Cat videos on the big screen: CatVideoFest hits NL

Cat lovers can celebrate International Cat Day on Thursday by going to watch cat videos on the big screen in six Dutch cities. This is the first year that Dutch cinemas are participating in the international CatVideoFest.

Cinemas in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Groningen, Leeuwarden and Hilversum are taking part in this international festival celebrating the hero of the internet, Het Parool reports. Visitors will see an around 70 minutes-long compilation of funny or cute (or both) cat videos and animations.

CatVideoFest is hosted by cinemas around the world. They donate part of the proceeds to local animal welfare organizations.

People in Amsterdam can attend CatVideoFest at the Filmhallen at 4:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The cinema will announce which charity the proceeds from the event will be donated to during the showing.

The reason that cats are much bigger stars online than dogs is because cats make better slapstick comedy actors, Maarten Reesink, television scientist and lecturer in Animal Studies at the University of Amsterdam, said to EditieNL. "There are plenty of dog videos, but cats still win. We like looking at cute animals. Animals that look like our babies with their big heads and eyes and little noses, their round shape and some hair. Dogs have that too, but whatever cats do - sitting or jumping on, under, behind things - happens in seconds. That is much more fun for an online snack than a dog that is chasing after prey for hours."

The search term 'cat videos' gets more hits on Google than 'dog videos', according to RTL Nieuws. Cat gifs are also more popular than dog gifs. But there are more dogs than cats among the 50 most popular animal accounts on Instagram.