Keeping Your Pets Calm on Bonfire Night

The excitement that Bonfire Night brings can be a thrill for the senses of both children and adults alike, but for pet owners November 5^th can be fraught with difficulties.

Loud bangs and bright flashes can be distressing for some cats and dogs, with the yearly carnival of noise and colour a real struggle for some pets.

Protecting their pals from anxiety and distress is sure to be in the forefront of any owner’s mind when the fireworks are set off.

Here are six super suggestions for ensuring your pet is comfortable on the evening itself.

Keep them indoors

This should be a fairly obvious one but making sure your cat or dog is inside, away from the noise and dangers that Bonfire Night brings should be step number one.

Walking the dog early is important to ensure your pooch still gets their exercise but is tucked up inside before the noises begin.

Once you have your animal inside, pull the curtains to help keep flashes to a minimum and out of your pet’s mind.

Feed them early

Similarly to walking your dog early, ensuring your animal is well fed before any scary moments is important.

Cats and dogs can be left with a lack of appetite when they are anxious, so even if you do struggle to prevent your pet getting worked up, at least they will have had a chance to polish off their dinner first.

Remedies are available

Possibly a last resort, but there are products on the market similar to those many humans to take to ease things like the fear of flying.

Natural remedies such as Adaptil and KalmAid can be used to restore some calmness in your pets, just remember to check with your vet if you have any queries before giving them to your cat or dog.

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Ensure they have that place to hide

Sometimes your pet will want to do nothing but hide themselves away from all the commotion during the fireworks, and making sure they have that space is vital.

Whether it’s a spot under the table, behind the sofa or cuddled up on it, ensuring dogs and cats have that safe haven is a good idea.

Familiarity is key

While loud noises are the big problem come Bonfire Night, increasingly the volume of familiar sounds might not be such a bad idea.

Turning up the TV (not too loud mind) can help to muffle the bangs and pops of the fireworks outside.

Calm owner means calm pet

Perhaps the best way of keeping your animals calm is remaining calm yourself. Don’t make a big thing of all the changes to your routine as this can cause anxiety to your cat or dog.

Vitally though, don’t get worked up by your pet getting worked up. Reward calm behaviour, but don’t punish or tell your animal off if they are overly affected by the noise – gentle reassurance is the way to go.

Having a trouble-free Bonfire Night might not be possible for all pet owners but follow these steps and the likelihood of your cat or dog being affected by the festivities will be greatly reduced.

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