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Meow Like a Pirate Day

Animal · Fun · September 19

A playful day for cat lovers that mixes pirate talk with meowing, imagining how a ship's cat might sound if it spoke like its crew.

Meow Like a Pirate Day falls on Sunday, September 19, 2027. That is 327 days away.

Picture a cat on the deck of an old sailing ship, squinting into the wind and announcing itself with a gravelly "mrrarr." That is the whole idea here: meowing the way a pirate might, or imagining how a cat would talk if it had picked up the crew's accent.

The pairing is less random than it sounds. Cats really did sail on ships for a long time, mostly to keep mice and rats away from food stores and ropes. A good ship's cat earned its place, and sailors often grew fond of them. So a cat with a pirate voice is not much of a stretch.

Most people mark the day at home. They narrate their cat's thoughts in a rough seafaring growl, give a nap on the windowsill the drama of a lookout scanning the horizon, or turn a cardboard box into a ship. Others share photos of their cats in tiny bandanas, though plenty of cats have firm opinions about costumes, and a pirate voice costs the cat nothing.

It also makes a gentle game with kids. Taking turns inventing pirate meows ("meowrr," "ahoy-ow") is cheap, silly in the friendly sense, and quiet enough not to bother the actual cat too much.

If you share a home with a cat, its real meows are usually aimed at you rather than other cats, which means the captain of the house has been giving orders all along.

Ways to celebrate

• Narrate your cat's day in your best pirate voice.
• Build your cat a cardboard box ship with a soft blanket inside.
• Share a photo of your cat on lookout at a sunny window.
• Play pirate meow call and answer with kids.
• Donate a bag of litter or food to a local animal shelter.

Dates

All national days on September 19

Also on September 19

• International Talk Like a Pirate Day
• National Butterscotch Pudding Day

Categories: Animal daysFun days