Most people love fireworks, but if they could talk – their pets may express quite a different opinion.

Cats, dogs and other pets can be very upset by the noise and suddenness of fireworks, causing them a great deal of stress and trauma. This can be quite a dilemma for an animal lover or pet owner who also really likes fireworks – can you still have a display without upsetting your pets?

Luckily, there are quite a few ways you can minimise the impact of fireworks on animals, such as the following:

• Consider attending an organised display rather than holding your own. This is a good idea for big national celebrations such as Bonfire Night and New Year’s Eve as it limits the number of displays going on and also allows pet owners to plan ahead and take steps to keep their animals calm.

• Bring small pet hutches inside. Try to insulate them against the noise and give animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs and gerbils – all of whom are easily scared – lots more bedding to burrow into.

• Give pets lots of places to hide. Frightened animals instinctively look for a place of safety, so make sure there are lots of concealed places they can hide themselves away.

• Keep cats and dogs indoors. This will keep them somewhere safe when they may be in a distressed condition, where they may otherwise run off and get lost or injured. You may also want to consider microchipping pets ahead of fireworks displays so that you can find them if they do get lost.

• Consider quieter fireworks. Fireworks specialists such as 1^st Galaxy offer products catering for all tastes, from those who like it loud to fireworks fans who are trying to appease neighbours and pets. These quieter fireworks are just as beautiful – in fact, the lack of noise makes the colours and patterns stand out even more – and they can go a long way to creating a display that makes everyone happy.

• Stay calm yourself. If you can act as if everything’s normal and praise the pet for calm behaviour, you’re much more likely to keep pet anxiety levels down.

• Inform your neighbours. It’s good manners to inform your neighbours of anything potentially noisy such as parties and fireworks displays, but it’s even more important if your neighbours are pet owners. Giving them advance notice allows them to prepare, or perhaps send their pets to stay with a friend or family member for the night.

• Minimise noise and disturbance inside the house. This means shutting the curtains and if the pet is already used to TV noise, turning up the TV or radio to block out some of the noise.

• Don’t leave pets alone. Pets need the reassurance of their owners during potentially scary events, so don’t leave them unattended.

• Let pets freak out. This is something that they need to do, so don’t try to stop pets from pacing or letting off some steam.