Help Pets Deal With Fireworks

Naturally

Naturally

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~ DO NOT administer medication or herbal supplements without first consulting your vet ~

Thought I'd open a thread for suggestions on how to deal with a pets aversion to fireworks.
I don't have any foolproof plan but will share some thoughts.

There is a city ordinance prohibiting fireworks in the city limits and I will contact the police non emergency line if fireworks are going off nearby.
My senior dog is already on pain meds for arthritis this year, but Benadryl is an option too.
I don't have a "Thunder Shirt" for my dog but have heard of some success with consistent use of one.
Even if the fireworks are distant, my dog is still affected and we'll likely end up cuddling in bed and watching a movie.

I hope those with cats will chime in. I have NO idea how to help cats deal with fireworks.
I googled Benadryl and cats and one result said it's generally okay with young healthy cats but definitely NOT for senior cats.

And to repeat: Do not administer medication or herbal supplements without first consulting your vet.
 

I do have prescribed medication. Two of mine go nuts for fireworks and rain. There does not seem to be a difference if there thunder of lightning. I think the pressure change bothers them just like it gives a migraine.
 

I have had a lot of cats over the years and have two now. Mostly they haven't been bothered by fireworks but one of my two has been scared by the intense thunderstorms we've been having. So now he's alarmed by the fireworks too. His reaction isn't as intense as a dog. He just starts looking around with big eyes and when I talk to him he will come close to me and stay until the noise is over. He doesn't want to be held, I think he wants to be able to run if necessary. :)

Usually cats who are frightened by something hide and they calm themselves that way.
 
Big fireworks here in the form of severe thunderstorms, rain and hail making tremendous noise. The poor scared kitty. 😿

The fear is accumulating for him between these endless storms and the fireworks. Even the calm, cool cat wasn't calm this time with good sized hail hitting the house and windows. :( ⚡🌩️🙀
 
Pinky said:
Do thunder shirts really work? Anyone have them for their pet?
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We bought a thunder shirt for our small dog that is terrified of fireworks.
I put it on her and she started trying to scratch it off. She did not like it at all!

So now I just sit in my recliner with her right beside me snuggled in a blanket.
I turn the tv up and the fan on to muffle the fireworks sound.
 
I lucked out. There was only one distant street firework that I heard. On the local news this AM the newscaster stated this was the first time she could remember not being woke up by fireworks.

On one of the live YouTube shows I watch a man said he had kittens he was worried about in the comments due to the noise potential. I asked him if he had an indoor bathroom without windows. He said no but he had a walk in closet and it was a good idea. I responded small kittens won't mind being in a closet a few hours.
 
It is against the law to set off fireworks inside the city limits here.

To protect my dog, I had to call the police non emergency line twice and got great response both times.
Just a block from here, industrial strength fireworks were going off. So loud, shook my windows.
The dispatcher said they'd already received a couple of calls about it. It promptly stopped.
The second time I called, neighbors across from me were setting off fireworks in the middle of the street,
Directly in front of my house !!! They stopped after the police drove by.

There were still tons of fireworks going off but none close by.
Yet even the distant booms affected my dog. He was shivering at times.
Mason did not eat or drink water all day, 4th of July.
It wasn't until 2a.m. this morning after things had quieted down, I was able to hand feed Mason.
And he finally did drink some water.

It's not just the pets. There are a lot of military vets here and some have PTSD.
Unexpected loud booms are not appreciated.
 
Naturally said:
It is against the law to set off fireworks inside the city limits here.

To protect my dog, I had to call the police non emergency line twice and got great response both times.
Just a block from here, industrial strength fireworks were going off. So loud, shook my windows.
The dispatcher said they'd already received a couple of calls about it. It promptly stopped.
The second time I called, neighbors across from me were setting off fireworks in the middle of the street,
Directly in front of my house !!! They stopped after the police drove by.

There were still tons of fireworks going off but none close by.
Yet even the distant booms affected my dog. He was shivering at times.
Mason did not eat or drink water all day, 4th of July.
It wasn't until 2a.m. this morning after things had quieted down, I was able to hand feed Mason.
And he finally did drink some water.

It's not just the pets. There are a lot of military vets here and some have PTSD.
Unexpected loud booms are not appreciated.
Click to expand...

I feel for you and your dog, Naturally.

The cats and I just snuggled up all in the same chair last night and toughed it out. It sounded like a war zone. Fireworks are illegal in this city but nearly everyone does them. Most popular are the ones that explode, the louder the better.

One woman posted on the neighborhood app that she has filed a police report on each one of her neighbors separately. Yeah, right. You can't get police on the phone or in person unless a major crime has been committed in the slowest of times, much less on Independence Day.

Most police complaints have to be filed on the Internet on ordinary days and usually they are not followed up on. We are our own neighborhood watch and look out for each other. So, I don't report my neighbors. Tomorrow I might need those neighbors and we used to always have fireworks when the kids were home. We liked them then so now I'm not going to be the grumpy old lady.
 
