Ashton: Are you and your cat ready for the fourth of July fireworks? I am! Newton is afraid of thunder but I am not afraid thunder or fireworks. Living near theme parks that have fireworks every night has taught me that they aren’t scary. But lots of you don’t live in places where you are used to those kinds of noises.
So while your humans are making potato salad and counting to be sure they have enough hot dogs for tomorrow’s Independence Day cookout, don’t forget that animal shelters around the country are preparing for their busiest day of the year for lost animals. Cats and dogs, afraid of the noise of fireworks, panic and flee. Remember, our hearing is so much better than yours. That’s why you can never open a treat jar without my hearing it. But it also means that fireworks several miles away that don’t sound so loud to you can be really loud and scary to your cat.
I’m may not be afraid of fireworks, but I’m afraid of lots of other things, and I know awful it is to be really scared of things that you can’t get away from. Most cats will try to hide at home from the noise. But some cats can become so afraid that they do things out of character, like breaking through screens on windows or running through open doors in their panic to try to get away from the terrifying noises. That’s dangerous for everyone.
What can you to do be ready for tomorrow night’s fireworks?
Make sure your cat (and dog, if you have one) are indoors before dusk to be sure they aren’t caught outside when the fireworks begin. If you have calming spray or pheromone plug-ins, it’s a good idea to use them in the house to make it a less scary place. Some of the wall plug-ins may take hours for the scent to distribute through the room where they are, so plan ahead.
At nightfall, close the windows and curtains to help muffle the sounds from outdoors, and turn on some soothing music. Be aware of doors and make sure they are securely shut. If you have a lot of people over for a barbecue before the fireworks, it’s not unusual for people to run in and out of the house to go into the kitchen. Make sure external doors shut completely to keep out the noise, and also make sure that anyone who has to enter or exit after dark is aware that they should shouldn’t let four-legged friends follow them outside during the fireworks display.
Have a comforting place to hide when it gets loud. Your humans should know where you like to hide. They shouldn’t try to block you from your favorite spot under the bed or in the closet or make you come out when you don’t want to. I feel much safer in the closet, and it’s OK if you do, too.
Make sure that you have on identification in case you do escape. It’s best to have a microchip, but even if you don’t, a collar with a name and phone number could help you find your way home if you bolt out of the house and become disoriented. (Always make sure that your collar is a breakaway style for safety in case it gets caught.)
With just a little bit of care and preplanning, the fourth of July can be a less scary experience for everyone!
References
Fireworks, RSPCA
Photo courtesy Colink on Flickr
Great advice for those guardians that don’t know. Thanks for posting it!
Great advices ! We keep them under the paw for our 4th of July, which takes place on the 1st of August in Switzerland ! Purrs
Great post!
I must admit, I quite like fireworks and I don’t run and hide. But I’m an indoor cat so I just watch from the window or get on with my napping! As an English cat there will be no 4th of July celebration for me, but we do have Guy Fawkes’ night on 5th November.
Have a happy and safe 4th of July!
Purrs xx
Athena
I told my human she has to stay home on the Fourth! I hope she obeys me – she actually might since we live in a high fire hazard zone, and this holiday is a big one for fires.
Thank u. 🙂
what a great post…
We won’t have this problem until around November 5th but Mum won’t let us out in the evenings when it is dark early anyway. We hope you all have a fun 4th of July.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
Good, informative post! We won’t be having any fireworks on the 4th of July but we will have lots of them at the end of the Muslim fasting month. Mommy makes sure to close off access to the catio (just.in.case we try to dig out way through the netting – which is really pretty impossible but Mommy doesn’t take any chances), then shut all the doors and turn on the TV to keep out as much of the booming as possible.
There will be fire-boomers tonight. We’ll be UTB! (Actually, they don’t really bother us much.)
Thanks for posting this! My hubby and I are hermits so we will be in with the kitties.
This will be Truffles’ first 4th with me so I’ll be interested to see how she handles it. I’ll be home with her and the drone of the AC should drown out much of the noise, so I predict that all will be well 🙂
Mommy loves on me when they booms start! xxoox
Great advice! Sometimes we forget how our pets will react,
Unfortunately closing the windows is not an option for us. It’s going to be pretty warm and we don’t have air conditioning. We’ll see what happens.
We don’t like those fireworks and since they are legal here they have been going on into the wee hours of the morning, night after night.
We had no idea that many cats and dogs escaped over a July 4th. This is excellent advise and we hope no one gets lost over this weekend.
Always good to be prepared and help pets get through what can be a trying day.
–Purrs (and wags) from Life with Dogs and Cats
We had no idea the 4th was the biggest night for lost animals. That is really sad that people don’t think ahead and secure their pets, and make them feel comfortable.
Excellent information!
Apparently folks around here get so excited over this holiday that they start days early and end days after! We don’t like the noise. 🙁
I don’t like loud noises and when I here them I go under the duvet on the bed.
Hear not here! I need a new typist who can spell.
Seriouslies? You guys are, like, not bothered by them? Neither iis Maxie but we think he would be if he coudl HEAR them. Hrmpf.
Good advices. I’m not scared of any fireworks or any loud noises outside the house. I’m only scared when they throw wood planks down in the common hall before move-ins/move-outs.