Welcome to the Daily Quote – a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, for August 8th.

Today is a tough one... so many good holidays to choose from. It's International beer day for one. And I can definitely celebrate some international beers. Its also Happiness Happens Day and National Tarantula Appreciation Day! These are great holidays worthy of recognition on the Daily Quote for sure.

With all these great contenders I bet your wondering which one won. Well none of them because...
Today is International Cat Day, and if you're a cat owner, you already know that every day is basically cat day in your house anyway. But today makes it official – a global celebration of our feline friends and their mysterious, wonderful ways.

And honestly, it's about time cats got their due recognition. I can't believe I just said that!

But here's what's remarkable about cats – they teach us something profound about independence, self-respect, and the art of being comfortable in your own skin.

Plus they go to the washroom in little boxes with wood pellets in them. All by themselves... automatically. They just do it. Amazing.

Which brings us to today's quote from Ernest Hemingway, who was famously a cat lover and once said:

"A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not."

Hemingway understood something essential about cats that many of us could learn from. Cats don't pretend. They don't fake enthusiasm, they don't laugh at jokes that aren't funny, and they certainly don't stick around if they're not interested in your company.

When a cat purrs, they mean it. When they walk away from you, they mean that too. When they bring you a dead mouse at 3 AM – well, that's their version of a love letter, whether you appreciate it or not.

There's something refreshing about that level of authenticity in a world where we're often encouraged to be diplomatic, to smooth over our real feelings, to be polite even when we're frustrated.

Think about it – cats have mastered the art of setting boundaries. They'll come to you when they want affection, and they'll retreat when they need space. They don't feel guilty about their needs, and they don't apologize for being who they are.

I used to hate cats. I think I can trace this back to my cousins cat when I was a kid. I woke up at their house one summer and his cat was on the bed. I reached out to pet it and scratched me across the face. After that and a couple other incidents I decided cats were evil assholes. I even went so far as to wear a pin that said "I hate cats" with a picture of a cat with cross hairs on it.

I got in many friendly arguments with one of my best friends the late great Ian Cooper who was a genuine cat lover. I said dogs are better... he disagreed.

Years later we had a serious mouse problem in a townhouse we were living in and we decided to get cats. Not that my views had changed. I just disliked mice more.But the cats turned out to be pretty cool and not just because they quickly solved the mouse problem. They had their own personalities and were pretty cool.

Needless to say when my friend Ian saw on facebook that I actually liked our cats he said... "I knew this day would come" But just for the record, I do admit cats are cool BUT dogs are still better!So today, whether you have a cat, love cats, or just admire them from afar, take a lesson from Hemingway's observation. And try a little more emotional honesty in your own life. Maybe that means speaking up when something bothers you, or allowing yourself to show genuine enthusiasm when something excites you.

Be a little more like a cat – authentic, self-respecting, and unafraid to ask for what you need.That's going to do it for today.

I'm Andrew McGivern, signing off for now, but I'll be back tomorrow – same pod time, same pod station – with another Daily Quote.