Hi everyone,
Here in the UK we are full on in Fireworks season now! Back in the days, it used to be just Bonfire night that saw what’s fun and delightful for (most) humans! Sadly for our pets, this is most often not so much fun. Loud noises and flashing lights will often upset even the most relaxed pussycat or puppy!
And to make things even worse for our furry friends nowadays it stretches from October all the way through into Spring with various events… from Bonfire night over to Diwali (Hindu festival of light) followed by Christmas, New Years Eve and even Chinese New Year which unfortunately happens to fall into the next year for the Western Calendar. 😉
So while all of these events are great for us humans they do mean we need to be extra vigilant with our pets and provide them extra support during this time.
Whatever you chose to do to comfort your pet during this time it’s important to start this process early. You don’t want to start putting things in place a couple of days before the expected fireworks but ensure that you’ve done preparations well before.
So what are the signs of stress in your pet?
Some of these conditions in cats are pretty obvious to us such as hiding behind or under furniture. But did you realise that your cats’ grooming can be an important identification factor of your cats’ wellbeing? Us humans are often not that great at spotting this one as we just assume our feline friend just wants to be a little extra clean and only realises there is a problem when they start having bald patches!
In addition to providing your pet with a safe place such as a comfy enclosed bed/basket or a blanket in a quiet room, there is also the option of using calming aids. If you choose to go down this route we’d always recommend using a natural product such as Zylkene.
What is Zylkene Calming Supplement?
Zylkene contains a natural ingredient derived from casein, a protein in milk. It is a molecule well known to promote the relaxation of new-borns after breastfeeding. Launched in April 2008, Zylkene has become a familiar product for veterinary surgeons, behaviourists, nurses and pet owners for use in helping pets cope when facing unusual and unpredictable situations or before occasions such as a change in their normal environment.
https://youtu.be/vO_xPLmUICM
So why would we recommend it?
If you need the extra bit of calming effect to address your pet’s behaviour we think that their product is a great choice as it comes in 2 easy to give options
Chews:
These tasty chews are more of a treat so it’ll be easy to administer to your pet as they think it’s a treat rather than medicine. 😉
Sprinkle Capsules:
With the capsules, you just break them open and sprinkle them on food or mix into a liquid treat. As cats are more suspicious than dogs in terms of sprinkling medicine on or into food we would highly recommend stirring it into something like the Webbox Lick-e-Lix as they are perfect at hiding most medicines!
To find out more about their range head over to the Zylkene website which also contains a handy list of stockists across the UK!
Of course, Fireworks are not the only situations this can help with! There are many other situations in which a natural calming aid such as Zylkene can help you and your pet!
While some of them are most obvious to all of us did you realise that some pets cannot bear the thought of being alone at home? In the world of cats most affected by this are social breeds such as Orientals or Siamese while calming agents can help alleviate some of this stress you may want to put alternatives in place if your pet struggles to be alone at home from a neighbour that can pop-in during the day to a second cat companion!
So what did our little ones think of their Zylkene treats?
Freya: What you were trying to make the blanket look nice for a photo?
Rennie: No chance! We are already on it!!!
Nubia: Honestly guys… I saw this blanket first!
Rennie: That doesn’t look like medicine at all! It looks like a delicious treat. 😮
Rennie: It also smells like a treat… 😀
Freya: Most certainly is! These are very delicious!
Rennie: Freya… Can I have your’s as well?!?
Freya: No chance!!! This is mine and secondly it’s one a day!!!
Renegade: Ok ok… I get it! I’ll wait until tomorrow o.o
What do you all find helps with your own pets during stressful times? Let us know in the comments!
Thanks,
Marc
I’d definitely try these chews to calm my KitKat – we live near a minor-league baseball stadium, and almost every weekend, they’ve got fireworks going. Add in the noise pollution from planes flying overhead and lawn mowers, and it’s no wonder cats sleep all the time. They’re trying to find peace in a noisy world! Nice post, Marc!
Oh bloody hell fireworks almost every weekend?!! That’s no good at all!!! 🙁
You’re not kidding! Kit hates it? I don’t love it myself!
yeh great n so sweet fire works with me god bless you all ….for all good things
Oh my! So sorry to hear you have a “fireworks season”! EGADS! That is awful! I used to be upset when we heard them from the middle of June to the middle of July! (This past year it was wonderfully less noisy!) But October to Spring?!?!?! Wow! That is too much. And they are so unnerving because they can go off at anytime. (At least around here – around 4th of July) Someone can just decide to let them off and scare the household!
Indeed we have far toooooo many of them now!!!
Great post! Thank you for all info..
Thank you 🙂
I use Ultra Mega Calming Formula. It works great in the car but my Siamese seems to become immune once we reach the vet. I’m in the U.S.
Interesting that it wears of. We have a couple of ones we use that seem to always work
Maybe it depends on the cat! The vet usually has to inject Monkey with a sedative even for shots!!!
Poor monkey :/
Poor? She turns into a Monster! Monster Monkey!!
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I found Comfort Zone Feliway Spray (a stress reducing pheromone spray) worked very well to calm my kitty Benji so I could take him to the Vet. Without it, it was really stressful for both of us. Just spraying this into the carrier a little while before we leave made a huge difference!
I don’t think I’ve seen that spray in the UK. Only their plugs.
Okay, maybe it’s in the U.S. only. The vet suggested it when I had such a problem getting Benji into the carrier. It really helped a lot.
These might be good to help calm Pepper. Thanks Marc. ?
You are welcome. ^^
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Not a worry here. Besides we are warned of serious rain again tomorrow!
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