A friend's birthday is in a group chat from years ago. Your aunt's is on a card in a drawer. Your parents' anniversary is somewhere in your head. When the dates sit in different places, it's easy to think of them a day late. This guide covers what to write down for each person, and how to keep everyone in one list with Birthday Cat, our birthday and anniversary list for iPhone and iPad.
What to note for each person
For every birthday or anniversary, you need three things:
- The name. For an anniversary, both names, like "Mum and Dad".
- The day and month. That's enough for the date and the countdown.
- The year, if you know it. With the year, you see the age they turn, or the years together for an anniversary. Without it, you still get the day.
Then decide how early you want to hear about it. On the day is enough for a message. A week or two before gives you time for a card or a present.
Add them to Birthday Cat
- Open Birthday Cat and tap Add, the + button at the top right. On an empty list there's also an Add a birthday button in the middle.
- Type the name in Name.
- Pick Birthday or Anniversary. For an anniversary, the name field says Names, like Mum and Dad.
- Under Birthday (or Anniversary), pick the Month and the Day. A new entry starts on today's date.
- Pick the Year, or leave it on Not sure. For an anniversary this row is called Since. The line under it tells you what you'll see, like "Turns 31 in 139 days."
- Under Remind me, tap the days you want: On the day, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks or 30 days. You can pick more than one. A new entry starts on the day and 1 week before. Tap them all off for no reminders.
- Tap Add.
Repeat for each person. There's no limit on how many you add, and it's free.
A birthday on 29 February falls on 28 February in years without one.
Read the list
The black panel at the top shows who's next: the name, the date, the age they turn (if you added the year) and the days to go. On the day itself it says Today. If others share the day, it says how many, like "+ 1 more that day".
Below it, Coming up lists everyone with the soonest first. Each row shows the date and the age they turn, like "12 March · turns 31", or the years together for an anniversary, like "35 years together". The number on the right is the days to go. Anniversaries have a small heart on their circle.
On iPhone, tap a row to change anything, then tap Save. To remove someone, tap them, then Delete. Birthday Cat asks first and tells you their reminders stop too. You can also swipe a row away in the list.
On iPad, the list sits on the left, and the person you pick shows on the right with their day, their reminders and their gift ideas. Tap Edit at the top right to change them.
Reminders on the day or days before
Reminders are notifications on your iPhone at 9:00 in the morning, like "Ana's birthday is in 7 days", with the date, and the age they turn if you added the year. Birthday Cat asks for permission the first time you save someone with a reminder, not when you first open it. If you say no, you get no reminders, and the list still works. The list shows a note if reminders are set but notifications are off.
iOS only holds a limited number of planned notifications for each app. So Birthday Cat plans the soonest ones ahead, up to 60 at a time, and plans again each time you open it or change the list. It also asks iOS for a refresh in the background, but iOS decides if and when that runs. Open the app now and then to keep the reminders coming.
Gift ideas
Each person has a Gift ideas section. Tap Add an idea, type it, and tap Done on the keyboard, then Add or Save. The first open idea shows in the black panel when that person is next, and the row shows how many ideas are open.
When you give one, tap the circle beside it. It's crossed out and marked with the year, like "Given 2026", and it stays in the list, so you can see what you gave before. Swipe an idea away to delete it. Birthday Cat doesn't suggest gifts or link to shops. The ideas are only what you type.
Print or share the list
Tap Print or share, the printer button at the top left, to print the birthday list or a year calendar, or to share either as a PDF. For what's on each page, see how to make a printable birthday calendar.
What Birthday Cat doesn't do
- It doesn't find birthdays by itself. In the free app you type each one in.
- It doesn't send messages, cards or presents. It tells you when the day is coming, and the rest is yours.
- It can't promise a notification. iOS decides what's shown, and reminders need notifications allowed for Birthday Cat.
- It doesn't sync between devices. Your list is kept on the device you add it on.
What it costs
Birthday Cat is free for as many birthdays and anniversaries as you have, with reminders on the day and days before, ages and countdowns, gift ideas, and the birthday list and year calendar to print or share. There's no account and no ads. Your dates are kept on your device and in your own backups, and go only where you share them.
Birthday Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase that adds import from Contacts, groups like Work or Family to show one at a time, your own reminder time for each person, CSV import and export, and three more print layouts. More on the Birthday Cat page.
Quick answers
Can Birthday Cat get birthdays from my Contacts?
With Pro, yes. It reads names, birthdays and anniversaries once, when you tap Import from Contacts, and shows them before anyone is added. The free app is typed in by hand.
What if I don't know someone's birth year?
Leave the year on Not sure. You still get the date, the countdown and the reminders. Add the year later to see the age.
Can I pick the time a reminder goes out?
Free reminders go out at 9:00. A different time for each person is part of Pro.
Does it do anniversaries too?
Yes. Pick Anniversary, and it counts the years together instead of an age.
Try Birthday Cat
Try Birthday Cat: free, no ads, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/birthday-cat