There is a lot of talk about New Year’s Eve and New Year’s weekend being a real trauma for many dogs, but with this article we want to give tips on what you as a cat owner can do to make it easier for your cat.
Because the cat by nature masks signs of weakness, it is not always easy for us to understand that they, like our dogs, can have problems with New Year’s rockets. A cat also runs away more easily and hides and it can be easy for a cat owner to miss that some of our cats can be very stressed by New Year’s crackers.
There are now aids & tips on how you can make your kitty’s environment safer for the New Year. Zylkéne & Feliway are good aids that you can buy from your veterinarian to reduce the cat’s fear of New Year’s crackers, but there is also much more you can do.
Here I list 10 things you can do for your cats during the New Year weekend when the fireworks are in full swing:
- Make sure that the outdoor cat is indoors during New Year’s Eve itself so that it does not experience any rockets or other discomfort.
- Make sure that the cat has several hiding places and sleeping places where it can lie in peace and quiet. And try not to disturb it, ask your guests not to walk up and even look at the cat, eye contact from strangers can be incredibly stressful and gives an insecure feeling to the cat.
- Find a quiet room memory in the house / apartment or down in the basement, where the sound does not penetrate as easily. Cover for any windows where the cat can see light from rockets that can be lived as stressful.
- Feel free to turn on some music / radio to distract. Use music that is relaxing, that you yourself listen to when you are going to relax. The sound creates a sound barrier to the noise from the bangs outside.
- If the cat shows any kind of stress, try not to confirm it in any way. It can make the cat feel more stressed.
- The goal should be to make the cat’s environment as safe as possible, so do not make any major changes, but feel free to leave the old blanket in front. The best thing is of course if the cat can stay at home. If you do not have the opportunity for this, let the cat move to the new place, for example the cat boarding house a few days before New Year, so that it has time to adapt.
- If you know that you have a cat that is easily afraid of new sounds, which is also otherwise easily stressed, you should try to give something called Zylkéne. Zylkéne is a dietary supplement based on substances found in colostrum in mammals. When mammals give you to their young, there are soothing substances in the milk that give well-being and peace to the young. It is these substances that have been extracted and that are found in the tablets / capsules. I have seen very good results after treatment where environmental changes are combined with zylkene.
- If you find it difficult to remember to give your cat supplements daily at Christmas and New Year, you can instead give a food that contains natural sedatives. In Royal Canin’s Calm, there is tryptophan, which is a precursor to the “happiness substance” serotonin. You can use the food during periods when the cat is a little worried for various reasons. Start giving the cat food a little before Christmas as cats are addicted and want plenty of time to get used to a new food. Let the cat eat the food for a few days to a week or so after New Year’s or until it seems to have its emotions in balance again.
- If you have a lot of people at home and you know that the cat is shy, it might be an idea not to let the cat have access to the place where you stay the most, but to limit the area so that it does not feel stressed. Make sure the cat has access to its box, food and water. Remember to place the food and water bowl as far away from the litter box as possible.
- Feel free to get Feliway. Feliway are the cat’s soothing scent pheromones. When the cat is well and relaxed, it emits fragrances that other cats can feel. These pheromones have been extracted & used in Feliway products. Endofta emitter is best if the cat moves in larger parts of the house. If you are going to have the cat in a room during the New Year, you can either put the scent emitter there or you can use Feliway spray that you spray in the room where the cat is to be. However, the spray treatment must be repeated after a few hours, so sometimes fragrance emitters can be easier to use. Feel free to read more in our article about how Feliway can help your cat.
Happy New Year and good luck!