Loud bangs

megra

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 6, 2008
Messages
78
Purraise
3
Location
London, UK
I don't know how many of you in the Americas are familiar with our national celebrations in the UK. If I'm telling you stuff here you already know, forgive me. November 5th is traditionally (since the year 1605) Bonfire Night on which we were exalted by Parliament and the then king, James I, to celebrate the crushing of the Gunpowder Plot. A group of disaffected Catholics had attempted to blow up Parliament when the king was in attendance. There were a number of grisly executions and after that November 5th was a state sanctioned opportunity to be thoroughly anti-Catholic. Over the years this was expressed with bonfires and effigies of Guy Fawkes (the chap who actually lit the fuse) being burned. In the early days, live cats were sometimes sewn into the effigies so that when they burned, the screaming of the poor animals would make the experience more "life-like." Eventually, we became slightly more civilised. We stopped persecuting Catholics and stopped burning cats alive although we still had the bonfires and effigies. To these were added fireworks.

Tonight, being the nearest weekend to November 5th, lots of people have been having bonfire parties with very noisy fireworks and pets throughout the land have been having their annual nervous breakdown. It's all very distressing. Tonight, I have been trying to comfort a deeply upset Thingy who hasn't known what to do with herself. She's tried hiding from the noise but there is no escape. I've opened up my walk in storage area, thinking she might like to creep in there (I found her there the first time we went through this together). I've tried cuddling and stroking her and it has helped but she hasn't been happy. One problem is that people set of their bangs at different times so, just when you think they've finished and all is peace, another party will start up. I doubt that any of the people who have these parties want to make the lives of pets a misery but they do.

I can't imagine how the foxes, squirrels, one other critters manage.
 

nurseangel

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
10,132
Purraise
4,820
Location
1 Happy Place
Oh, my! I can identify. We have something exclusive to our area of North Carolina that they do every New Year's Eve (and it seems like for days and days on end) where a group of people go around shooting black powder guns all over town. I don't know the history of the tradition, but it's supposed to ward off evil spirits or something...what it really does is scares all the animals half to death. Plus it seems to be deer season here and it sounds like the hunters are shooting right in my back yard. (Last year, I heard shooting and ran outside to get my Siamese cat...someone shot again and I literally heard the bullet whistle past my head.) Didn't mean to get off the subject, but what I'm trying to say is that I agree with you about the loud noises, lol.
 

rosiemac

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 3, 2003
Messages
54,358
Purraise
100
Location
ENGLAND... LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY!
Fortunately it wasn't that bad where i live. They were going off for about 2 hours on the 5th then that was it, but my 3 were ok, infact Jack was watching them in the distance from the livingroom window
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

megra

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Nov 6, 2008
Messages
78
Purraise
3
Location
London, UK
Thank heavens that we don't have guns in the UK (not legally at any rate)! Bullets whistling past one's head? I can't imagine. If we had that sort of nonsense here, I'd be fighting Thingy for a hiding place!
 

missymotus

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
9,234
Purraise
254
My cats are strange, they love fireworks and thunderstorms. I live only a few minutes away from where our annual fair is held, 10 days of fireworks and the cats loved it. By the 3rd day they were in the windows at five minutes to nine, waiting for the show to begin.
 

calico2222

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 9, 2004
Messages
7,731
Purraise
41
Location
Over the river and through the woods...
I don't know what to tell you about this year except give Thingy lots of love and safe places to go. But, next year you may want to talk to a vet and get a mild seditive for her. One of our cats, Monster, goes into seizures if she is stressed so for the 4th of July, or any holiday that may stress her out (Christmas dinner, new years, etc) we give her a small dose of valium and she normally sleeps right through everything. I'm sure you can probably get something even milder than valium.
 

margecat

Mentor
Staff Member
Mentor
Joined
Oct 11, 2006
Messages
5,209
Purraise
2,561
My British mother always spoke about Guy Fawkes and a *penny for the Guy* thing, so I know a little about the holiday.


I, myself, am not crazy about fireworks, and I feel sorry for war veterans and pets, etc., who are frightened by them.
 

-_aj_-

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 24, 2008
Messages
10,487
Purraise
61
Location
North East England
my two absolutly loved firework night they sat on my window sills and watched for the rockets and follwed the bangs from one room to another

i love firework night even my mams cat wasnt fussed he sat at my mams back door and watched the fireworks in her garden then jumped on a chair and went to sleep

it was quite a quite night in the south to Roisemac LOL
 

mzjazz2u

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 6, 2003
Messages
10,133
Purraise
4
Location
The Beehave State!
I don't have any advice for you and of course the holiday is over now. But my cats don't seem to be bothered with fireworks much. Thank goodness!
 
Top