• by Tanya Gazdik , February 18, 2015

Mars Petcare’s Sheba brand is donating millions of cans of food to animal shelters nationwide in honor of the National Random Acts of Kindness Day.

The company has already donated 2 million cans and will donate an additional 1 million cans -- one for every share, view or like of a video showing how happy the cats at one of the shelters were about receiving the initial donation through partner organization Rescue Bank.

Consumers are encouraged to use the hashtags #ShebaGives and #RAK. National Random Acts of Kindness Day was Feb. 17.

The need for food donations to support cats in shelters is almost as strong as it is for dogs, but cat rescue groups receive about one tenth as much food as their canine counterparts do, says Elizabeth Asher, executive director, Rescue Bank. Sheba’s donation will help save rescue organizations money that can be applied to vet care to help make the cats more adoption ready.

This is the Sheba brand's first time doing a Random Acts of Kindness Day initiative, says Arren Beach, Sheba brand manager.

“While Random Acts of Kindness Day was the kickoff for this initiative, cat lovers can still get involved and help donate up to 1 million additional cans by liking, sharing or viewing this Sheba video,” Beach tells Marketing Daily. “We were excited to do something special for cats across the country and show our appreciation for the love shelters give animals every day.”