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Fireworks and a scared cat..

post #1 of 15
7/5/11 at 6:53am
Thread Starter 
So, last night I came home from my sister's BBQ, and I could not find Monet ANYWHERE. He usually comes running to greet me when I come home (or delayed if he was sound asleep in the bedroom). When he did not come or make a peep, naturally I got scared.

Keep in mind, I live in a 2-room apartment and really not a whole lot of place for him to hide. I know all his hiding spots, and he was not in any of them. I thought I might've locked him in a closet by accident, he wasn't there. He wasn't under the bed (or in the box of the bed). He wasn't hiding in the tub or behind the toilet. After 15 minutes of searching, I was ready to check outside, thinking maybe the apartment manager came in for some reason and left the door open.. nearly in tears thinking I lost my baby!

...until I saw my pillow move. He had wedged himself inside the pillowcase, under the pillow. He was shaking like a leaf and jumped each time a firework went off outside.

I never expected him to be so scared of fireworks, since nothing seemed to frighten this kit. I could drop a light bulb behind him and he wouldn't flinch.

ALL night, he stayed inside the pillow case, refusing to come out, no matter what.

This morning, he was very skittish and not himself. He was very unsure about eating his food, but I guess hunger won out in the end.

I only have experience with frightened dogs and I know they usually spring back in the mornings when its over. But not cats.

Is there anything I can do to help him relax when it comes to fireworks? I expect there to be more in the next few days and/or this coming weekend. I hate to see him so scared!
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post #2 of 15
7/5/11 at 7:13am
Poor baby! According to many sites I've read, most cats (& dogs) are deathly afraid of fireworks and more pets are "lost" during 4th of July because of the noise of the fireworks. I'm glad Monet was inside at least so you didn't have to worry about that!

To help in the next couple of days, play the radio when you're not there. Some nice soothing classical music would work. Spend lots of time comforting Monet, not necessarily holding or petting, but talking calmly and soothingly. Try not to make sudden moves or loud noises. Interact using a feather toy or wand toy to draw him out.
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post #3 of 15
7/5/11 at 7:28am
Bach's Rescue Remedy is great. I have to use it on my dog for fireworks and thunder and I have had to use it for my kitties when they have been stressed.

Normally I just add some on their paws and and ears, without having to administer internally and that has always worked for me.

Recently, I had a freshly neutered rescue tom cat inside my bathroom and my kitties were severely stressed.

I had read about defusing it into the room. I didnt have a diffuser, so I added several drops of the rescue remedy to boiling water and let it steam into the room. I did have to repeatedly heat the water so it would continue to steam. It seriously took the edge off of my babies, quicker than when I put it on their paws and ears.

Eventually, when the water would cool, they would even take little drinks of the water.

It was a miracle in this house because 2 of my babies were at a level of stress I had never seen in them. I highly recommend this.

Sending so many vibes that way for you baby. Its so hard to see them so stressed
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post #4 of 15
7/5/11 at 7:32am
I can never totally enjoy the 4th of July for this reason. I live less than a mile from downtown where the big city boomers go off and though I have a wonderful view of it I dread it. Last night was Turtle's first experience with it at her new home and she spent the whole time curled up under my tee-shirt. I had already plugged in a few feliways a head of time and just spent the night comforting her. That's all I knew how to do...
When the fireworks were over and the rowdy neighbors calmed down, she was okay. For a cat who's so bold in may ways I noticed before that she got spooked by little things; like a sprinkling of rain outside, nothing like thunder or lightning, just a little rain. So I didn't know what to expect.
Poor Monet I think will be okay. Just give him lots of love and attention...
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post #5 of 15
7/5/11 at 7:36am
Lucy hates fireworks and thunder. I have learned with her to just let her find a place that she feels safe (the basement) and let her come out when she's ready. I agree with the advice to play soothing music. Harp music is supposed to be very soothing for cats. Also, talk or read to Monet in a quiet voice. He should come around soon.
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post #6 of 15
7/5/11 at 7:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pami View Post
Bach's Rescue Remedy is great. I have to use it on my dog for fireworks and thunder and I have had to use it for my kitties when they have been stressed.
Sending so many vibes that way for you baby. Its so hard to see them so stressed
OMG! Can you believe this? I actually have some of this and completely forgot about using it!!! Good Grief!! Turtle's mama has a lot to learn...
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post #7 of 15
7/5/11 at 7:40am
Thread Starter 
thanks for the advice, everyone! I've never heard of Bach's Rescue Remedy. I'll have to look into it

I am at work now, and I am anxious to go home for lunch to see how he's doing. I hope he's more back to his old self. I will turn on the radio when I leave again for work. Last night I was talking to him in bed (him on his side, me on mine) and I was trying hard not to pet him since he'd flinch when I do. I couldn't tell if my talking helped or not.

