National Garfield Day

June 19th is a big day for anyone who enjoys animated cats: it’s National Garfield Day! This grumpy orange feline has won the hearts of millions with his grumpy, sarcastic, unimpressed ‘purrsonality.’ A vet discusses this lasagna-loving feline in this article.

H  istory

Why is June 19th is National Garfield Day? It’s his birthday! The little orange ball of cynicism was born in the kitchen of Mamma Leoni’s Italian Restaurant in 1978.  Of course, he immediately developed a lifelong lasagna craving. The kitten ate so much that the owner of the restaurant, faced with going out of business, had to sell the food-loving furball to a pet store. Fortunately, cartoonist (and lifelong nerd) Jon Arbuckle adopted Garfield. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Friends And Enemies

Although Garfield has always been the star of the show, he’s had many co-stars over the years. That list includes Arlene, his crush; Odie, Jon’s slobbery, eternally gullible dog; a mouse named Floyd; Nermal, also known as the World’s Cutest Kitten; Pooky, Garfield’s beloved teddy bear; and, of course, his vet, Liz, with whom Jon is hopelessly in love. This fluffy (okay, he’s actually just fat) orange furball also has a few enemies. Given the options, we suspect that Garfield would probably list Nermal and Odie as his main nemeses. However, he has also found himself at odds with trees, raisins, the occasional spider, screen doors, several dogs, and, of course, every Monday ever.

Rising Star

Garfield became a worldwide sensation in the 80’s. He soon made the leap from comic strips to TV, starring in The Garfield Show, Garfield Originals, and Garfield’s Halloween , to name just a few. The somewhat ambitious kitty released his first book, Garfield at Large, in 1980, and made the leap to the silver screen in 2004 with Garfield: The Movie. The flabby tabby has been voiced by the beloved actor Bill Murray. Garfield was also once the subject of the biggest Macy’s parade float ever. In the ‘90s, he got his own amusement park ride at Kennywood in West Miffin, PA. In 2011, he launched his own musical! Currently, the orange ball of sarcasm holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s most syndicated comic strip. Not bad for a cat that spends most of his time snoozing!

Is your cat obese, lazy, mouthy, and/or orange? Does your feline buddy torment innocent house spiders or like cuddling teddy bears? Reach out to us, your pet clinic!