Caturday: The Fourth of July Edition — Why Cats React to Fireworks, and How to Help Them
Happy Fourth from our hill. Tonight is one of those rare moments when living halfway up a slope feels like a perk rather than a penalty. Most days, dragging garbage cans up and down it is a cardio workout disguised as civic duty. But on the Fourth? We can sit on the balcony and watch fireworks burst upward from three different cities at once. High enough for the full visual spectacle, far enough for the sound to arrive softened, like distant thunder. Our cats disagree. Every year, without fail, all nine of them make the same decision: to the catio . Not the beds. Not the closets. Not under the furniture. The catio. It’s on the back of the house, tucked away from the streets, insulated by the structure itself, and large enough—108 square feet—to feel like a protected outdoor room rather than a cage. On the Fourth, it becomes their bunker, their sanctuary, their preferred place to ride out the night. Why Fireworks Terrify Cats Cats don’t react to fireworks because they’re dramatic ...