It's almost time for fire works! Keep your pets inside cats will be scared and might run away to get as far away as possible and hide
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Reminder for pet lovers: Fireworks!
- Thread starter maggie101
- Start Date
Thanks very much for posting this reminder.
My indoor cats are indoor only. They're young, and in the last three or four ends of the year, they showed to be a little upset and scared by fire works and bangers.
My outdoors cats are outdoor only, and every year they get really scared, frightened to death I would say, and run away and stay away for hours. I have no means to keep them inside, they would be scared as well, they hate to be indoors.
Every year I pray to see them back the next morning.
Thanks for the reminder. I wish we shouldn't need this.
My outdoors cats are outdoor only, and every year they get really scared, frightened to death I would say, and run away and stay away for hours. I have no means to keep them inside, they would be scared as well, they hate to be indoors.
Every year I pray to see them back the next morning.
Thanks for the reminder. I wish we shouldn't need this.
Luckily in my state of WV in the US there is only fireworks in July. My state just doesn’t do fireworks for new years. But even in July my boys are inside as they are indoor cats. When I know fireworks will happen I close the windows and make sure they have plenty of distractions. The strays outside have my enclosed back porch to escape to if they want.
I also wanna add if you have dogs too keep them protected as well! I have 2 cats & 1 dog inside I do what I can to make sure they don’t get scared during fireworks.
I also wanna add if you have dogs too keep them protected as well! I have 2 cats & 1 dog inside I do what I can to make sure they don’t get scared during fireworks.
One thing about animals and fireworks is that they behave according to the way their humans respond to fireworks.
The sound of fireworks is annoying to cats and dogs because their hearing is so sensitive. Even the sound of heavy rain can hurt a cat's ears. To a human, rain sounds like a gentle pitter-patter on the roof. To a cat, it probably sounds like a million marbles being dropped into a frying pan. I don't blame a cat for shying a way from loud sounds like that. They certainly should seek shelter, trying to get away from sounds they don't like. If it's the sound of fireworks, I certainly encourage people to look after their cats in order to protect their ears and keep them from getting upset.
However, when I was a kid, my father used to train hunting dogs and one of the things he did was to acclimate the dogs to the sound of gunfire. A hunting dog that shies at the sound of gunfire won't be a good hunter. Will it?
My father's method of "gun-breaking" a dog was to use a starter's pistol. (A small handgun that fires blanks.) He would start by standing ten or twenty feet away from the dog and firing the pistol, up in the air, when the dog wasn't looking. When the dog reacted, he would give it lots of reassurance and petting until it calmed down. He would repeat the process at closer and closer distances until the dog got used to the sound of the gun. Eventually, after several trials, the dog would learn to stay "steady to wing and shot."
On the other hand, we had a Miniature Schnauzer as our family pet and he would always shy away from the sound of guns or fireworks. First, the dog was never gun-broke like the other dogs were. (Progressive exposure.) More importantly, my mother used to freak out when she heard fireworks, thinking the sound would scare the dog. As it turned out, the dog reacted more to my mother's anxiety than to the loud sounds but she just assumed that the dog was solely scared of the fireworks.
I tested that theory, one time, when I was outside with the dog and I lit off a firecracker when he wasn't looking. I was a good fifty feet away, or more. It was only a regular "lady finger" style of firecracker and I only lit one, just to test the dog's reaction. The dog did flinch at the sound and he turned to look in my direction but, once he figured out what was going on, he went back about his business like nothing happened. On the other hand, whenever my mother was around, she'd yell, "Don't shoot fireworks! You'll scare the dog!" Whenever that happened, the dog would shiver and whimper then he'd run to my mother and cower.
It was very clear that the dog wasn't actually afraid of fireworks or other loud sounds. I'm not saying that loud sounds didn't bother his ears or startle him. That's patently obvious. It was also clear that the lion's share of the problem came from my mother. Whenever she was around, the dog cowered. When she wasn't around, the dog startled but didn't cower.
I've seen the same thing happen with our cat, Casper. His Girl-Human doesn't like the loud sound of fireworks any more than the cat. One of the first times when there were fireworks in the neighborhood, she freaked out and started getting worried about the cat. The cat, predictably, ran and hid under the bed and didn't come out for the rest of the night. Another time, when there were fireworks but Casper's Girl-Human wasn't around, I simply made sure that the bedroom door was part way open so that the cat could go hide out if he wanted. He went in the bedroom, hopped up on the bed and laid down until the fireworks were over. Afterward, he came out and acted normally for the rest of the night.
I am NOT saying that cats or dogs shouldn't be afraid of fireworks! They are loud and probably hurt the animal's ears! The cat or dog has the right to try and get away from loud sounds like fireworks! It's only natural!
I am saying that our pets often take their cues from their humans and that, if humans react negatively, the animal will react negatively, too.
