Public Service Announcement - Fireworks night/Halloween reminders...

[Allergictoironing]

Morning all. Time for the annual reminder for Halloween & Bonfire night for those with cats, especially for those new to voluntary slavery.

Cats, especially black/black & white, are thought of as symbols of witchcraft and as such can be the victims of all types of people around Halloween. General advice is to keep a cat IN after dark in the run up to Halloween, and take extra care on the night itself. Extra caution needs to be taken as well if you welcome Trick or Treaters at your home, as you're constantly opening the front door. CATS HAVE BEEN TAKEN & KILLED around this time of year, again especially black cats.

I'm pleased to say that Girlcat, who is black, poses in the front window to give the Trick or Treaters and extra thrill - one last year thought she was a prop, & screamed when Girlcat moved (screaming girl was at least in mid teens!).

And now on to Fireworks. This is no longer just 5th November & maybe the Saturday either side, started already last night round my way & will continue until at least a week after the date, so here's a reminder of the potential hazards...

Cats need to be kept in after dark from now until about a week after the official night. If they get scared by the noises, they could run off & either get lost, get locked in a shed or (absolute horror, true story) hide in a nice safe pile of wood that is actually someone's bonfire.

There are monstrous creatures who are a very small sub-set of young people (mostly male) who somehow find it amusing to attach fireworks to cats then light them to watch the cat running in terror as the firework goes off. I recall one story on here many years ago by a cat owner who's cat had a firework somehow jammed into the cat's mouth & set off!

Many cats get very scared of the sounds of the bangs, which seem to get louder & more frequent as the years go by. Now is the time to get a (insert pheromone diffuser of choice here) on the go. I will also be starting to add Zylkene to wet food as from today, as no idea how Tobias reacts to fireworks - Girlcat sits in the window and watches them.

Try to be in on the worst nights, and turn the TV/radio up LOUD to muffle the bangs & sizzling noises. Make sure the cat(s) have access to plenty of hiding places around the house.

Anything that I've forgotten, please do add below. Next public service announcement will be in the run up to Christmas/Yule.

I have done these PSA over the years on. Small Pets. We always brought ours in — they had a secure pig shed in a secure garden but brought into an indoor unseated bedroom.

Our cats, both black cats are in at night anyway.

Last year a very loud firework when MaleCat was doing his business in his tray had him tearing under the sofa with a cartoon cat style stop dragging his bum along the floor……..the carnage you imagine from his tray, the hall carpet the sitting room.
I was there a while with paper towel and soapy water clearing up smeared pooh and nuggets of. ( thankfully solid) pooh.

Poor little boy 😯

My small pets were guineapigs not actual pigs !

And - they've started here tonight. Well over a week before bonfire night, pissing down rain, still got mortars going off like a war zone & screeching rockets flying up into the clouds. Will have at least another 2 weeks of this, followed by a break until just before Christmas. Then another couple of weeks of it, peaking on NYE when they start about 7 pm & go on until about 2 am

First bonfire night with Tobias here, so I went upstairs to check on him. Got a filthy look from him lying on the bed, apparently I'd woken him up from a nice sleep by turning the light on in their bedroom. So don't think I'll have to worry too much about him going forwards.

I know Diwali often overlaps with Guy Fawkes but where the hell are people getting the money literally to burn. Fireworks are so expensive !
I love the London NYE show and the charge £10 when I last went is brilliant value.
But in amongst all the budget cuts I think that should be culled.

Steps down off soapbox

That's what was passing through my mind last night. Based on the number of bangs and sizzles I heard, probably about £100-£150 went off last night in the pouring rain assuming they were cheap supermarket packs.

Diwali isn't until 12 November this year - so extending the season by another week (sigh)

Very timely, the little f**kers were at it last night.

It's raining here so hopefully that'll dampen (tish boom) their behaviour tonight.

We had some round us last night. Seemed to have stopped by about 9.00 (in the rain) and the boys were desperate to go outside so I let them out. Of course fifteen minutes later the bangs restarted. I reopened the door and all three shot back in through the door like little furry rockets (pun intended).
They didn't ask to go out again.

Round here fireworks don’t stop from whichever of Diwali/Bonfire Night is first (& often Diwali is at the end of October) until after Lunar New Year. We get dips in intensity, but they never really stop.

Mercifully the BalletCats i. decided as kittens that they are indoor cats & ii. got used to both thunderstorms & fireworks (having previously been terrified of both) after a few (dreadful & distressing) years.

Is it bad I’d quite like Old Testament style justice meted out on those who harm animals at Halloween/with fireworks/just generally?