New Year's Eve is one of the loudest nights of the year for pets, and it's not the only one. Between New Year's Eve, Australia Day and the random backyard sets that come out of nowhere, fireworks are sudden, bright and impossible to predict. Frightened pets bolt through gates, screens and fences, and every year some don't make it home. A few weeks of prep is the difference between a plan and a panic.
Your New Year's Eve countdown
- By mid-November: order. Delivery usually takes 8 to 15 business days, and the four-week Storm Ready plan works best started a month out.
- Four weeks out: check their microchip details are up to date and their ID tag is on. Check gates, fences and screens.
- Three weeks out: set up the den: a crate or quiet corner away from windows, with a blanket over it. For cats, a covered hiding spot. Let them nap there so it smells like home.
- Two weeks out: start the calm-day wrap introduction, a few seconds at a time with treats, so the wrap means good things.
- On the day: walk them early, before dark. Bring them inside, shut doors and windows, close the curtains and put on the TV or music.
On the night
- Wrap on early, before the first bang, not halfway through.
- Give them a job. A frozen Lick Mat or a Snuffle Mat gives them something to focus on. In one large owner survey, feeding and play during fireworks was the approach most often linked with less fear.
- Stay home if you can, and stay steady. Speak low, sit nearby and carry on as normal.
- Never punish fear, and never drag a hiding pet out. Let them come to you.
RSPCA NSW also suggests keeping pets indoors, removing anything they could hurt themselves on, and talking to your vet if your pet is very afraid of fireworks.
The fireworks kit
The Storm Kit gives you the wrap, a free Lick Mat and the four-week Storm Ready plan in one box (cats: the Storm Kit for Cats). Add the Quiet Hood, which covers the ears and muffles the bangs, and a Snuffle Mat comes free with the Storm Night Bundle.
Order by mid-November for the full four-week plan before New Year's Eve, or by 1 December to have the wrap in time for a week of calm-day practice. Both kits come with the 30-day Storm Night Promise.
Shop the fireworks kit or start with the free Storm Plan.
Every pet is different. Our products are designed to help with comfort and routine. They aren't a treatment for anxiety or a substitute for veterinary advice. If your pet's fear is severe, please talk to your vet before the big night.