Cat lovers from across Sacramento gathered at William Land Regional Park on Saturday for Caturday, a community-organized event for residents to meet and greet with other feline fanatics.
Organized by resident Danielle Keaton, the event aims to help cat owners from the area meet each other. Keaton is the cat parent of Angel, and she has been organizing Caturday since 2022.
I like hosting events, and I have a lot of cat crazy friends who are already taking their cats out," Keaton said. "So I was like, 'hey, why don't we just, like, get together at the park?'
Located in a quiet corner of Freeport and 13th Street in Land Park, cats of all ages and sizes were playing with cat toys, sniffing one another, or sleeping in their respective carriers. As Keaton looked upon the dozens of cats sitting on picnic blankets and walked across the park in harnesses, she remarked that she would "die for any of these kitties."
Among the cat owners was 6-year-old Sloane Santos, who wore fluffy purple cat ears and snacked on cat-shaped cookies. Sloane Santos owns Farmey, an orange cat who is "more fluff than cat," said Adrian Santos, father of Sloane Santos.
Farmey was adopted from the Sacramento County Bradshaw Animal Shelter three years ago, and her favorite playmate is the family's yellow lab, Ruby.
"My favorite thing is I like when the tail brushes against the window and when she rides it long on the porch," said Sloane Santos.
"Farmey is a social cat," Adrian Santos said. Currently, the family is trying to train her to go paddleboarding with them. But while Farmey has a social attitude, it has been hard for the family to find outings to take her on. So when they found out about Caturday, they knew it would be perfect, they said.
As a dog and the cat family, there are way more events for dogs out there. Dogs are very social," said Adrian Santos. "So meeting other cat owners at an event like this is really cool. It's a different type of bond.
Will Smith, a midtown resident, took his two 1-year-old cats, Persephone and Louie, to Caturday. The two usually join him on his weekend outings at the downtown farmer's market from inside Smith's backpack.
Despite the notion that cats have an anti-social nature, many of the residents remarked that they frequently take their cats on walks with a harness. One resident, Taryn Davis, was being led by her cat, Steak, a gray tortoiseshell cat. She said that she and Steak will take walks along the river in West Sacramento because the cat "loves nature."
She's really into, like, looking at squirrels and birds," Davis said. "And if I'm not home and it's like nighttime, I'll put on bird TV for her.
Cats are classified as facultatively social animals, which means they prefer to live in both solitary settings and social environments, often switching between the two, according to the IAABC Foundation Journal .
Michelle Woodbury described her 18-year-old cat, Teloola, as a "super personable love bug," who has been harness trained since she was 6 months old. Woodbury said Caturday has been a fun way to meet other cats and cat owners within Sacramento. She added that Caturday has helped those interested in adopting a cat, but remain unsure, become familiar with interacting with a feline.
"Getting out to do this shows people that people won't look at you that weird, if you train your cat, or get a stroller and take him out and get him some fresh air," Woodbury said. "They like fresh air just as much as the rest of us."
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