Keep your cat away from fireworks

This is my first Fourth of July as a pet-owner, so forgive me for what I'm about to say: I had no idea that my cat would hate fireworks.

I suppose it makes sense — what creature does like the sound of nearby explosions? Definitely not me. But I didn't realize fireworks were such a big deal for cats until I stumbled across a Tumblr called Little Cat Diary. A blog post directed towards American cat owners who celebrate their patriotism with fireworks warned that cats will often run around and try to escape when they hear the explosions. Then, the author went on to explain an even more horrifying side effect of fireworks: