Cats are afraid of barrels, you know. Indeed, fireworks are not liked by any animal and your four-legged friend even less.
In fact, it is not easy to control a frightened feline during the celebrations of an occasion that involves artificial games, such as summer parties or New Year’s Eve. The situation, then, it gets complicated if the cat is alone and he has no one to help him calm down.
Why are barrels scary to cats?
The loud roar, the flashes of light and the strong smell in the air are truly terrifying for an animal like the cat. In reality, fireworks scare even the bravest dogs and animals, but the cat, for his own particular sensitivity to external stimulisuffers even more discomfort.
The cat is an animal particularly fearful, often gets scared easily and is often watchful and attentive to what is happening around him. When he hears even suspicious and unexpected rustles he immediately gets on the defensive and feels a situation of danger even where it often does not exist.
Despite his famous and legendary 7 lives, the cat is not a brave man and perhaps it is precisely this being always alert that allows him to escape dangerous situations, giving him the name of the animal with multiple lives, in fact.
Cats are afraid of bangs because they have amazing hearing
When we listen to a sound we evaluate it for what our perception and hearing ability is, labeling it as loud or soft. But what if we were to correlate the intensity of the sound to the hearing ability of one of our particular furry roommates?
The cat perceives sounds at frequencies that reach 64KHzmore than three times the sensitivity of the human ear. This can easily tell us how loud they can perceive echoing and explosive sounds such as thunder, explosions and fireworks.
A loud noise for us, like New Year’s Eve or summer party fireworks, practically represents an explosion of sound waves for our pets.
How to relieve cats’ fears of barrels?
The best solution is to leave it alonehe will surely find a space in the house to hide in until the situation that agitates him has passed.
Help a scared cat it’s not simple at all. Unlike other animals, such as the dog, for example, the feline falls into a kind of panic that makes it dash around the room in terror.
The only things that can be done if the cat is afraid of fireworks are small precautions that can prove useful.
1. The cat who is afraid of fireworks doesn’t want to feel oppressed
Don’t pick him up and don’t try to caress him insistently, he would feel blocked and even more in danger.
Let the cat find a space where he feels comfortable and make sure he is always free, especially for times of need.
2. Use natural remedies to calm his anxiety
Diffuse lavender essential oil in the air, natural calming and useful for mitigating anxiety attacks.
3. If cats are afraid of barrels, “cover” the noise
Contrast the loud noise of the fires with music or the TV, so that the roar is not too audible.
Can loud sounds cause health problems?
Can the loud, echoing sound of fireworks cause health problems for cats? The answer depends on the subject’s state of health.
If we are talking about a healthy subject, there shouldn’t be any particular problems since we are talking about predatory domestic carnivores who, by nature, would be used to a life full of emotions and adrenaline.
The speech changes if the cat presents especially heart problems: excessive fright could be lethal.
A person with heart disease (whether a dog, a cat or a human being) cannot tolerate excessive fright or agitation to avoid heart attacks or serious arrhythmias.
For this reason it is essential to follow and reassure your cat when you are in the middle of fireworks celebrations.
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Article reviewed by:
Joseph Terlizzi
Veterinary doctor