Should I let my cat out during fireworks season?

Keep them in from late afternoon on any night fireworks are likely, which usually means late October through to a week after the 5th and again on New Year's Eve. Let them out in daylight if they normally go out, and call them in for a meal before dusk.

Should I comfort my cat during fireworks?

If they come to you, yes: stroke them, speak normally and carry on. If they are hiding, leave them where they are. Pulling a cat out of a hiding place to cuddle them removes the thing that was making them feel safe. Calm and ordinary is the reassurance; fuss is not.

Do pheromone diffusers work for cats and fireworks?

They help some cats take the edge off, but only if started a couple of weeks ahead so the room is saturated, and they are not a substitute for a hiding place and a locked cat flap. Plug one in on the night itself and you will see no difference.

My cat is still hiding the day after fireworks. Should I worry?

A cat that is still hiding, not eating or toileting outside the tray a day or two after the fireworks needs a vet, because stress can trigger cystitis and a cat that stops eating for more than a day is at risk. A night of hiding is normal; days of it is not.

Cats and fireworks: a plan for Bonfire Night and New Year

Keep your cat in from late afternoon on any night fireworks are likely, from late October through Bonfire Night and again at New Year. Lock the cat flap, set up a hiding place in an internal room, close the curtains, put the TV on at normal volume and let them hide. Do not follow, fuss or drag them out. The plan matters far more than any product.

Before: the fortnight ahead

Fireworks do not keep to the 5th. They start in late October and run for a week or two either side, and New Year's Eve is the same again. Start a pheromone diffuser a fortnight ahead if you use one; it takes time to build up in a room and does nothing plugged in as the first rocket goes up.

Check the microchip details are current now. Cats Protection advise doing this before the season starts, because a bolting cat with an out-of-date chip is the one that does not come home. Log into the database and make sure the phone number on it is one you answer.

You'll find our calming sprays and diffusers in the shop.

Set up the safe room

Choose an internal room and make it the cat's base for the evening. They need somewhere enclosed: a covered bed, a cardboard box on its side lined with a blanket, the top of a wardrobe, or under the bed. Two or three options beat one, because a scared cat picks the spot they trust, not the one you chose.

Put a litter tray, water and a little food in the same room. International Cat Care advise making the safe space available every day in the weeks before, so it is familiar rather than new on the night. If the cat already has a favourite hiding place, that is the safe room.

From late afternoon: bring them in and lock up

Call the cat in before dusk, feed them, then lock the cat flap and close every door and window. If the cat is not back when it starts, do not go out shouting; stay in, set the flap to in-only, and keep checking. Most come back once the noise stops.

Close the curtains to cut the flashes and switch the lights on so any flash is less obvious. Put the television or radio on at the volume you would normally have it, not louder. The aim is ordinary background sound, not a wall of noise that becomes its own stress.

During: let them hide, and leave them to it

When the fireworks start, the cat will hide. Let them. Do not pull them out to comfort them, follow them under the bed or keep going in to check. A cat that has chosen a hiding place feels safe there, and being hauled out removes the one thing that was working. If they come to you, stroke them and talk normally.

Stay calm yourself. Cats read the people in the house, and a household flinching at every bang tells the cat there is something to fear. Carry on with the evening as normally as you can. Never take the cat outside to see the display.

Signs of stress, and cats that go missing

Hiding, refusing food, a flattened crouch, over-grooming and toileting outside the tray are normal on the night and should pass by morning. A cat still hiding, still not eating or still toileting in the wrong place a day or two later needs a vet, as stress can trigger cystitis, which becomes urgent quickly.

If a cat bolts and does not come home, put their used litter tray or bedding outside the door so the smell leads them back, leave a way in, and check sheds, garages and under cars in the morning, because a scared cat goes to ground close by. Report them missing to the microchip database and ring local vets and rescues. Most fireworks-night runaways turn up within a day or two.

After, and if it happens every year

Next morning, walk the garden before the cat goes out and pick up spent fireworks, sparkler wires and litter. Rocket casings and sticks are sharp, and sparklers stay hot for a surprisingly long time. Check the shed for a neighbour's cat that took shelter.

A cat badly affected year after year has a noise phobia, and that is a conversation with a vet and a qualified behaviourist rather than something to manage alone. Do not give a cat anything to sedate them without that advice. Products help at the edges, a diffuser started early and a covered bed in the right room, but the plan is what gets them through.

Common questions

Should I let my cat out during fireworks season?: Keep them in from late afternoon on any night fireworks are likely, which usually means late October through to a week after the 5th and again on New Year's Eve. Let them out in daylight if they normally go out, and call them in for a meal before dusk.
Should I comfort my cat during fireworks?: If they come to you, yes: stroke them, speak normally and carry on. If they are hiding, leave them where they are. Pulling a cat out of a hiding place to cuddle them removes the thing that was making them feel safe. Calm and ordinary is the reassurance; fuss is not.
Do pheromone diffusers work for cats and fireworks?: They help some cats take the edge off, but only if started a couple of weeks ahead so the room is saturated, and they are not a substitute for a hiding place and a locked cat flap. Plug one in on the night itself and you will see no difference.
My cat is still hiding the day after fireworks. Should I worry?: A cat that is still hiding, not eating or toileting outside the tray a day or two after the fireworks needs a vet, because stress can trigger cystitis and a cat that stops eating for more than a day is at risk. A night of hiding is normal; days of it is not.

Sources

Written against guidance published by UK veterinary and welfare organisations. Always confirm specifics with your own vet.

Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.