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Dog survived last night, shaken a little but fine. She stayed buried deep in the bed.

We have lots of firework noises. For fire safety smaller zones where fireworks are allowed are set up. So for most folks legal fireworks means finding and going to one of those zone. We live right in the middle of one, and people come from all over to set them off near our house.

Grandkids love it, dogs not so much.
 
Myrtle said:
Tomorrow I might need those neighbors and we used to always have fireworks when the kids were home. We liked them then so now I'm not going to be the grumpy old lady.
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I too enjoyed fireworks as a kid, but it was entirely legal. Even the powerful Cherry Bombs and M-80's before Federal law banned them in 1966.

The people I called the police onto are not kids ... adults participating in an illegal activity. And KNOWINGLY doing so.
If I were engaged in illegal activity, they would not hesitate to report me and there is no doubt of that.

I looked up the Municode before calling the police non emergency line.
The were in violation of Chapter 10, Article 1, Section 10-3 ...
The discharge, firing or use of firecrackers, rockets, torpedoes, Roman candles, or other fireworks or substances designed and intended for pyrotechnic display, and of pistols, canes, cannons or other appliances, using blank cartridges or caps containing chlorate of potash mixture, is hereby prohibited within the city limits.
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So if those people had no regard in the world for the law or anyone but themselves and their own desires. I have no qualms about reporting them. The first people I reported were a block away and their fireworks were powerful enough to rattle my windows. I wasn't the only one who reported them.

Of the five neighbors around me, I don't get along with the ones across the street. I could write a page of how we don't get along and why, but suffice to say I don't get along with the vermin over there. They were the only ones setting off fireworks directly around me and they stopped setting off fireworks in the street DIRECTLY in front of my house when the police drove by. They had no care what so ever that it might disturb me (disabled veteran) or my dog. Truth is I think that idea thrilled them. So I had no care in the world reporting them.
 
Naturally said:
I too enjoyed fireworks as a kid, but it was entirely legal. Even the powerful Cherry Bombs and M-80's before Federal law banned them in 1966.

The people I called the police onto are not kids ... adults participating in an illegal activity. And KNOWINGLY doing so.
If I were engaged in illegal activity, they would not hesitate to report me and there is no doubt of that.

I looked up the Municode before calling the police non emergency line.
The were in violation of Chapter 10, Article 1, Section 10-3 ...

So if those people had no regard in the world for the law or anyone but themselves and their own desires. I have no qualms about reporting them. The first people I reported were a block away and their fireworks were powerful enough to rattle my windows. I wasn't the only one who reported them.

Of the five neighbors around me, I don't get along with the ones across the street. I could write a page of how we don't get along and why, but suffice to say I don't get along with the vermin over there. They were the only ones setting off fireworks directly around me and they stopped setting off fireworks in the street DIRECTLY in front of my house when the police drove by. They had no care what so ever that it might disturb me (disabled veteran) or my dog. Truth is I think that idea thrilled them. So I had no care in the world reporting them.
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Well, darn it. I didn't mean to sound critical of you, Naturally, but I guess I did. I think what I was doing (at least in my mind) was being thankful for my good neighbors. They were loud last night and will be again but on most days they cause me no problems at all.

I've had bad neighbors in the past and maybe that's why I appreciate these a lot. I hope next time you move or they move that you will get better people living near you.

Aside from all that it wouldn't do a bit of good to call police here anyway. It's not a matter of a few houses here and there breaking the fireworks law, it's very widespread.
 
Pinky said:
Do thunder shirts really work? Anyone have them for their pet?
Click to expand...
For my Bichon, the thundershirt works .... he will start to shake at the sounds of the fireworks outside ... and same with thunderstorms.
I wrap his thundershirt on him, and he starts to relax some. I try to keep the TV on a little louder than usual too.

We survived the 4th of July .. :)
 
We were adopted by a stray cat 18 mos. ago. Usually we go downstairs to our master bedroom suite after dinner, and don't come back up until the next morning. He isn't allowed downstairs, but has most of the upstairs to run around in.

Last night Spouse had to go upstairs for something he forgot and told me the cat was really spooked by the illegal fireworks noise and hiding under the furniture. I went upstairs to check and sure enough, he was scared - noises are louder as it's the main level (even with the street) and the noise probably bounces off house walls.

I let him come downstairs where it was much quieter, so he slept with us (which was NOT comfortable, and why I don't usually let him in). The fireworks could be heard, but more muffled.

He might have been okay with the noise upstairs if I'd slept in the guest room, which is on that level. I think most pets are reassured with their owners present, in what feels to them like marginally unsafe areas.
 
I am extremely lucky that my dog takes absolutely no notice at all of fireworks.

However I have had cats in the past who were terrified and would hide behind furniture refusing all food and comfort.

I remember as kids we loved sparklers, such fun and so quiet. If only people didn't ruin everyone else's peace these days.
 

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