I think it's important to give our cats a good place to hide out and feel safe from loud sounds like fireworks but it's also important for humans to remain calm so that we don't make a bad situation worse.
Bottom line: Stay calm and don't freak your cat out.
The sound of fireworks is annoying to cats and dogs because their hearing is so sensitive. Even the sound of heavy rain can hurt a cat's ears. To a human, rain sounds like a gentle pitter-patter on the roof. To a cat, it probably sounds like a million marbles being dropped into a frying pan. I don't blame a cat for shying a way from loud sounds like that. They certainly should seek shelter, trying to get away from sounds they don't like. If it's the sound of fireworks, I certainly encourage people to look after their cats in order to protect their ears and keep them from getting upset.
However, when I was a kid, my father used to train hunting dogs and one of the things he did was to acclimate the dogs to the sound of gunfire. A hunting dog that shies at the sound of gunfire won't be a good hunter. Will it?
My father's method of "gun-breaking" a dog was to use a starter's pistol. (A small handgun that fires blanks.) He would start by standing ten or twenty feet away from the dog and firing the pistol, up in the air, when the dog wasn't looking. When the dog reacted, he would give it lots of reassurance and petting until it calmed down. He would repeat the process at closer and closer distances until the dog got used to the sound of the gun. Eventually, after several trials, the dog would learn to stay "steady to wing and shot."
On the other hand, we had a Miniature Schnauzer as our family pet and he would always shy away from the sound of guns or fireworks. First, the dog was never gun-broke like the other dogs were. (Progressive exposure.) More importantly, my mother used to freak out when she heard fireworks, thinking the sound would scare the dog. As it turned out, the dog reacted more to my mother's anxiety than to the loud sounds but she just assumed that the dog was solely scared of the fireworks.
I tested that theory, one time, when I was outside with the dog and I lit off a firecracker when he wasn't looking. I was a good fifty feet away, or more. It was only a regular "lady finger" style of firecracker and I only lit one, just to test the dog's reaction. The dog did flinch at the sound and he turned to look in my direction but, once he figured out what was going on, he went back about his business like nothing happened. On the other hand, whenever my mother was around, she'd yell, "Don't shoot fireworks! You'll scare the dog!" Whenever that happened, the dog would shiver and whimper then he'd run to my mother and cower.
It was very clear that the dog wasn't actually afraid of fireworks or other loud sounds. I'm not saying that loud sounds didn't bother his ears or startle him. That's patently obvious. It was also clear that the lion's share of the problem came from my mother. Whenever she was around, the dog cowered. When she wasn't around, the dog startled but didn't cower.
I've seen the same thing happen with our cat, Casper. His Girl-Human doesn't like the loud sound of fireworks any more than the cat. One of the first times when there were fireworks in the neighborhood, she freaked out and started getting worried about the cat. The cat, predictably, ran and hid under the bed and didn't come out for the rest of the night. Another time, when there were fireworks but Casper's Girl-Human wasn't around, I simply made sure that the bedroom door was part way open so that the cat could go hide out if he wanted. He went in the bedroom, hopped up on the bed and laid down until the fireworks were over. Afterward, he came out and acted normally for the rest of the night.
I am NOT saying that cats or dogs shouldn't be afraid of fireworks! They are loud and probably hurt the animal's ears! The cat or dog has the right to try and get away from loud sounds like fireworks! It's only natural!
I am saying that our pets often take their cues from their humans and that, if humans react negatively, the animal will react negatively, too.
I think it's important to give our cats a good place to hide out and feel safe from loud sounds like fireworks but it's also important for humans to remain calm so that we don't make a bad situation worse.
Bottom line: Stay calm and don't freak your cat out.
My indoor cats should be fine this year but I do worry about the strays that I feed on my patio. More than likely they will be hiding under our storage shed once the noise starts. Last year it took a couple days before they showed up again.
I'm in a semi rural area so most houses are a couple hundred feet apart from each other and there are a few neighbors who do enjoy the major holidays with both fireworks and gun shooting. It can be annoying especially the loud noise from gunfire and I think a neighbor that lives a couple thousand feet away has a small cannon he shoots off at midnight to ring in the New Year holiday.
I'm in a semi rural area so most houses are a couple hundred feet apart from each other and there are a few neighbors who do enjoy the major holidays with both fireworks and gun shooting. It can be annoying especially the loud noise from gunfire and I think a neighbor that lives a couple thousand feet away has a small cannon he shoots off at midnight to ring in the New Year holiday.
What could you do to make it cozier for them under the shed?
I dunno'... Try putting some straw or some old blankets under their for them to curl up in and get comfy.
Maybe some food, some treats or even some catnip?
