Has anyone got any ideas on how to comfort a cat when its terrified of the bangs from fireworks?:confused:

The best thing you can do for your cat is to provide a space for him/her to hide in the house, wardrobe, cupboard etc and then leave them be. If you make sure your cat is confined to the house with a litter tray, they will usually find their own place to hide and will feel safer there. The worse thing to do is to try and comfort them as this will only make them feel that there is something to fear. If your cat finds a spot, then putting a radio or TV on loud in that room, can help drown out the noise, also close the curtains.

Feliway plug ins/sprays are available on the net and from your vet, they do help some cats and dogs by releasing an appeasing smell that is similar to the hormones of a nursing mother cat.

Feliway - you can buy it online at loads of stores- Nutrecare are very reasonable and deliver very quickly - much cheaper than buying from the vet but if time is an issue, I'd get to your vets today and just buy one - it's probably going to cost about 320-25 for a plug in and the feliway thing that lasts about 30 days. There's also a Feliway spray you can spray around your cat's bed, more portable than a plug in.

Also... gentle classical music in the room they're hiding will help disguise the noise.

I usually turn the TV up loud or the radio to cover up the bangers a bit. Heavenly arts - you obviously have refined cats!

Hey- ours listen to radio 4 every day whilst we're at work- they're real culture vultures!

We have to play classical music in the cattery, classic FM works.

We do have a music critic in at the moment, a Bengal cross that hates the radio on, I'm expecting the NSPCC any day now cos he screams like a battered child.

We have one cat that hides wherever she can, we just leave her to it... as long as she feels safe wherever she is we're happy with that

The other cat sits on the windowsil looking at all the preeeety lights!!! :roll:

We do have a music critic in at the moment, a Bengal cross that hates the radio on, I'm expecting the NSPCC any day now cos he screams like a battered child.

:hihi: Awww!
I might try mine on some classical for a change!

:hihi: Awww!
I might try mine on some classical for a change!

They (bengals) all scream like a battered child (not that Ive ever battered a child to check, I hasten to add) - when Alfie gets into our cellar, he deliberately stands in front of the air brick and YOWLS for england, just to bring unsuspecting new neighbours out to check where the tortured baby is. At least our immediate neighbours have got used to the sound now.

You should hear him at the moment- he hates our new kittens with venom- he is the only cat I would seriously not trust to be left alone in a room with him...He escaped once through an open window and threw himself at an unsuspecting cat dow nthe street - I had to prise him off the poor thing - I don't think he realises he's a cat too!

Our little girl Bengal has developed a fascination with socks, she steals them and makes a nest of them. She prefers my dirty socks to anyone elses.

Our little girl Bengal has developed a fascination with socks, she steals them and makes a nest of them. She prefers my dirty socks to anyone elses.

Alfie the barmy bengal steals toothbrushes and the metal bathroom sink plug. He keeps knocking the loo brush holder over everytime he gets in the bathroom too. Oh and he wont leave the cockatiel's millet sprays alone... Last night, he fished a packet of brown sugar out of the other half's packet and tossed it around the room til it burst (seconds later). He's pinched packets of mints out of my handbag before now. Oh and you danret leave any packets of cat food lying about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lAHN7c1oPE shows what he does with any he manages to thieve...

My advice for animals surviving Bonfire night is to get them into a small secure room, shut the curtains, put decent lighting and turn up the background sounds, whether that's the TV, speech radio or music. In the room with them make sure that there's somewhere suitable to hide away, some food and water and some things to keep them busy. After that just let them get on with it as long as they're safe.

I had a couple of cats who got terribly wound up, including one who wet herself and foamed at the mouth etc. and one who attacked everything in sight unless firmly clamped down. My solution with them was to put them in a really close hold against my chest and walk round the house all evening with them clamped against me, talking to them, telling them it was all OK and making lots of eye contact and reassuring noises. Thankfully I didn't have them at the same time as each other or the vets' bills would have been astronomical.

Our cats must be weird cos they dont seem to have noticed! lol

Arthur never has an issue with them and getting Sophie or Tico in when they were going off was always really hard- I think you just have to take it all on a one cat basis (the same with dogs).

Ours tend not to get too upset but then we're fortunate- we dont live in an area where the bangers are being ignited every 5 minutes. We tend to leave the radios on and make sure there are plenty of warm cost retreats they can go to- it helps having a bed they can sneak under too...Ailsa the dobermutt is Ok with fireworks - when she was still a puppy, we went to a family barbeque and nobody warned us there would be fireworks- first I knew about it was when one went off nearby- Fortunately, the dobermutt was pretty chilled about it and was well under control. Since then, she barks when she hears them in the distance, but doesnt show signs of distress.

thanks all. there has been some really great replies. Jack (the cat) getting on just fine!

My cat is asleep on the back of the settee and will no doubt stay there, oblivious of all the noise from fireworks. If he opens an eye at a particularly loud bang it would be over-reaction on his part.

Poor dog, on the other hand, is sitting quivering at my feet, but she's not too distressed yet and not panting and pacing, thanks to the DAP pheronome thingies I bought - collar and plug in diffuser.

I don't know who posted about these, but I would like to say a very big "Thank you" to them. Although they haven't entirely done away with the panic, she is so much calmer than she usually is at this time of year, and they were well worth the money.

Oh, and I'm playing loud music to try and drown out the noise - Boney M at the moment - she doesn't seem too impressed, maybe I should try her with some Meat Loaf! :hihi:

My cat Thomas is terrified and hiding under the coffee table :(, the girls are sleeping like nothings happening, and Oliver kitten is enjoying being a honorary rabbit in the kitchen, he has discovered that rabbits are really great company and very interesting, and it seems the rabbits feel the same way about him, I'm almost expecting to see him chewing a cabbage leaf with them soon :rolleyes:
Dogs appear to be asleep, but every now and then they look up when a particularly loud one goes off.
I feel so sorry for the birds and wild, and homeless animals they must be absolutely terrified....... never mind this should be the last night of it its nearly over now :mad: