The 5th of November…
This year, seemingly more than any other previous year, there has been newspaper coverage of the detrimental effects of fireworks on animals. There are articles covering how anxiety in some animals has been so high due to noise from the explosives it’s proved fatal, or (and much more of a concern regarding what it indicates about a persons thinking) direct cruelty to animals using fireworks.
A couple of articles regarding this matter relate to cats. One is a horrendous case that is being investigated by Wrexham police ( incident ref Y163308) and the other features a cat named Boris Johnson (incident 184, 6th November 2020) who sadly lost a leg in a firework incident that his family believes was intentional.
From a psychological point of view, while some cats seem entirely unphased by the noise from displays, it does seem that they are mostly an unsettling experience to felines. Obviously, their hearing is infinitely better than ours, so if the bangs are loud to us, they must be horribly invasive to a cat.
With that in mind, I’m posting a couple of links in this blog. One is a survey regarding the use of fireworks, and the other is a petition to “limit the sale and use of fireworks to organisers of licensed displays only.”
If you have a cat who struggles with anxiety during these seasonal displays, there are more blogs on the site containing tips to help give them comfort and reduce stress levels.
(Photo Source: Leamington Spa Courier)