The idea is to make it into a cool place to chill while they wait out the noisy times. Who knows? Maybe you could turn the whole experience around. Instead of going under the shed to hide from the fireworks, maybe the fireworks will signify that there are goodies under the shed for them to eat and a cozy place to chill out.
I don't know if there were fireworks here last night - probably were official ones down by the beachfront, but that's about fifteen minutes drive from us, ie not close enough to be loud. Phoebe and Daisy have never reacted to them, or to thunder, and by midnight we were all asleep (and I had earplugs in, just in case the local motorbike fools decided to go screaming around).
Unfortunately our shed is only a few inches off the ground, just enough for a cat or other wildlife to get underneath. It's a 12 x 16 wood storage building, sets on cement blocks and the ground underneath it is always wet due to the terrain. We really need to relocate & replace it soon as it's over 20 years old and has had a couple large trees fall on it over the years.What could you do to make it cozier for them under the shed?
I dunno'... Try putting some straw or some old blankets under their for them to curl up in and get comfy.
Maybe some food, some treats or even some catnip?
The idea is to make it into a cool place to chill while they wait out the noisy times. Who knows? Maybe you could turn the whole experience around. Instead of going under the shed to hide from the fireworks, maybe the fireworks will signify that there are goodies under the shed for them to eat and a cozy place to chill out.
We've got a couple of neighbors who ride Harlies in the summer but, at least, they are courteous enough to lay off the throttle until they get to the end of the street.
I generally don't care about the sound of motorcycles but, like you, it peeves me off when people race around, making all kinds of noise, especially after dark!
The cats don't seem to mind as long as the neighbors start up and ride off but, if somebody sits there, jockeying the throttle and making a lot of noise, they definitely get annoyed, just as their humans do.
It was just a thought.
Maybe, if you ever get 'round to replacing the shed, you could build a little clubhouse, underneath, for the cats.
I have two that are terrified. The rest are like, "Meh." We have the New Years' Shooters to contend with, and they are a noisy bunch.
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Yes, every so often some jackass has to sit revving the bike for ages. I always think "Whoo hoo, your bike has an engine, aren't you special?" along with less printable things. I don't think it's the same twerp who screams around on a Saturday night - that sounds like a lighter weight machine and seems to come from the open paddocks (farmland?) not far from us.
This is certainly good advice as it does help with behaviour, but for some clarity, I find this works over time more often than helping cats in an instant for some cats.One thing about animals and fireworks is that they behave according to the way their humans respond to fireworks.
Bottom line: Stay calm and don't freak your cat out.
Cats who have lived outside can either be desensitized to loud sounds like that or highly nervous of them.
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- #15
Fireworks don't bother 2 of my indoor cats,once stray, but gardeners they do not like. I assume because the noise is closer. My other cat stays under the couch.
Oh, yeah! I've seen hunting dogs that flinched their whole lives and I've seen dogs that never seemed to give a damn.
I can't imagine a reason why the same wouldn't be true of cats.
I can't imagine a reason why the same wouldn't be true of cats.
Yeah! It's like they're trying to rev their engines in some kind of code that only they understand. Vroom! Vroom-vroom, VROOM!
It must be Morse code or something... ..-- .- -. -.- . .-.
W-A-N-K-E-R
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We have official fireworks in some cities, though not every city.
Then we have people firing rockets, bangers and fireworks from their own yards or from the public street.
Last night this hell lasted nearly two hours, with blasting sounds that sounded like we were in a war scenario.
My yard cats disappeared shortly before midnight. Luckily they were all here this morning!
I wonder why we can't ban these fireworks once and for all. At 1 am the air was hazy and there was this acrid smell all over due to the smoke of those damned things.
Then they blame us for using our polluting cars!
Then we have people firing rockets, bangers and fireworks from their own yards or from the public street.
Last night this hell lasted nearly two hours, with blasting sounds that sounded like we were in a war scenario.
My yard cats disappeared shortly before midnight. Luckily they were all here this morning!
I wonder why we can't ban these fireworks once and for all. At 1 am the air was hazy and there was this acrid smell all over due to the smoke of those damned things.
Then they blame us for using our polluting cars!
It can be awful in some places. Especialy if you have neighbours with access to the full sized fireworks. My friend ended up with shells and shrapnel in her swimming pool from the big things the neighbour set off at 2 am a few years ago.
They also disturb roosting birds and set off car alarms. When people have them on july 1st I always hear at least one poor destressed robin or bluejay scolding them. Can't imagine how upsetting it is for those with nestlings.
At midnight, the neighborhood erupted in booms and bangs. Mocha had been sleeping against me and leaped straight up into the air at the first loud pop. They went on for about 30 minutes while I made soothing sounds and stroked her. She twitched and flinched at every one but stayed with me. They finally stopped at 12:30 a.m., and we drifted back to sleep. It was nothing like the 4th of July, but I kept wishing it was -10°F with a blizzard so people would stay inside!
