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In India today and tomorrow is the festival of Diwali. It is the festival of light and banned firecrackers over 90 dB sound are all too common. It can be compared to war zone in Syria with constant sound of high dB bombs.

Now my cat is very afraid because of these sounds. It is quite stressful for my cat. How can I make my cat less stressed?

Nosrac
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Sonevol
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3 Answers3

33

I'm in the UK so our nearest equivalent would be the fireworks displays during Bonfire Night and New Year's Eve so I'll base my answer on what I advise to do during those:

  • Keep the cat indoors during hours where the fireworks will be set off
  • Keep all windows shut and curtains drawn to try and muffle the noise
  • Make sure the cat has easy access to their favorite "hiding" places - and if they go to one of these don't try and remove them as this will freak them out more.
  • Be extra vigilant when entering/exiting your home - a cat startled by fireworks may panic and run without considering direction and you don't want them escaping by accident
  • Consider using a synthetic pheromone plug-in diffuser such as Feliway, these work by releasing synthetic versions of the pheromones secreted by mother cats and they have a calming effect on the cat.
motosubatsu
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15

You have to let her be able to hide. Maybe make her a cardboard box and cover this with some thick fabric to dampen the loud noise. Normally cats get over it quite fast after the noises have stopped (at least my cats have calmed down rapidly).

A cat will normally be more scared the first time this happens and it can take some time before she comes out of her hiding place.

Some vets give medication to cats before the noise starts (here it is new years eve). My vet gave me a pill for my cat but this made my cat lose control and made it harder for my cat to cope with the stress. I am not saying your cat will react negatively to medication but mine did.

When the fireworks start my cat hides under my bed and usually comes out about 10 minutes after it have stopped.

The most important thing is for you to stay calm and relaxed and let your cat hide and not force her out of hiding. She will come out from hiding within 1 hour after the noise stops normally.

Henders
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trond hansen
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3

Depending on the type of cat you have the best course of action is to just be in the house and make sure your cat knows you are near(from time to time try caling him/her name), eventualy your cat will come out of hiding and come to you.

Kaotis
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