Let’s focus on making this a safe and sane Independence Day for our cats.  The Cat Authors are indoor cats only except when I take them on a ride in their secure pet stroller. 

If I were to have company on July 4, I would put the Cat Authors in a secure room that I can lock.  If I could not lock the door, I would post a very large note/sign on the door to my guests:  DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR AS CATS WILL ESCAPE and I would put furniture in front of the door.  I would install calming diffusers in the room; I use Feliway but there are others.  ASPCA.com has an extraordinarily detailed list of dangers for our cats that not even I had thought of.  To keep this simple, I have summarized the tips from the PetFinder.com/cats Poster:

1. If you like your cats, put tags on their safety collars.  Not microchipped yet?  Google ‘microchip’ and/or enter the word ‘microchip’ on the Cat Authors’ website in the Search box above ‘Jokes & Quotes’ to read the article ‘To Microchip or Not to Microchip’ (posted on October 15, 2015). 
2. Snap a photo of your cats today in case one goes missing on the 4th.  More animals go missing on the 4^th and New Years Eve than any other time of the year.
3. If you are having guests, play with your cats before the party.
4. Recruit your guests’ help.  Ask guests to keep an eye out for your cats so they don’t slip through unwatched, open doors.  Put water, food, toys, litter boxes and cat trees in their secure room…if you have a secure room.
5. Avoid accidents…not only for your cats and your guests but for you too.  Keep fireworks, charcoal, sparkles and glow sticks far from curious cats.
6. Cover up.  If your cats are afraid of loud noises, play gentle music or run the TV (if they are used to that) to try to cover or lower the sound of the fireworks.  Cats have extraordinarily sensitive hearing.  They can be on the distant second floor and come flying downstairs when I open the refrigerator door or start to open a can of food…their food or my food. What is ok for my ears might be deafening to them.