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In India today and tomorrow is the festival of Diwali. It is the festival of light and banned firecrackers over 90 dB sound are all too common. It can be compared to war zone in Syria with constant sound of high dB bombs.

Now my cat is very afraid because of these sounds. It is quite stressful for my cat. How can I make my cat less stressed?

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  • Here is a handy table explaining how loud 90db might be: chem.purdue.edu/chemsafety/Training/PPETrain/dblevels.htm You may wish to pick something like this and cite the source for a more factual comparison of the volume.
    – Henders
    Commented Oct 19, 2017 at 15:05
  • When I was growing up, we had a dog that didn't like fireworks. (our central-U.S. neighborhood went nuts during the 4th of July celebration) So my brother got the idea to put the dog in his room with the big sound system that the dog was already used to, turn it up, and go have fun. It seemed to work.
    – AaronD
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 3:23
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    I don't even have a clue how to keey myself stress free. The cat is much smarter than the humans in this case.
    – gerrit
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 11:13
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    @Henders personally I don’t find any of the examples for 90db helpful in that link. I don’t have any idea how loud a Boeing 737 or DC-9 aircraft at one nautical mile (6080 ft) before landing or Newspaper press is and noise of motor cycles and power mowers can vary widely IME.
    – Martin Smith
    Commented Oct 21, 2017 at 17:20
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    @martin i agree. Far better to get a free spl meter on your phone to estimate the amplitude than to look at a chart of things you've never heard and guess. That would make it FAR less factual, and much more subjective.
    – user10255
    Commented Oct 21, 2017 at 17:45

3 Answers 3

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I'm in the UK so our nearest equivalent would be the fireworks displays during Bonfire Night and New Year's Eve so I'll base my answer on what I advise to do during those:

  • Keep the cat indoors during hours where the fireworks will be set off
  • Keep all windows shut and curtains drawn to try and muffle the noise
  • Make sure the cat has easy access to their favorite "hiding" places - and if they go to one of these don't try and remove them as this will freak them out more.
  • Be extra vigilant when entering/exiting your home - a cat startled by fireworks may panic and run without considering direction and you don't want them escaping by accident
  • Consider using a synthetic pheromone plug-in diffuser such as Feliway, these work by releasing synthetic versions of the pheromones secreted by mother cats and they have a calming effect on the cat.
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    The cat indeed must be able to hide.
    – PCARR
    Commented Oct 19, 2017 at 17:31
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    Regarding "hiding places", I've heard of people making partially soundproofed boxes for dogs to help with noise-related stress. Might be an idea in the future, if the cat gets used to the box ahead of time.
    – Iskar
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 14:49
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    One funny story... I adopted a 14 year old cat from one of my tenants who could not take her when she left. It was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. She was afraid of fireworks that happen a couple of time a year. She stopped being afraid and even started watching them out of the window when I showed excitement over the fireworks. I love fireworks and so I shared my enthusiasm. Within one year my cat was not afraid anymore and we enjoyed the fireworks together in the window until she died years later. Being cheerful and positive may really help. Who knows?
    – closetnoc
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 16:08
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    What would catnip do? Would it make it better or worse?
    – corsiKa
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 17:26
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    @corsiKa With no evidence or real idea, I feel like it'd be worse. But then, every cat reacts a bit different to catnip. My cat gets poofytail and runs around like crazy. My friends cat lays down and doesn't move.
    – user10255
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 17:33
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You have to let her be able to hide. Maybe make her a cardboard box and cover this with some thick fabric to dampen the loud noise. Normally cats get over it quite fast after the noises have stopped (at least my cats have calmed down rapidly).

A cat will normally be more scared the first time this happens and it can take some time before she comes out of her hiding place.

Some vets give medication to cats before the noise starts (here it is new years eve). My vet gave me a pill for my cat but this made my cat lose control and made it harder for my cat to cope with the stress. I am not saying your cat will react negatively to medication but mine did.

When the fireworks start my cat hides under my bed and usually comes out about 10 minutes after it have stopped.

The most important thing is for you to stay calm and relaxed and let your cat hide and not force her out of hiding. She will come out from hiding within 1 hour after the noise stops normally.

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Depending on the type of cat you have the best course of action is to just be in the house and make sure your cat knows you are near(from time to time try caling him/her name), eventualy your cat will come out of hiding and come to you.

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  • Thanks for your answer. It would helpful if you could explain why your solution depends on the type of cat and for which type it can be helpful.
    – Haras Brummi
    Commented Oct 25, 2017 at 7:11
  • Depending on species/gender of the cat they react in diferent ways towards danger , some respond more actively(they become agresive) some more pasive(they hide)
    – Kaotis
    Commented Oct 30, 2017 at 14:05
  • Thank you. Do you have some examples which specie tends to react in which way?
    – Haras Brummi
    Commented Nov 2, 2017 at 14:17
  • In my case i have had 2 thai siameses so far(second one stil living) both male and from time to time in my town celebrations fireworks were often used...They usualy run off to hide then come back to sit on your lap ... I can't say much more about other species :( search for yours' personality traits or just wait and see xD hope it helped :)
    – Kaotis
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 18:52

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