We’re heading gently into autumn now, with cool damp mornings and earlier sunsets. The nights are gradually getting longer and a lot of people are starting to feel somehow down – warm weather is a rare treat and the rain we were all wishing for has arrived. Cold and wet and suddenly no longer welcome.
Just as we’re all wishing for a little more light in the sky, Diwali and Bonfire Night arrives. Diwali is the Hindu festival celebrating the victory of light over darkness, running for five nights and beginning this year on October 22. You’ll be seeing fireworks set off from back gardens and organised displays in that last week of October – and again in the first week of November, as the tradition of Fireworks Night takes over.
I wouldn’t tell anyone whether they should or should not set off fireworks, or pay for entry to an organised display. My main concern is for the cats who live in your household, and you know them better than I do. Some cats would sleep through a full firework display (but wake to the sound of a can being opened in the next room) while others are upset by the sounds and lights of fireworks. Some will sit on the window-ledge and watch, while others will hide under the bed until they’re sure it’s all finished.
You know what your cat feels
Let’s focus on your cats. If they’re youngsters and everything is new to them, the best way to teach them that the lights and noises outside are not anything to be afraid of is to behave as if you aren’t afraid. Ignore the fireworks – keep everything in the house itself calm and quiet. If they hide under the bed or behind the sofa, let them hide undisturbed; tempt them out with a tasty treat when the noise has finished. Keep them in after dusk if you can around this fortnight, so they aren’t startled by a firework going off close by while they’re out exploring. If you have good neighbours, they’ll let you know if they’re about to have a private firework display – then you’ll know to keep your cat indoors on that evening.
Are they safe with us?
Some customers who have booked their cats into our cattery over late October or early November have asked us whether we get much disturbance from firework noise here. The answer is that we don’t – the pens look out onto woodland, a courtyard, our garden or the garden next door, and people living in this small area tend not to bother with firework parties. We’ve found that the fireworks sent up from gardens in Sible Hedingham, Halstead and Braintree are distant enough to be heard here as faint pops. You can leave your cats with us with confidence that they will snooze through firework season completely undisturbed.
Going away over the next few weeks? Book your cat family with us for a few peaceful nights.
