International Cat Day.

International Cat Day.

You're on the edge of your seats. It could hardly be any other day. Indeed it is. Today folks is International Cat Day. At some point throughout another crowded year there had to be a day devoted to cats. It would have been a glaring oversight on my part had you not been told that cats have their own day to themselves, a celebration of the feline world, our family pets throughout the ages, the animals we've grown to love or in some cases simply tolerate whenever they become ever so demanding.

So what is about cats that divides opinion? Cats are strangely unpredictable, irritatingly mischievous at times, utterly secretive at others with their very own specific agenda. Cats sit in the most peculiar places of our living room, curling up into a furry ball, perching themselves comfortably on TV's, swinging their tails with unfathomable regularity if only because the family have started talking about Andrew Lloyd Webber's famous musical about them.

And then the family will gather around for a bite or two or another get together when suddenly the cat walks into the room totally unexpectedly with a very real mission. Whether the said cat be a tabby or black and white the behaviour and mood patterns are much the same as they've always been. In it comes with that very set expression on its face before swaggering away, absolutely the dominant force.

Let's face it. Cats always look very judgmental, deeply observant of every human mannerism, watching intently, slowly padding across the living room, almost critical, maybe sceptical and never entirely sure why those humans keep talking, keep sharing intimacies about very private aspects of their lives that cats may never be privy to. You should always be weary about the cat because these animals are very cunning, very knowing and very worldly. They've got the whole of the human race completely worked out.

Then they'll start wandering restlessly around chairs and sofas, inspecting curtains with all the close scrutiny of health inspectors searching for rebellious dust and dirt that the vacuum cleaner didn't quite pick up on. Now marks that moment when the cat just keeps on moving, roaming , loitering in the kitchen in the forlorn hope that somebody will kindly open up a packet of fish fingers for the evening meal.

In the world of the cat, the sheer act of walking is almost a ritual expedition, a unique experience that only a cat can appreciate. There are times when you can never be quite sure what your cat is looking for. Is there a hidden chest of financial treasure that you're never likely to find out about? Are they simply bored, restless, discontented or looking for spiritual fulfilment? There is a deeply mysterious air about the family cat that may never be explained.

Suddenly your amiable moggie will stop sharply in the middle of your living room before breaking out into what can only be described as some therapeutic yoga session. There is a pause for breath followed by the arching of the back and then stretching itself, pulling every muscle in its flexible body before treading its way carefully towards the fridge on another feline pilgrimage where tins of cat food sit enticingly within reach of its grasping paws.

All family pets and animals have their very own personal characteristics but cats have always given  out an air of nobility, superiority, completely in charge of every situation or predicament they may find themselves in. There is something very all conquering about a cat that is ever so slightly unnerving. They stroll around your home as if they were the occupants of your home and not you. To some it may be ever so slightly intimidating but then you begin to realise that you're the boss and not the cat.

Up and down the stairs your feline friend goes, forever on the prowl, occasionally scratching its back against an unsuspecting banister or wall. This is the very idiosyncratic world of the cat, an animal with a real set of priorities in its life, a sense of purpose and direction that we'll never know anything about. Cats love that sense of overwhelming freedom, the realisation that nobody dare tell them what to do because they know what they're doing.

Somehow inevitably the cat will decide that as soon as it's swiftly finished off its breakfast that this is the time to disappear for days on end. Having squeezed through the cat flap it will set off on a magnificent voyage of discovery to who knows where. It didn't require the services of a map or satnav and above all it didn't ask for permission. It just goes and doesn't even have the decency to leave a note to tell you that it might be away for quite a while. So don't wait up for the cat because it could be gone for some time.

As soon as morning dawns our worst suspicions have now been confirmed. The cat has gone, over huge fences and walls, allotment sites, leaping onto roofs with all the agility of a well trained athlete, crawling, foraging, scheming, wrestling with bushes and brambles, climbing, tracking something, eyes constantly narrowed, swatting away insects with effortless ease, trotting, skipping through the undergrowth before planning another operation with military precision.

And this is where things get annoyingly complicated. Why, you ask yourself, does it just leave the family home without any prior warning? Hasn't it heard of loyalty and fidelity, a sense of feeling wanted and belonging in your home rather than getting up to no good in somebody else's home. It must occur to them surely that cats might be considered an integral part of your family.

Where on earth do they go at night? The local bingo hall, a pop corn filled evening at the cinema or maybe a night out with their feline acquaintances. It's a safe bet that the cat will never be allowed to cross the threshold of the pub because lager is forbidden and besides it'll only be chucked out for behaving very irrationally.

No, the point is that there can be no emotional attachment to a cat because it has quite obviously decided that its future doesn't lie in your home. There it goes sneaking furtively around the hedgerows, shinning athletically up and down pipes, hopping across garden sheds, negotiating every crook and cranny they can conceivably find, sniffing danger and then slumping helplessly on a sodden patch of grass with nothing to guide it towards safety or a warm sanctuary.

Cats seem to inhabit a world of complete independence and self sufficiency. They never seem to look particularly concerned about anything particular, there are no hang ups in their lives, no bills to pay, rent to be paid and everyday is just another adventure. There can be no sense of insecurity in their everyday mindset. They are never consulted about their choice of dinner for that evening's consumption and nobody asks them for their considered views on Jeremy Corbyn or Donald Trump because that's plain silly and pointless.

The truth is of course that cats like their own space, their much coveted privacy, their solitude, their precious quality time on their own. As long as they get their daily take of meaty chunks and good, old fashioned bowl of milk then that's just fine. There are no agreements or ultimatums that have to be thrashed between you and your cat. The chances are that one day we'll find out why it is that they get so uncomfortable, so edgy, agitated at times, never quite knowing whether the sofa is the right place for them to be.

But ladies and gentlemen this is International Cat Day and hooray for everything that means to you. One day we'll find out exactly why a cat makes it abundantly clear that curling up under your bed is perhaps the most rewarding time of the day that a cat can ever have. Then they'll make the 74th visit to the bathroom, jumping onto another window sill for the umpteenth time before completing another exhaustive marathon of every room of your home, relentless in its pursuit of whatever it is they happen to be looking for.

Before you can blink it's time for your nightly nap. You would have thought your family cat has decided to stop and drop off to sleep on some very accommodating rug or carpet of your living room or maybe it's looking for the TV remote control because it fiercely disapprove of something you maybe watching.

It probably goes without saying that the life of a cat is a hard and complex one. They keep seeking some indefinable answer to the meaning of everything without ever quite finding it. They chase mice because they've always chased mice, they drink milk because they've always drunk milk from saucers and they keep hopping up and down at that cat nip in the middle of your living room when it doesn't appear to be necessary. To all cats on International Cat Day I do hope you've had a fantastic day because this was your day and nobody can take that away from you.