Fireworks and anxiety

I'm going to give my 6 feral cats Rescue Remedy for a few days leading up to the 4th of July. I've used it before but not for something this big and loud. I'm hoping it helps because this will be the first year they don't have a place to hide. They used to be able to go under the house when scared but I have a new landlord and they covered the hole up.

I gave my dog benadryl  for the 4th of July and kept the windows closed and turned the TV up. I don't think I would give it to cats.

I have tried all of the above for Artie, for general skittishness at noises.

I found the feliway plus the rescue remedy (drops in food) to help the most with that. 

My neighbors go crazy with the fireworks also. I close all the drapes,  have the TV on~~~Artie still runs under my bed, so scared.

A couple of years ago my Vet gave me some Zyklene capsules. You give them about 20 minutes before the event. I tried it out before the 'main' event. He just zoned out and was peaceful for a while....not badly sedated---just a bit. 

The first time I used it, Artie was so calm..

Last year, I gave one to him early, just as you first heard a firework. Artie stayed on top of my bed! Of course, the flashes bothered him, so I indeed closed the drapes again and put the TV on. 

I would suggest you ask your Vet about it so you can try it before hand, as an experiment to see how sedated they get...

Good luck!

ankitty said:

 
Our neighborhood gets really crazy during 4th of July week. I'm trying to reduce stress level for our cats. What solutions have worked for you? Right now I'm thinking about: staying home and have music on, cover a crate with blankets so that our cats can hide, have a plug-in and spray feliway, try out Thundershirt type clothing (I might make one). I've already talked to our vet and she didn't recommend medicating them, plus fireworks go on for a week so sedating them for that long is not something I want to do. Is there any holistic approach? I've heard other recommendations like, rescue remedy, benadryl. How about herbs? Supplements? 

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I like rescue remedy (for pets) (there is one for humans too so don't confuse them ).  We just finished a remodel, and it worked great.  I just  dosed them in the morning if the workers were coming, and they were good for the day.  then I put on some music and even though the hammering was pretty loud, whenever I waked into their "safe room", they were all just kind of "hanging out"   I consider that a holistic approach since it's made from flower essences.  Also, I'm not sure if I would crate them, but I would definitely provide them with a "hidey hole" where they can run and hide if they choose.  For instance, one of mine likes to  hide in the back corner of our closet when the doorbell rings.  If he were caged and the doorbell rang,he might freak out because he couldn't go to his normal hiding spot.

I've never tried the Thundershirts, but have read good things about them. 

It won't help for this year, but it might well be worth considering training your cats to accept the noise of fireworks etc. My vet sells firework cds (as well as one for other 'scary' sounds). The idea is to play them very, very softly to start with - maybe pairing it with extra yummy treats too - and gradually increase the volume over weeks, or even months. The increase only happens after the cat has been consistently relaxed at the current volume (hope that all makes sense). It's got to be worth a try - I know all too well the misery of a firework - phobic animal (it was a labrador in my case, and she literally used to try and climb into my jumper!), and I wish I'd thought to go through this process with her.

Just a thought

Thank you for your suggestions. I didn't know that Rescue Remedy had pet version. I was wondering if it would be ok to give the alcohol to cats. I'll check it out. Also, thank you for the other ideas. 

I think it IS ok to give the human version, but the animal version is just easier to give...mine always balked at taking the human kind because apparently it doesn't taste a good.   I suppose with those great sniffers the yhave, they can smell the alcohol or something.  All I know is I no issues at all getting them to eat treats with the PET version on them  (although it takes 4 drops, so I had to use more than one treat )

You cannot give the Human version of Rescue Remedy to cats.. It is because of  the Alcohol!! It is not good for them....please do not even try!!

Thanks

I beg to differ artiemom . I have a friend who's trained in Bach's Flower Remedies, and she's told me there really is no problem with using the human forms. The alcohol consumed is a tiny amount, even for a cat. I will say, though, that her preferred administration method is to 'medicate' the water. When used in this way, the alcohol is so dilute as to be negligible.

Rescue remedy is amazing. We used Feliway which did the job but not as effectively as rescue remedy. You can spray it on their chest directly too. Comes in plug ins and sprays. Good luck

Ok----I stand corrected... It was from what I read---and I read a lot!!      Guess I do not know everything!! LOL!    

I cannot use it in water, as Artie rarely drinks any...maybe that is where I was getting confused......   very easy to confuse me/.....

:lol3: As you know, I confuse easily too

I SWEAR by Spirit Essences Stress Stopper. My boy used to run if you even sneezed, but I started using stress stopper and he is about as chill as it gets now. There's been a lot of very loud remodeling around my apartment complex lately and he's completely cool with it. Also, it seems to work almost right away, so that's nice.