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Courtney
Cat grooming expert and contributor to Cat Grooming Directory. Passionate about helping cat owners find the best grooming solutions for their feline friends.
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Courtney
Cat grooming expert and contributor to Cat Grooming Directory. Passionate about helping cat owners find the best grooming solutions for their feline friends.
Grooming survival kit, a 30-day healthy coat plan, and year-one essentials — printable, product picks included. Enter your email to unlock instantly.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. We'll email you a link to the interactive guide.
Browse our directory of professional cat groomers and book an appointment.
Find GroomersDATE UPDATE — Please read before you mark your calendar.
You may see Take Your Cat to Work Day 2026 listed as June 15 on holiday-calendar sites. That date is wrong for this year. The official date is Monday, June 22, 2026.
Pet Sitters International — the company that created the day in 2005 and owns the Take Your Cat to Work Day® trademark — defines it as the Monday that opens Take Your Pet to Work Week®, which always ties to Father's Day weekend. Father's Day 2026 falls late (June 21), which pushes the official Monday to June 22.
Most years, the simplified "third Monday of June" shortcut other sites use gives the same answer as PSI's official rule. But in years like 2026, the rules diverge — and we go with the trademark holder's date because they get to define it.
You've decided your cat is coming to work.
Maybe you've already pictured it: carrier in the car, cat sitting on your desk looking extremely important, coworkers stopping by to say hello. It's going to be great.
What most people don't think about until the morning of: their cat is going to be on display, in an unfamiliar environment, possibly being picked up by enthusiastic strangers who haven't been briefed on proper cat-greeting protocol. And whatever state your cat's coat is in, that's the state it's arriving in.
Here's the actual prep checklist — from someone who runs a grooming salon and has seen exactly what a last-minute "they looked fine at home" situation looks like in person.
Two rules float around online. They usually agree. In 2026, they don't.
The first rule — the one Pet Sitters International officially uses since creating the day in 2005 — defines Take Your Cat to Work Day as the Monday that opens Take Your Pet to Work Week, which itself is the week ending on the Friday after Father's Day. Father's Day 2026 falls on Sunday, June 21. That makes the Friday after June 26, and the Monday of that week is June 22.
The second rule, repeated by some calendar aggregators, simplifies it to "the third Monday of June." For most years, this gives the same answer. But in years where Father's Day falls late, the third Monday lands in a different week from the actual Take Your Pet to Work Week. That happens in 2026 (and last happened in 2020, and will next happen in 2031).
The trademark holder defines the date. PSI's date is June 22.
This is the step most articles skip entirely, so let's start here.
Some cats are genuinely adaptable. New environment, new smells, unfamiliar people moving around — they observe, they investigate, they tolerate. A small number are genuinely social and will lean into the attention. Then there are the rest.
Before grooming becomes relevant, think honestly about your cat's history with new situations:
Signs your cat can probably handle this:
Signs to think twice:
If your cat's in the second category, bringing them in isn't cruel — but it requires a quiet corner to retreat to, realistic expectations, and close attention to stress signals throughout the day. Cats aren't small dogs. They don't shake off stress and bounce back the way dogs do. An afternoon that reads as "manageable" to you might be genuinely exhausting for them.
For a closer look at what stress actually looks like in a cat (versus just being grumpy), this breakdown of stress and discomfort signals is worth reading before you pack the carrier.
Assuming your cat can handle the experience, here's what to check before you go.
1. Coat condition — hands on, not just eyes on
Run your hands through the coat, not just over it. Check behind the ears, along the spine, at the base of the tail, and in the armpit areas — those are where mats form first and where they're easiest to miss on a visual scan.
A few surface tangles can usually be worked out with a slicker brush over several days. Anything that feels dense, tight to the skin, or larger than a quarter needs a professional before it goes anywhere near your colleagues. Trying to detangle a real mat at home the night before is a recipe for a stressed cat, a scratched arm, and a mat that's now also been tugged.
Long-haired cats — Maine Coons, Ragdolls, Persians, Siberians — can look presentable on the surface and be matting underneath. A surface check isn't enough with a dense double coat. Go in with your fingers.
2. Shedding level
A cat in active shed is going to leave hair on every chair, bag, and dark-colored blazer in your office. That's aesthetically awkward and genuinely problematic for colleagues with cat allergies.
A professional de-shed treatment a few days before Take Your Cat to Work Day significantly reduces what your cat releases into the environment. If that's not in the budget or timeline, a thorough brush-out at home — ideally done outside or somewhere easy to clean — will help. Do it more than once this week if you can.
3. Nails
Coworkers are going to try to pet your cat. If your cat is ambivalent about being pet by strangers, long or sharp nails turn that ambivalence into a problem. Check the nails now. If they're overdue, a quick trim at home or a nail trim at a grooming appointment handles it. If you've never trimmed your cat's nails before, a groomer can do it in about two minutes — it's usually a standalone add-on.
4. Ears
Quick visual check only. Healthy ears look clean, have no dark debris, and smell like nothing. If there's dark wax, an unusual smell, or your cat has been head-shaking or scratching at their ears recently, skip the office trip and go to the vet first. That's not a grooming issue — that's a health issue that needs attention before anything else.
