Activities, enrichments, and caretaker chats highlight the Zoo’s feline family members on Saturday, July 5, 2025.
Cats of all sizes will be “feline” the love at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden during International Cat Day, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday, July 5, 2025.
The Zoo’s Carnivore Department has planned plenty of informative and engaging experiences for guests and cats alike to enjoy. Starting at 9:30 a.m., guests at Lion Overlook can learn about cheetah anatomy and how their unique adaptations make them the fastest land animals on Earth, followed by a caretaker chat at 10 a.m. about the Zoo’s beloved pride of African lions. In the Small Cat Interpretation Center, guests can test their cat vocalization knowledge at the Press and Guess table. Multiple buttons will play a variety of recorded cat vocalizations, showcasing the feline members of the Zoo’s animal family. At the jaguar habitat, guests can paint rosettes on a jaguar silhouette before it’s used in an enrichment activity for the Zoo’s female jaguar Zia, followed by a caretaker chat at 11:30 a.m.
“When people celebrate the cats in our care, it can provide a sense of accomplishment and hope; accomplishment because we've achieved our goal of connecting people to wildlife and wild places, and hope, because there's a chance we've educated and inspired guests to take their love of wildlife and wild places one step further,” said OKC Zoo’s Curator of Carnivores, Tyler Boyd. “Of course, we're here to ensure these animals have the best possible lives we can provide, but we want to inspire people to have that same passion that leads them to doing more for wildlife and the habitats they call home.”
Guests will have the opportunity to support the Zoo’s conservation initiatives by purchasing a conservation wristband, or taking advantage of the Oklahoma Zoological Society’s Plush for a Purpose adoptions. Those who make a $25 or more donation to conservation will receive a tiger plush. The Zoo will also be distributing free water bottles courtesy of Shape Your Future, a program of TSET, to guests while supplies last.
Through Sunday, July 6, the Oklahoma City Zoo is partnering with Nickelodeon and Paramount+ to host the Dora’s Treasure Hunt experience in the Zoo’s Cat Forest to celebrate the upcoming Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado movie. Complete their Dora branded treasure map activity sheet, learn about wildlife and wild places, and turn in finished sheet at the Zoo’s Guest Service office, located in the entry plaza, for a prize from the Dora treasure box! One prize per completed treasure map activity sheet.
The Oklahoma City Zoo’s regular daytime hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with the last entry at 4 p.m. Now through Labor Day, ZOOfriends members can enter early at 8:30 a.m. to beat the heat. Avoid the entry lines and purchase advance Zoo admission tickets online at okczoo.org/tickets. Located at the crossroads of I-44 and I-35, the OKC Zoo is a proud member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the American Alliance of Museums, and Oklahoma City’s Adventure District.
Stay connected with the Zoo on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, Linktree and TikTok, and by visiting our blog stories. Zoo more with a ZOOfriends membership! As a ZOOfriends member of the Oklahoma City Zoo, enjoy free admission for 12-months, plus additional benefits and discounts. You will also be supporting the Zoo’s animal family, education programming, and conservation initiatives both locally and globally. Join or renew today at www.okczoo.org/membership.