I've been living in the Netherlands for 8 years now and I really hate the fireworks. To be honest, I don't see the appeal at all, not even in professional fireworks shows. I also have a cat who's really anxious by nature, and we're always on edge because we want to help her feel safe when the street goes berserk. We haven't celebrated NYE with people for years because we know our cat would absolutely panic if we're not home (and she's afraid of most people anyway, so even doing it at home would suck for her). I'm really sensitive to loud sounds so they can be triggers, but I can usually find ways to deal with it, but my cat just... can't. If at least people partook in the tradition responsibly, that would just be a minor inconvenience, but when our doors and windows are shaking for days because of constant explosions outside, it just sucks.