Helping Pets Cope With Fireworks

What your pets need when there are fireworks

The latter half of the year is full of reasons to celebrate: Guy Fawkes’ Night, Halloween, Hanukkah and Christmas, to name just a few – and with celebrations there are often fireworks.

Whether you’re a fan of fireworks or not, they can be highly distressing to your pets. Dogs, for instance, have hearing that’s four times more acute than humans’¹and can hear more than twice as many frequencies.² For our pets, fireworks are not only loud – they’re unpredictable.

Pets who feel anxious when there are fireworks may hide, tremble, or even relieve themselves indoors.

Prepare yourself – and your pets – as best as you can for fireworks season with our top tips below.

Dogs

• Keep your dog inside. Limit your dog’s exposure to fireworks as much as possible by keeping them indoors, where they’ll feel far safer.
• Walk your dog during the day to avoid the possibility of them being outside when the fireworks start. If you can, check the schedule of any fireworks happening in your area so you can make sure you’re not outside when they begin.
• Create a safe place next to you as your dog won’t want to be on their own.
• Improve your home’s sound insulation by closing all windows and curtains, and putting on music or the television.

Cats

According to the RSPCA, if your cat is scared of fireworks and has sought refuge in a corner or under your furniture, you shouldn’t try to entice them out, as this could cause them more stress. Instead, leave them and they’ll come out when they’re ready.³

Other tips to make your cat feel safe:

• Provide a safe, quiet place for your cat indoors, like under the furniture.
• Keep them inside.
• Consider microchipping your cat in case they’re startled by fireworks and escape outside.

Other animals

If you have small animals that you keep outside, partially cover any pens or cages with blankets to improve sound insulation. Make sure you don’t completely cover them up, though, so they can look outside.

The RSPCA also recommends providing bedding so that small animals can burrow. You might also want to consider bringing your small animals inside if they’re particularly reactive to fireworks, but this is something that will need to be done gradually.

If you’re a horse owner, you’re going to want to keep an eye on your community schedule to check for any upcoming fireworks displays. That way, you can try to communicate with the organisers ahead of time and potentially get them to set the fireworks off in the opposite direction of your horses.

With the right planning, fireworks don’t need to cause unnecessary stress to your pets. Get prepared in advance to ensure the party season goes off with a whisper rather than a bang for our furry, feathered and scaled friends.

Sources

1 Fireworks Are Frightening to Pets - Animal Charity - Animal Welfare Organisation - FOUR PAWS UK (four-paws.org.uk)

2 Why Fireworks Scare Some Dogs but Not Others | Smithsonian (smithsonianmag.com)

3 How To Keep Your Pets Safe During Fireworks | RSPCA - RSPCA - rspca.org.uk

About the author

Adam Summersby is a respected leader with 11 years’ varied experience in niche personal and commercial lines insurance, including caravan, site operators and excess reimbursement, with proficiency in leadership, sales and account management.