May Holidays & Events

Share

Say goodbye to the frustration of creative slumps and stale-feeling content, because every day is a holiday and Mother Internet has your back.

Sites like daysoftheyear.com list obscure days of national celebration and recognition, giving you an opportunity to plan original media campaigns that get your cats home.

Each month, we’ll post a list of ideas for promotions, projects, and more to help keep your hustle fresh.  These are just some of the holidays you can work with; check the calendar websites to see what else inspires you, and share your ideas in the comments or on the Cat Hustler Facebook page.

May is Get Caught Reading Month and Hamburger Month

burger

Rando, my day job office cat. We call him the “burger king”.

  • Post pictures of your cats engaging with books, whether it be body-blocking your view,  kids/volunteers reading to the shelter cats, or even knocking tomes off tables (because they can).
  • Using bought or volunteer-sewn hamburger beds, launch a cat-burger  photo campaign.

 

Wednesday, May 4th – Star Wars Day 

Paula's munchkin steed, Bunny, as a tauntaun. Or a Bunbun, as it were.

A munchkin cat becomes a tauntaun with a little editing magic.

May the 4th be with you! Get it?  This is a great opportunity to let shelter staff and volunteers show their fandom by decorating and dressing up.   A good example of SWD at work is the Ottowa Humane Society’s photo campaign went viral last year.  Check it out here.

2015-08-20_14.16.53

I’ve got your ewok-cat right here.

You can also offer reduced adoption fees for adopters who arrive in costume, or a raffle for cool Star Wars stuff (like  a DIY mirrorball Death Star made by a handy volunteer) with tickets in return for donations of the things you need most.

 

Wednesday, May 4th – Petite & Proud Day

Highlight the diminutive cats on your roster with photos of them looking smug next to large objects or a massive meatball of a cat for scale.

 

Thursday, May 5th – Cartoonist’s Day

Invite your volunteers and fosters to post caricatures of their favorite residents.  For outreach, invite school art clubs to the shelter to meet the cats, and get your contributions from “emerging talent”.

farside

.
Saturday, May 7th – Free Comic Book Day
With the same groups as above, offer 1-5 panels of creative space for people to show a cat’s personality in the form of a comic.  The finished comics can be used for social media and attached to the cat’s condo/cage. Make it interesting for contributors by running a contest with a small prize, using categories like  “Gary Larson would be proud“, focusing on single-panel comics.
.
.
Sunday, May 8th – Lemonade Day
Life handed your shelter cats lemons – hustlers help them make lemonade.
 .
 .
Tuesday, May 10th  – Stay Up All Night
Extend your shelter’s hours, host a pajama party/sleepover, or set up a webcam to discover what the cats are getting up to in the middle of the night.
 .
 .
 Wednesday the 11th – Twilight Zone Day
tzmemeFun for the graphics people!  With a retro black-and-white theme and a free font to complete the look, the possibilities are endless.
Did you know there’s a cat-centric Twilight Zone episode? It’s called “Cat and Mouse“, and it’s pretty awesome.
.
.
 .
Wednesday the 11th –  Eat What You Want Day
Finally, a chance to show off your curvy cats and general grab-asses.
lizzie collage

Lizzie survived a house fire, so she feels entitled to Helen’s cupcake.

.
Thursday the 12th – Limerick Day
 Today is a chance to showcase happy endings, nutshell stories, quirks, “invisible” cats, chronic buttheads, unseen fosters, volunteer favorites, and more in a nifty format that anyone can work with.

marv limerick

Monday the 16th – Drawing Day

Another one for the art-lovers! Invite the public to visit and draw a cat that catches their eye, then post the pictures to Facebook to help the world meet your available residents. Who doesn’t love a “mews”?
.
.
Wednesday the 25th – Senior Fitness Day
The perfect time to feature your spry, active seniors being their lovable selves.
Share