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This post is sponsored by Nelson Bach USA and contains affiliate links*
I always thought the 4th of July was probably the cats least favorite holiday. A recent study by Wakefield Research, commissioned by Bach® Rescue Remedy® Pet, a liquid remedy for pets made from natural flower essences, found that 54% of current and former pet parents say fireworks are a major cause of stress for their pets.
Study Says: Cats Hate Thunderstorms!
The report goes on to share the other top stressors, including thunderstorms (53%), being left alone or separated from humans (46%), going to the vet or groomer (44%) and to travel (28%). Nearly 91% of current cat or dog parents say their pet has felt stressed by at least one of these situations. Also, a stressed pet can mean a stressed human. Nearly 43% of current cat or dog parents say they are stressed or have felt stressed seeing their pet stressed.
None of these findings surprise me. On the contrary, I think the reported percentages are lower than the actual occurrences. Allegra was terrified of fireworks, but as she gets older and we use various methods to help her stay calm, she is doing much better. Even Ruby, who was quite fearless and not afraid of thunderstorms, was disturbed when fireworks started exploding in our neighborhood.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to help your cat deal with fireworks and thunderstorms.
Create a safe space
If there’s a room in your house where the sound of fireworks is the least noticeable, you might want to designate it as a safe room during the holidays. Put beds, food, water, toys, cat trees and scratching posts around the room. Leave a radio or television on in the room; this can act as white noise and block out some of the noise.
Close windows and lower blinds and/or pull blinds to at least reduce noise levels somewhat.
Play soothing music
Don’t try to drown out the sound of fireworks by blasting music. Choose soothing classical music, or soothing music specially designed for cats.
Bach Rescue Remedy® Pet
Bach Rescue Remedy® Pet is a liquid remedy based on flower essences. Gentle, healing essences have been used since ancient times to bring vibrational healing to the mind, body, and spirit of people. Both Hildegard von Bingen (12th century) and Paracelsus (15th century) wrote about the use of flowering plants to treat health imbalances. The healing method became best known in the 1930s when Dr Edward Bach, a British practitioner of homeopathy and bacteriology, developed his range of 38 essences known as Bach Flowers. Rescue Remedy®, a blend of five different essences designed to calm and soothe, is probably the best known remedy.
I have been using Rescue Remedy® for decades, both for myself and for my cats. And it works!
It can be given in your cat’s water, in their food, with a treat (creamy squeeze treats are great for this) or directly in their mouth. It can also be rubbed into their ears. To help your cat cope with the fireworks, start administering the remedy a few days before the 4th (or sooner, if your neighborhood is like mine and the fireworks start going off at least a week before the holidays.) For thunderstorms, don’t wait for the storm to approach. If storms are forecast, start giving the remedy early in the day.
Stay calm
Our cats pick up on our emotions, and if we’re anxious, they will be too. Even though some experts say that trying to comfort your cat when she’s scared will reward and reinforce her fear, I wholeheartedly disagree with that advice. It’s absurd to think that reassuring your cat that everything is fine will make it fearful of being rewarded with your attention. Let your cat guide you: some cats will do better if you are at their side, others will prefer to be left alone in their hiding place.
Medication
If your cat has reacted very badly to fireworks or thunderstorms in the past, you may want to talk to your vet about prescribing anti-anxiety medication.
How do your cats react to fireworks and thunderstorms? What are you doing to help them cope?
Bach® Rescue Remedy® Pet is available on Amazon.
*FTC Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, meaning I was paid to feature this content. Regardless of payment received, you will only see products or services featured on this site that I believe are of interest to our readers.
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