Researching what cat music is is quite difficult because it requires a good sample of respondents. Meanwhile, as you know, every cat likes to go its own way and does not like to do what it does not want. However, testing the effects of music on cats should not be difficult and can be successful even at home. It turns out that music has a beneficial effect not only on a person’s mood, but also on the mood and behavior of your cat. What is important in the background is not the volume of the song, but primarily the musical genre that you serve to the cat at the musical festival. What songs and genres do cats like, and what sounds are really painful and anxiety-inducing for a cat?
Music for a cat, what is it?
One of the researchers from the University of Lisbon, Miguel Carreira, conducted an unusual experiment on twelve cats. The experiment was to find the preferred genre of music that best affected the cats' body and mood. Carreira performed songs from the genres of classical ("Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber), pop music ("Torn" by Natalia Imbruglia) and heavy metal (AC/DC "Thunderstruck"). During each song, the researcher carefully monitored the external and internal signs of each cat's behavior and mood. He paid attention to the cat's heart rate, heart rate, restlessness or relaxed posture, and the cat's pupils. What conclusions did he come to?
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What sounds are closest to them?
To answer the question of what kind of music cats will prefer, it is important to understand what sounds are most interesting to them and how they will perceive this or that melody. For example, high-pitched sounds (around 65,000 Hz) correspond to kitten calls and are well received by mother cats and other kittens. However, pets may associate more serious sounds (with lower frequency) with wary adult cats that feel threatened.
It is important to remember one point here. A cat's meow is not a way of communication between animals of the same species, but a tool for attracting human attention. It arose through the process of domestication. Meows are short sounds lasting from 0.5 to 6 seconds. Among cats, it is used mainly by kittens that need the mother's attention (in case of cold, hunger or danger) [1].
Moreover, purring, snorting and growling are the sounds that cats use throughout their lives when communicating with each other, depending on their mood, the presence or absence of a threat, and even their state of health.
Animal behavior scientists have tried to write music that cats would like. A suitable melody for them had to be based on natural cat vocalizations and combined with music of the same frequency range. The study aimed to use music as a way to enrich the hearing of the non-human ear, and according to the findings, it was successful [2].
Relaxing music for cats - classic sound
Relaxing music for cats is the closest to the classical genre. It was with her that the cats showed the highest level of relaxation and self-control. They were relaxed, and their hearts usually beat evenly. Which song did they like best? It's probably not surprising that the most aggressive music, the AC/DC song, made cats anxious, increased their heart rate and enlarged their pupils. Meanwhile, the ears and musical taste of the studied cats turned out to be completely indifferent to Natalia Imbruglia’s pop work.
Do cats love music?
Until recently, the love of cats for music was confirmed only by the experience of owners and employees of shelters, who let the animals listen to classical music, which has a calming effect on the animals.
Recent research by scientists has proven that animals react to sounds in almost the same way as humans, for example, they are frightened by loud and sudden sounds, or fall asleep to the calm melodic sound of musical instruments.
But there is one significant difference: cats have ears that are sensitive to sounds. Most musical compositions cause a negative reaction in pets, but if the sounds are calm and quiet enough, then they do not irritate cats.
It is assumed that cats may like music. If they heard it from early childhood, then over the years of life they develop a certain attachment, getting used to the sound of musical compositions. At the cognitive stage of their lives, animals perceive sounds as something new, and then get used to them along with other natural sounds, for example, the voice of the owner, the sound of rain, birdsong.
Cat music is not only Mozart
What else do cats like to hear? Cat music, despite appearances, is not just the notes you find in popular classical songs. Cat music is also a separate genre of “music” that was developed by scientists specifically for furry pets. What sounds does it make and why does your pet like them so much?
University of Wisconsin-Madison psychologist Charles Snowdon and composer David Tay of the University of Maryland have come up with a collection of sounds that affect cats in the same way your favorite piece of music affects you. After much observation and research, they came to the conclusion that because cats hear completely differently than humans, and because their heart beats at a different, faster pace than humans, they need to create music that is significantly different from human. To do this, they created a special virtual instrument that resembles an organ in sound. Its main feature is that its sounds partially repeat the purr of a cat. Studies have shown that compositions played on this instrument actually make cats stay within its hearing range longer.
Perhaps in the foreseeable future this will help owners understand their pets even more and make their lives more interesting and varied and, who knows, maybe in the near future there will be separate concerts for furry ones.
How do cats react to music?
It has long been a known fact that cats have sharper hearing than humans. But can cats listen to music just like humans? Are there cats that are music lovers? There is a point of view that says that the division of cats according to their passion for music is exactly the same as that of people: love for music, indifference and irritation.
Every person would like their pet to share listening to music with them. But, unfortunately, most often cats don’t like music at all. What is the reason for this? And why do cats react specifically to music? The essence of the answer to this question lies in the so-called “cat language”
In the last century, two veterinarians, while testing the effect of music on cats, noted that playing a certain note in cats causes a certain effect, one of which may even be excitement. High notes cause anxiety in cats because... kittens make similar sounds when they are in trouble and need help. Anxiety can also be caused by other sounds that sound like screams of pain. Accordingly, if your music contains such notes, then your pet will not highly appreciate your musical taste, but rather will show rejection. But at the same time, everyone should not forget that other notes can evoke positive emotions in your pets, which can be determined by purring, estrus, etc. This all indicates that cats listen to music only at the level of instincts and react only to certain sounds, which means that cats definitely cannot be called music lovers
However, in this world there were researchers who, through experiments, were able to create music specialized for cats, based on the frequencies of sound in which our pets communicate. Because of this peculiarity of this music, it is very clearly popular among cats, so the authors of this art even launched the sale of these compositions, because... the success was incredible
It should also be noted that Portuguese researchers have found that certain compositions from the classics still reduce stress in cats. There are even rumors that because of this effect, music may begin to be used for medicinal purposes.
