Thunderstorms

How do yours react?

Right now there's a thunderstorm on and Nikita is in the window looking rather baffled at the heavy rain and while she clearly doesn't like the thunder and lightning she doesn't move from her window where she's observing the whole thing.

Part of it might be that since I live in central Edinburgh there are fireworks every day for pretty much all of August every year and from that she's gotten used to the thunder like bangs.

I doubt Scottish thunderstorms are as intense as some that you can get elsewhere though

How do your cats react to thunder and lightning?

I'll tell you if we ever get any

I miss a good Australian coastal thunderstorm...

We live in tornado alley so we get some strong storms. I have 3 cats that do really well with Tornado drills. They let me put them in their carriers and are fairly calm about it.

Last year when we really had to go to tornado cellar I could only get my 2 abyssinians. They were real good while the storm went over. I didn't have my bengal yet but I think she would have done fine too.

It's my older 3 cats that will not cooperate with me during serious storms. It's not that they are scared of the storm, they just don't want any part of the carrier if the storm intensifies and we have to go to cellar.

Frank will spend the whole thing behind the sofa, but then we're yet to find something that doesn't terrify him, poor thing. Max loves them, he'll sit on the window sill with me watching them. But the ones we get in Somerset aren't as good as the ones we get in Plymouth when my boyfriend will drive us down to the beach and we'll watch it coming in.

Forest couldn't care less. Tailer, though, is terrified of them. He hunches down close to the floor, and will sit and cry if I'm not next to him (for some reason DH won't do...it's gotta be me). He'd prefer to be in the bathroom during the storm for some reason, but he can't usually get me to sit in there with him.

My 3 kitties seem to be okay with them, storms don't seem to bother them at all. In fact, a storm is just coming through right now! lol

They get scared more by high-pitched noises, like the other night I screamed b/c I saw a giant centipede in the bathroom And I must have really startled them b/c they went crazy. I felt bad but I didn't mean to scream, it was like an instant shock reaction lol

Gracie is terrified of them, as was her Sister Lizzie.
The second it starts Gracie is in my lap hiding her little head between my side and my arm.
Before Lizzie went to the bridge I would have both of them in my lap.

Annabelle and Elliott aren't bothered by them at all.
I've always wondered if it's because Annabelle and Elliott were strays and were outside during a lot of storms.
We have no idea how long Annabelle was homeless...but she was well on her way to becoming completely feral when I nabbed her.
We brought Elliott in when he was 18 months old and he'd been outside that whole time.
He did however have interaction with people all the time, so no feral in him at all.

Where as Gracie (and Lizzie R.I.P) have never been outside.

I've always wondered if that would make a differance in how they react...guess I'll have to ask the Vet next time we go.

Kairi and Namine are both terrified of them, Namine more than Kairi though. As soon as the first rumble of thunder comes, Namine is scurrying under the bed with her tail between her legs. I always try to talk sweet to her and make sure she knows she's okay. I've never had a cat that was so terrified of storms as she is.

Larry will run from wherever he is and jump on the windowsill and settle in. You know when they tuck their front paws under them? That's what he does...totally relaxed, watching the lightning and not even flinching at the thunder. I flinch more at the thunder than he does.

I'm sure it comes from being born on the streets in Brooklyn and living most of his first year under cars and hiding from people. But thunderstorms? Fearless. It's very funny.

Off topic - Siggav: You live in central Edinburgh? I love Edinburgh!! I spent 4 years there during the month of August doing plays at the Fringe. (I know what you're talking about with the fireworks! ) The flat we rented was at Bruntsfield Place. I miss it. Haven't been back since 2006.

Sorry......now returning everyone to the topic at hand.

my angel c is terrified of them

Oliver hides under the couch or my bed... whichever's closer

He used to hide and stay there for hours, even after the storm... but I had bought a feliway diffuser for 4th of July and now plug it in if I knew we're going to get a storm - he still goes under the couch, but will come out shortly after the storm is done instead of hiding for hours

We had 2 REALLY intense storms in the past week - took down part of a tree in the back yard and I was scared to be anywhere near windows cuz you never know... so I sat in the middle of the living room floor watching tv lol the rain, wind and lightning from those storms is indescribable - I recall the news saying the 2 storms produced something like 75000 lightning strikes in our area

Tonight we have had wave after wave ,of the worst thunder storms I have ever seen. Sometimes they are quiet other times they run under the couch. I wish i could fit under the couch I hate it

My 3 love thunder storms and sit in the window until it's over.

It depends on how intense the storm is. Jamie likes to watch the rain and lightning, but if there are too many really loud claps of thunder he'll get behind a sofa or in his cat tunnel. If I'm home, what he prefers is getting in bed, and lying on my head till the storm is over.

Murray hates them - he reacts by hiding away someplace away from windows - like the bathroom, or in a cupboard.

Simba doesn't like them, either, but as long as he gets someone to sit with him, he's okay (but that is somewhat problematic when storms hit in the middle of the night!).

Wally barely reacts to them. I'm usually more scared than him!

Zane pretty much ignores them.

Christopher Cody and Midnight Sun don't seem to notice. April Joy is a different story, though. She crouches down real low and slinks into the bedroom to hide under the bed. She's even afraid of rain without thunder and lightning.

Off topic: Wally looks a lot like Christopher Cody.

My 3 don't seem to mind thunderstorms at all so far. The lightening and thunder don't bother them, although a really close hit makes them perk up their ears a bit. They are fascinated by heavy rain and seem to enjoy sitting by the patio doors watching it pour.

my cat isnt fazed by them. We have just had a storm and it was the worst storm in 10 years. Sasha liked to sit on the terrace and watch or poke her head out of the ranch slider watching the rain.