Fireworks season is a genuinely stressful time for a huge number of UK pets, and the noise and unpredictability can affect animals well beyond the days immediately around organised displays. RSPCA guidance sets out practical steps for reducing fear and keeping pets safe when fireworks are likely nearby.
Why fireworks are so distressing for animals
Animals’ hearing is considerably more sensitive than ours, and the sudden, loud, unpredictable nature of firework noise — combined with flashes of light — triggers a genuine fear response in many pets rather than mere annoyance. RSPCA guidance notes that this can affect not just dogs and cats but also small pets, horses and wildlife, with impacts ranging from short-term distress to longer-lasting anxiety around loud noises generally.
Preparing before fireworks season
RSPCA guidance recommends taking dogs for walks during daylight hours where possible during fireworks season, since walking after dark increases the chance of encountering unexpected fireworks outdoors, where a frightened dog is harder to keep safe and secure than at home.
Creating a safe, familiar space indoors ahead of time is also recommended — a den-like area with bedding, away from windows, where a pet can retreat if they choose to. Introducing this space before fireworks season starts, rather than only during an actual event, helps pets associate it with safety rather than only with the stressful trigger itself.
During fireworks: practical steps
RSPCA guidance for the day and evening of expected fireworks includes:
- Close windows and curtains to muffle noise and block flashing lights.
- Play calming background sound — the RSPCA specifically highlights options like Classic FM’s Pet Classics programming as a way to help mask firework noise with steady, familiar sound.
- Provide a safe hiding place for cats and small animals, since these species in particular tend to cope by hiding rather than being comforted directly.
- Stay calm yourself — RSPCA guidance notes that pets pick up on their owner’s anxiety, so staying relaxed and behaving normally can help reassure a nervous animal, rather than fussing over them in a way that can reinforce that something is wrong.
- Avoid punishing fearful behaviour — a frightened pet reacting to fireworks isn’t misbehaving, and punishment can worsen anxiety rather than resolve it.
Cats and small animals
Cats often cope with fireworks by hiding, and RSPCA guidance recommends providing safe, accessible hiding places around the home rather than trying to coax a hiding cat out for reassurance. Keeping cats indoors during fireworks periods, with a litter tray available, reduces the risk of a frightened cat bolting outdoors. For rabbits, guinea pigs and other small pets kept outdoors, RSPCA guidance suggests moving hutches into a quiet, insulated space such as a garage or shed where possible during firework-heavy periods, with extra bedding for them to burrow into.
Microchipping and identification
A frightened, bolting pet is one of the more common outcomes of fireworks distress, which is why RSPCA guidance specifically flags microchipping as a relevant precaution during this period — ensuring your pet is chipped and that your contact details on the microchip database are current gives you a far better chance of being reunited if they do escape in a panic.
Horses, livestock and wildlife
RSPCA guidance extends beyond household pets — horses and livestock owners are advised to plan ahead where displays are known in advance, and desensitisation techniques exist for horses that are regularly exposed to loud environments. Wildlife is also affected by fireworks, which is a wider consideration for anyone organising a private display near open countryside or waterways.
When fear is a persistent, ongoing problem
For pets whose fear of loud noises is severe or doesn’t improve with these management steps year after year, it’s worth discussing this with a vet, since there are behavioural and, in some cases, veterinary approaches that can help beyond home management alone — this article covers general precautions rather than a treatment plan for an established noise phobia.
Planning ahead rather than reacting on the day
Because organised firework displays and private celebrations are often announced or become apparent only shortly beforehand, building noise-phobia preparation into a general seasonal routine tends to work better than trying to organise everything reactively once fireworks have already started nearby. This might mean checking local event listings around bonfire night, New Year and other known firework-heavy periods, setting up the safe space and calming sound options a few days in advance so your pet has time to settle into the environment before it’s actually needed, and having any vet-recommended calming products or plans already in place rather than trying to source them at short notice on the day itself.
For dogs in particular, some owners use gradual, low-volume recordings of firework sounds in the weeks leading up to a known high-risk period, played at a level that doesn’t trigger a fear response and slowly increased over time — a form of desensitisation. This is a more involved approach than the general precautions above and works best done under guidance from a vet or qualified animal behaviourist, since done incorrectly it can occasionally worsen rather than improve a noise sensitivity.