Thunder does not faze him.. just fireworks apparently. We get enough storms around here that I guess he's used to it. I really did not think it'd scare him so much!
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post #8 of 15
7/5/11 at 7:55am
Oddly enough, Holland - the cat who is afraid of everything - is unfazed by fireworks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Draco View Post
He had wedged himself inside the pillowcase, under the pillow.
Holland hides in pillowcases too. Like you, I was panicking the first time she did it, because who would think to look in the pillowcase?

I hope Monet is better today, poor little guy!
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post #9 of 15
7/5/11 at 8:22am
My daughter's friend had a dog who was killed Saturday night. They were in the yard watching fireworks. The dog got scared, ran away, and was hit by a car. It can be a serious problem for animals who are exposed to the noise and excitement. I live in the country away from everything, so I haven't given it much thought until this year and the report of the dog. I hope nobody here had that much of a negative experience.
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post #10 of 15
7/5/11 at 10:59am
Poor kitty.

Jasper was just a nervous wreck yesterday. We only had 1 family over- 3 kids and a mom and the kids were 13,8,8. But he still refused to come out at all when they were there. He hid behind the TV in our room, and we had no idea that he hid there and looked for hours for the silly thing.

He doesn't like fireworks either. He was sleeping under a bush out front when they started, and I didn't even have to go get him- he RAN inside and hid.

Sneaky and Holly aren't fond of them either, but at least they don't hide in fear when they go off.

Rescue Remedy huh? Would it help with spraying? Jasper has gotten a lot better with that. Though he gets nervous when we shut the bedroom door at night (I'd kind of like a little privacy sometimes ) so I'm figuring that's why I've found a couple of places in the morning where he's sprayed. He couldn't get into the bedroom and got nervous.
Cheryl
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post #11 of 15
7/5/11 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by blueyedgirl5946 View Post
My daughter's friend had a dog who was killed Saturday night. They were in the yard watching fireworks. The dog got scared, ran away, and was hit by a car. It can be a serious problem for animals who are exposed to the noise and excitement. I live in the country away from everything, so I haven't given it much thought until this year and the report of the dog. I hope nobody here had that much of a negative experience.
Oh no, poor thing! I also hear 4th of july is common for "lost" and injured animals.

I am glad to say that I came home and Monet was his perky self again. I left the TV on anyway for him and will take extra steps tonight, incase they shoot fireworks again.
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post #12 of 15
7/5/11 at 1:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sneakymom View Post
Poor kitty.

Jasper was just a nervous wreck yesterday. We only had 1 family over- 3 kids and a mom and the kids were 13,8,8. But he still refused to come out at all when they were there. He hid behind the TV in our room, and we had no idea that he hid there and looked for hours for the silly thing.

He doesn't like fireworks either. He was sleeping under a bush out front when they started, and I didn't even have to go get him- he RAN inside and hid.

Sneaky and Holly aren't fond of them either, but at least they don't hide in fear when they go off.

Rescue Remedy huh? Would it help with spraying? Jasper has gotten a lot better with that. Though he gets nervous when we shut the bedroom door at night (I'd kind of like a little privacy sometimes ) so I'm figuring that's why I've found a couple of places in the morning where he's sprayed. He couldn't get into the bedroom and got nervous.
Cheryl
Here is some info on Rescue Remedy. If he sprays when he is upset, this settles their emotional balance, so it will probably help him. It's flower essence.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/26...rescue-remedy/
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post #13 of 15
7/5/11 at 3:33pm
It was crazy at the shelter today, with every animal control officer bringing in truckload after truckload of stray dogs, and the phone constantly ringing with people calling about their lost dogs.

This is when microchipping pays off. We were able to tell a number of people that their pet was already at the shelter.
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post #14 of 15
7/5/11 at 4:29pm
I don't know if this applies to cat psychology, but something interesting I learned about dogs is that too many people try to apply human psychology to dogs with disastrous results.

The dog is very frightened by the fireworks and possibly sensing the human's concern about the fireworks effect on the dog, and then when the dog is in that state of fear, the human reinforces that this is the proper state of mind to be in by trying to console the dog giving it positive reinforcement that fear is validated by its alpha and good. Others have also said that consoling the dog can seem to a dog like YOU are trying to seek comfort/safety from him since you make yourself small and talk softly and what not, and that can just be perceived as his or her alpha having gone weak and sapping that sense of security from its strong alpha as well making things that much worse.

So the lesson is to project confidence and strength and complete indifference to the noise, and the dog then picks up on that and gets out of the escalating state of fear and looks to you for strength and example of how to act.

With my limited personal experience with my two cats, sometimes they drop something that makes a loud noise and get frightened and poof up. But if I don't respond at all to it and just ignore it like nothing happened, they chillax and tails go right back to unpuffed and upright.
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post #15 of 15
7/5/11 at 6:33pm
awwwwPoor baby my cat frightened by the fireworks to
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