Thundershirts are go... jacket helps calm pets

ANIMAL lovers say pets terrified by fireworks could be calmed lightning fast – with ‘thundershirts’.

Costing from €30 online, they wrap round cats and dogs’ torsos and are secured by Velcro.

Makers say they ‘apply a gentle, constant pressure like a hug to encourage relaxation’.

Also popular are plug-in pheromone diffusers that release chemicals to replicate those produced by a mother to calm down your pet. If that doesn’t work, owners should try playing classical music, with Beethoven a fourlegged favourite.

Pete Wedderburn, a small-animal vet, said: ‘Dogs and cats have super-sensitive hearing and to make things worse they can’t understand what’s going on. To help spooked pets create a cosy, soundproofed den by closing curtains and playing classical music such as Beethoven to drown out other sounds.

Pets at Home has created a calming playlist on the music streaming website Spotify.