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Scientists have discovered what kind of music pets prefer
Many pet owners leave the house in the morning and leave the radio on all day, hoping to bring more joy to their cats and dogs.
However, the choice of radio station varies. “Humans have a tendency to project our preferences onto our pets, meaning we assume they should like what we like,” says Charles Snowdon, an expert on animal music preferences.
“People think that if they like Mozart, then their dog will love it, and if they like rock music, then their cat will love it too.”
Contrary to the popular belief that music is a uniquely human phenomenon, current research shows that animals do indeed have musical abilities. But instead of assuming that animals like classical music or rock, Snowdon came to the conclusion that pets prefer completely different music. They enjoy what is called "species-specific music": tunes specially designed using specific tones, rhythms and tempos.
It's all about the gray scale.
People enjoy music that is within our acoustic and vocal range, that uses tones that we understand, and that moves at a tempo that is similar to our heartbeat. Music created using a sound grid that is too low or too high is difficult for us to perceive, as is that made at a tempo that is too fast or too slow.
For animals, human music is too difficult to perceive. Their vocal ranges and heart rates are very different from ours, they simply cannot enjoy songs that are designed for our ears. Research shows that, as a rule, animals respond to human music with a complete lack of interest. With this in mind, Snowdon worked with cellist and composer David Teie to create music that would suit the animals.
Back in 2009, they composed two songs for tamarin monkeys, whose vocalizations are three octaves higher than humans and have twice the heart rate. For the human ear, the songs sound very shrill and unpleasant, but for monkeys it is a real pleasure.
After listening to them, the tamarins were clearly positively excited and active. On the other hand, after listening to a slow song, they became unusually socially responsive.
So experts began composing music for cats and dogs and studying how pets responded to it. "We created music that matches the cats' faster heart rate than humans and the higher range of their vocalizations," Snowdon says. As a result, they began selling cat music online ($1.99 per song) through .
Making music for dogs is more challenging, mainly because different dog breeds have different vocal ranges and heart rates. However, large dog breeds such as mastiffs and Labradors have a vocal range that is very similar to humans. “So it is possible that these dogs may respond to music in our frequency range.
That is, a large dog will be more sensitive to human music than a small breed dog, such as a Chihuahua, for example,” Snowdon said.
Given the high demand for new ways to please your pets, significant progress will be made in this area.
But no matter how well composers perfect music for cats, dogs and monkeys, animals will not be able to appreciate the beauty of music the way humans do. According to Snowdon, they lack an important musical ability that we have: detecting the relative pitches of sounds.
“It is known that many animals have absolute hearing, however, they cannot distinguish the relative pitches of sounds. They can learn to recognize a sequence of notes, but if they transpose the notes to a different key while still using the same sequence of notes, they will not be able to recognize the melody. That is, a person understands music differently than an animal
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Purring is a built-in mechanism in cats that occurs when they are happy, content, or relaxed. Mother cats purr when their kittens are born to make it easier for them to find her to nurse immediately after birth.
Music that combines purring with calm, soft piano music can help cats that are anxious or stressed relax and fall asleep. They are calmed not so much by piano music as by purring interspersed with the music.
It can also put a person to sleep, as the purring is at just the right frequency to lower blood pressure and calm the mind. That's why when your cat purrs on your lap, you feel sleepier than usual. It's the cat purring mechanism that does this to you.
What should you do to calm your cat?
If your cat is agitated or begins to show signs of aggression, give her time to calm down. The best course of action is to leave her alone. Turn off the lights and let her be alone for a while to calm down.
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Kittens who listen to music form a deep connection with it throughout their lives.
Much like a human baby in the womb, some theories suggest that playing classical music around pregnant cats may help kittens form a deep connection with classical piano music throughout their lives. While they may not have the same affinity for music as humans or "fond memories" of favorite music, they do seem to appreciate it more than cats who were not exposed to this type of music at an early age.
Cats that are frequently around piano music will, of course, show more interest in it than cats that are around things like television or other sounds. If a cat lives with a piano teacher, she may be more willing to try "playing" the piano or "singing" along with the music.
Cats may like piano music because their owners like it.
If you constantly listen to classical piano music, your cat may become interested in it too. Despite popular belief, cats are eager to please their owners and will sit next to you while you work, watch TV, or even read or listen to your music. However, your cat won't be overly excited about piano music if it's playing on your computer or MP3 player.
Cats are always interested in what their owners are doing, because they are curious creatures. Encourage your cat to enjoy piano music by choosing music specific to each species, such as this cat lullaby on Youtube. It features soft piano music combined with purring sounds that will put your cat to sleep within minutes.
Comments on the video claim that their cats went from being very anxious to sleeping in a matter of minutes. Whether this is true or not remains a mystery, but there is something about a calm atmosphere that helps cats calm down.
Cat's whiskers feel the vibrations of music
While humans can differentiate between different types of music only with their ears, cats sense music on a completely different scale, using their whiskers to feel the vibration of even the quietest music. Cats don't like anything with too much bass because their whiskers pick up the slightest vibrations.
Whiskers are like a cat's radar: they help the cat find its way or warn it of danger. The antennae pick up vibrations that tell the cat whether it should run or whether there is no reason to worry. Loud music with a lot of low frequencies frightens your cat and causes unnecessary stress and anxiety.
While you don't have to stop listening to your favorite music, you can turn it down or wear headphones, especially if you don't want to scare or make your cat feel anxious.
