch 
318.742.2337 
 
Benton Branch 
318.965.2751 
 
Central Library 
318.746.1693 
 
East 80 Branch 
318.949.2665 
 
Haughton Branch 
318.949.0196 
 
History Center 
318.746.7717 
 
Plain Dealing Branch 
318.326.4233 
 
Tooke Branch 
318.987.3915 
 
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