5. Overall smell
Most healthy indoor cats don't have an odor. If yours does — they got into something, had a carrier accident at some point, or have a skin condition — a bath before work is worth it.
One note if your cat has never been professionally bathed: don't schedule their first professional bath and Take Your Cat to Work Day on the same week. First baths can be a lot for a cat. Give them a day or two to settle before adding another new experience.
6. Eyes and face
For flat-faced breeds — Persians, Exotic Shorthairs, Himalayans — discharge in the facial folds is normal and needs daily management. A quick wipe with a warm damp cloth before you leave handles it. For any cat: if there's crust around the eyes, clean it before you go. It takes thirty seconds and makes a real difference in how your cat presents.
🐾 Looking for a cat groomer near you?
Browse trusted groomers in Los Angeles, CA or Fort Worth, TX — or jump to our full Himalayan grooming guide if you have one at home. Every listing on the directory is local and actively serving clients.
If it's been more than two or three months since your cat's last professional groom — or if they've never had one — and they're long-haired or showing coat issues, booking an appointment before June 22 is worth a call today.
What a professional grooming appointment covers that a home brush-out doesn't:
Full coat inspection. A trained groomer runs their hands through the entire coat with purpose, checking for mats, skin changes, and anything that shouldn't be there. They find things owners miss.
High-velocity drying. A professional HV dryer blows out dead undercoat at a volume that no brush achieves at home. For a heavy-shedding cat, one professional de-shed session does more than weeks of home brushing.
Nail trim. Done in a couple of minutes by someone who does it all day.
Ear cleaning. Cleaned to a depth that's uncomfortable to manage at home.
A second set of eyes on your cat's health. Groomers notice things — skin texture changes, lumps, unusual thinning — that owners who see their cat every day often miss. It's a real benefit of regular professional appointments, not just marketing.
Ten days is enough lead time for most markets. If your cat has never been professionally groomed before, note that when you book — first appointments can take a little longer while the groomer assesses what your cat needs and what they'll tolerate. Don't schedule it the day before if you can help it.
For the full picture on what happens at a professional grooming appointment, this walkthrough of what to expect covers it from start to finish.
The directory search at catgroomingdirectory.com/search is free for cat owners. Search by city or zip code — 3,000+ listings across all 50 states.
Worth filtering for cat-specific or cat-forward groomers if your cat is anxious or if it's their first time. A groomer who works with cats exclusively, or primarily, handles cats differently than a mixed salon — lower noise levels, no dog proximity, and handling experience that's specific to cats. For a cat who's already going to have a big day out, that context matters.
Does my cat actually need a bath before Take Your Cat to Work Day?
Probably not, unless they have an odor or visible coat issue. Most healthy indoor cats don't need baths more than a couple of times a year. A thorough brush-out handles most situations. If your cat has a skin condition or has gotten into something, that's a different story — but for a generally clean cat, a bath isn't required.
My cat hates the carrier. Does that mean Take Your Cat to Work Day is a bad idea?
Carrier stress is worth taking seriously, but it doesn't automatically mean you shouldn't go. The carrier is often the first link in a stress chain. If you start working on carrier comfort now — leave it out, put a familiar blanket inside, feed your cat near it — you can meaningfully improve the experience by June 22. If your cat genuinely panics in transport even after preparation, this might not be the year for it.
How do I keep my cat calm once we're at the office?
Keep the carrier accessible so they always have somewhere to retreat. Don't let people crowd around them. Ask coworkers to let the cat approach on their terms rather than reaching for them. Watch for stress signals — dilated pupils, flattened ears, tucked tail, panting, or any attempt to hide. If you see those, the day's over for the cat. No explanation needed.
Do I need to bring food, water, and a litter box?
Water, yes. Most cats won't eat much in an unfamiliar place, but bring their usual food anyway. For a visit longer than two or three hours, bring a small portable litter box. Some cats will refuse to use it outside their home environment, but having the option is better than not having it.
Is Take Your Cat to Work Day an official thing?
It's an annual awareness day started in 2005 by Pet Sitters International, originally to drive shelter cat adoptions by getting cats visible in workplaces. It's observed in mid-June each year. The spirit of it has shifted over time from "consider adopting" to "bring your existing cat to work and watch people lose focus for an afternoon." Both outcomes are fine.
My cat is long-haired. Any different advice?
Yes: book the professional appointment. Long-haired cats shed more, mat more, and carry more coat surface area for dander and allergens. A recent professional de-shed before an event like this makes a real difference — both for your cat's comfort and for colleagues who may be mildly allergic. The Maine Coon guide has specifics on double-coat care if your cat has that type of coat, but the principle applies across most long-haired breeds.
Cats are not natural team players. They will not contribute to the agenda, they will not pretend to care about the quarterly numbers, and they may spend the entire afternoon judging your monitor height.
But they are very good at stopping a tense meeting cold, making colleagues laugh without trying, and reminding everyone that something exists outside of whatever's due at end of day.
Get the coat ready. The rest is up to them.