Black Cat Appreciation Day seeks to bring good luck to black cats

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Black Cat Appreciation Day, celebrated annually on Aug. 17, was started in 2011 by a New York man who wanted to memorialize his sister and dispel myths about black cats.

Wayne H. Morris founded the holiday in 2011 as a tribute to his sister and her 20-year-old cat, Sinbad, who both died that year.

Morris said his father tried to stop his sister from bringing Sinbad into the house, because he considered black cats to be bad luck.

Morris teamed up with Rikki's Refuge Animal Sanctuary in Virginia to turn Black Cat Appreciation Day into an annual fundraiser to support the more than 250 black cats living at the rescue. The holiday gained further popularity via social media.

Morris died on July 13 of this year at the age of 69.

Other holidays and observances for Aug. 17, 2022, include Baby Boomers Recognition Day, Balloon Airmail Day, Meaning of "Is" Day, National #2 Pencil Day, National I Love My Feet Day, National Medical Dosimetrist Day, National Non-Profit Day, National Thrift Shop Day, National Vanilla Custard Day and World Calligraphy Day.