Expert: Ali - 6/30/2009

Question
hi Ali i have a cat named Victor he used to live outside but now he doesn't anyway he is really scared and i don't know what I'm going to do for the 4th of July i need your help

Answer
Andrea,

When national celebrations that involve crowds, noise and fireworks happen there are many pets who find their way outside, lost and terrified. I'd strongly suggest that you take some time to set up a special room for Victor so that he has food, water, a cozy place to sleep, toys, a scratch post, and a couple of litter boxes. The windows should be tightly closed so that your little guy can't escape accidentally because if he's already skittish as a result of a tough life on the streets he could end up running away as he's panicking and getting himself lost or into dangerous situations. If you can provide Victor with a cardboard box made from especially thick cardboard and a large heavy towel then he'll have his own safe place to hide that will help to minimize his exposure to the noise when the fireworks displays are happening. By keeping him behind a closed door, in a room with the windows securely closed some of the sound should be less difficult for Victor to cope with. Many cats prefer dimly lit, quiet, private areas when they're afraid, that helps them to cope as well as possible.


If Victor is kept in a dimly lit room that's as far away from the direction the noise of the fireworks is coming from as possible he'll be less fearful. Giving Victor a heavy cardboard box placed into a closet or hidden somewhere he would be comfortable to go to. Draping a towel over the opening in the heavy box laying on the side so that the open end of the box opens up parallel to the floor will help Victor by providing him with a place to hide if he feels that he needs to do so and the towel and cardboard will be of some help to muffle the loud noises.

Providing Victor with some new forms of entertainment might just help minimize the amount of focus he wastes on the fireworks and environmental noise caused by a massive party. A neat idea is to provide your kitty with a few paper lunch bags containing different things that you know he enjoys. In one bag you might consider putting a favorite toy and a few kitty treats then folding the top of the bag closed, another bag might have dried catnip that's been rubbed between your fingers to release the scent and sprinkled into the bottom of your paper bag, add a toy and then fold the top over a few times just as you did for the first one. The only limits with these feline presents are within your imagination. It's quite possible to make playtime with these packages more entertaining by hiding them throughout Victor's safe room so that he can go into treasure hunt mode.

The Cat Sitter dvd series provides pretty entertaining footage as far as most cats are concerned, these videos are designed specifically to entertain cats and they feature some great footage of small animals, birds and wildlife. Cat Sitter dvds were specifically designed to be played when you aren't home or able to be with them, these movies run on an automatic loop so if your kitty's movie ends he can simply watch it again. The first video in the series has extensive footage of mice, gerbils and other rodents in addition to plenty of small song birds, the second movie is similar but it contains a feature called laser catnip which is essentially a little computer generated bug who flits around the screen unpredictably which cats just love. The third video is more focused on tropical fish in massive aquariums swimming along. These videos are roughly 12-25$ CAN depending on where you shop. If you want to provide this sort of entertainment for Victor then I'd suggest that you clear off any shelves or sentimental items on or near the television and place a sturdy chair or cat tree to allow Victor to get right up and enjoy the movie.

The beauty of homeopathic remedies is that for the most part the worst that will happen if the wrong remedy is administered is absolutely nothing, with conventional drugs such a mistake could have devastating effects. There are a couple of homeopathic remedies that you may want to start Victor off on today so that you can allow him to be less distressed on the day of the fireworks. I've used Bach flower essences for 10+ years on my cats and they've always been safe, effective and relatively inexpensive. Rescue Remedy is a mixture of Bach flower essences designed to calm and reassure, I'd suggest adding 7-9 drops of this remedy to a fresh bowl of clean water each morning. On the 4th then you can add Mimulus into the cat's water dish along with the Rescue Remedy which is another Bach flower essence, this remedy is specifically to help alleviate specific fears. I don't normally recommend administering Bach flower essences by mouth for cats because they don't like the taste, the flower essences are preserved in a solution of grape alcohol which has a sharp taste to it. You can normally find Rescue Remedy and other Bach flower essences in health food stores, naturopathic pharmacies, some mainstream pharmacies stock these remedies in the aisle with their vitamins/nutritional supplements and as far as I know you can also purchase these remedies online. My vet is a holistic veterinarian, she's absolutely fantastic at what she does and she uses homeopathy in her practice to complement conventional treatments whenever possible. I've seen some pretty amazing things happen with my cats when they've needed remedies and the right one was administered at the right time. If you have any further questions, concerns or you'd like me to clarify anything in this answer I'd be more than happy to help out.