Cat Herders Day is observed annually on December 15.
This holiday is for those of us whose life or job is like herding cats.
They seem cute, adorable and innocent. How much trouble can they cause? In general, when describing our lives or our jobs, are they that difficult? No matter how organized we try to be, errant kitties get away. While we are focused on bringing three or four tasks into line, another spills the milk or creates an avalanche of problems. Before we know it, chaos ensues.
In the employment world, we might describe a position challenging to keep filled “like herding cats.”
While the idiom that something impossible is “like herding cats” is a popular saying now, the phrase has relatively recent origins – one story has it that IT expert Dave Platt popularized the phrase when he said that “managing senior programmers is like herding cats”. What we can say is that the phrase is pretty suitable for what it describes. And while cats are independent, solitary, and easily distracted, many humans also share this characteristic. So you may well have to complete tasks that are in fact as difficult as herding cats, even if you’ve never seen or heard of a cat until now. Anyway, we know that Cat Herders’ Day was invented sometime in the last decade, and is basically one of those cheeky holidays that you can celebrate however you want.
Sources:
YouTube/TheMaurycy
