TODAY is International Cat Day - a day devoted to the recognition and veneration of one of humanity's oldest and most beloved pets.

The festivities were put together for the first time in 2002 by IFAW, the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Kirsty Jepson, a Dalton mother-of-three, often works round the clock to help feral cats, kittens and any strays who are brought to her to foster.

She said: "I love cats, especially stray and feral ones because they seem to appreciate you more.

"They are great, and with the love you give them they come out their shell."

She has recently taken in a feral called Chad. She said: "He is not gaining weight like we would hope but he is a fighter."

<!--[if lte IE 8]> <div style="width: 100%; background: red; border: 1px black; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; color: #fff; text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px"> Sorry, you are using an unsupported browser. This page will not display correctly. <br /> <a href="http://www.whatbrowser.org" style="color: #fff;" target="_blank"> Please click here to upgrade to a newer browser. </a> </div> <![endif]--> <script src="https://embed-398257.secondstreetapp.com/Scripts/dist/embed.js" data-ss-embed="promotion" data-opguid="558f756f-1ac2-4b2b-a8fb-60d4bf2443c0" data-routing="hash">/**/</script>

Owning a cat has been shown to improve mental health and to relieve stress, anxiety and depression.

So when it’s raining cats and dogs outside and you don’t have someone to cuddle with, any black, ginger, Persian, Siamese, Burmese, Bengal, shorthair, munchkin, Balinese, ragamuffin or any old stray cat is sure to do the trick.

Feral cats are often known for not being too tolerant of children, however, Miss Jepson says she has found the complete opposite to be the case.

She said: "Cats give back what you give to them. They are amazing, good fun, they play with you and they cuddle."