A Kitty point of view: What's that loud noise?
Kitty Routine!
'Purrr‚ that was a lovely snooze! I can see that pesky pooch still sprawled out in his comfy bed. I wonder what he's got planned today?
Scratch and Stretch!
I know what I'm going to do though‚ First of all I'm going to have a good s-t-r-e-t-c-h on my scratching post. I love to get my claws right up to the top and see how long I can make my body - it helps to wake me up and get me ready for the rest of the day. And then, I'll have a little nibble of my food as my stomach is rumbling‚ yes, there it is, over in that corner and out of the way from that dog!
I do like to have the house to myself - except for that pesky pooch, of course. But I've got used to him now. He used to bark when he first saw me and that made me jump and I was scared, but my human parents spent a lot of time trying to help us get along and now me and the dog are best buds! I knew I could smell something different when they brought him home, and I could hear them playing with him in a different room. And though he scared me at first, I have plenty of high-up perches to escape to. It's great when I'm up high, because I know he can't get to the places I can! I'm better at climbing than he is, especially when he barks!
Everyday Exploring!
I think I'll wander around the house to get some exercise. I love exploring and finding places to hide. Let's go upstairs first and into my human Mum's room. This room is always tidy - she makes her bed when she gets up, which is a shame as I like to crawl into a warm bed for a quick snooze. But if I take a quick leap I can get right up on to the top of the ledge - I like it up here as it's right next to the window and I can look down into the garden and see what's going on...hang on a minute - what's that big Tom cat doing in my garden? ‚Hissss!! Meow!! Hisss!! Meow!!‚
That did it, he's gone. That made my hackles rise - these other cats need to know this is my territory!
I'll just have a quick look into the kids' room - ah! Clothes on the floor, which I like! I'll just curl up here for a little snooze - it's lovely and warm and I know I'm safe here as I rubbed myself against the kid's clothes last night and left my own scent there - lovely,..zzzzz.
What's that Sound?
Noisy toys!
That was a nice break, but what's that noise? I must have knocked that toy on my way through and now it won't stop wailing - I don't like that noise, it scares me‚ I'm out of here! I hope the batteries run out soon.
Between you and me, I can sometimes get quite scared when there's a noise that I don't recognise. If I don't know what the noise is, I get very stressed so I scoot around the house looking for somewhere to hide.
Fireworks?
There's one night every year which I hate!! When it gets dark, there are loads of loud bangs coming from outside, some quite close and some far away. They are followed by lots of bright lights shooting into the sky and I don't know what they are! The unexpected loud bangs of fireworks makes me unhappy. My human Mummy tries to calm me down. She calls them fireworks and tells me not to worry.
When she plugs a FELIWAY Optimum Diffuser into the room where I go to hide, it really does help me to feel safe and confident.
Musical Cats!
What's that I hear downstairs‚ best go and investigate. It's music - my human Mummy has left it on to keep me and that pooch company. Let me listen‚ ah! Chopin - I do like his music, it makes me feel relaxed. But I'm not so keen on the music the kids play when they come home - it's very noisy, so I take myself away into my favourite quiet spot that my human Mommy made for me, and try to cover my ears.
Family Sounds
Did you know, my human family can make a lot of noise! It can be unsettling if I don't recognise what those sounds are. For example, I'm just getting used to the hoover‚ I mean, I don't like it, but I know that my human Mummy likes to keep a clean house and sometimes I do scatter some litter out of my tray and she has to clean it up. I like a clean house too, after all I work hard at cleaning myself - there's nothing I like better than to sit on top of my scratching post and groom myself. It keeps me clean and relaxes me too, especially if there's been a lot of noise around. Now that we're friends, I do sometimes lick that pooch too if he passes by - it's our way of bonding.
Getting back to noises in this house - there's one thing I definitely don't like! The washing machine! One minute it's sloshing around and the next minute it's spinning fast and making a very loud whining noise - and that scares me every time! My human Mummy knows this now and makes sure that the door is closed when she has to use it. She also makes sure that my happy cat essentials are well away from it - like my food bowls and my litter tray - she knows I won't use them if they are near the washing machine!
But some noises don't scare me as much now as they used to. My human Mummy helped me with that - I now know that there has to be some noise around the house, like doors closing, TV and radio playing and kids shouting at each other! She got me used to it by reassuring me that everything was OK, gave me some lovely cuddles, stroked my head and gave me some yummy treats when I stayed calm. I'll go back for some more next time! If it all gets too much for me then I can also tuck myself away on top of the cupboard and have a little nap.
And as for that pooch‚ I suppose he's not so bad now that I've got used to him, but he still barks when that postman comes to the door and that really does scare me as I'm not expecting it. He really needs to stop doing that!
I hope my human Mummy remembers to replace that FELIWAY refill soon. I'm sure it's nearly a month and I don't want to feel stressed again with all the different noises in this house!
Follow our advice for fireworks fears and you will be better able to support your cat should they get stressed. Check out our other informative and helpful blogs on this topic. Or sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest FELIWAY guides and info!
