When was the last time you turned on the music and your cat stayed in the same room? Cats are notoriously unreceptive to anything but peace and quiet. But there is a little known set of music they may find appealing.
A study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison revealed that animals including cats prefer sounds that are particular to their own species, such as tones and pitches. The first thing that comes to mind is the Meow Mix song, but that’s not exactly what they’re going for here. This 2015 study concluded that components of music can be arranged around purring noises, heartbeats, and other sounds that are normal in a cat’s life.
So they got musicians involved. A study of 46 household cats showed that because cats have much wider hearing ranges, they prefer something an octave higher than human voices, and much quieter, because their sense of hearing is so much more acute. They’d probably love to hear a mouse choir, for example.
Also, they learned that a cat’s meowling has a lot of sliding frequencies, so music that slides from note to note is more palatable to them.
In 2019 the clinic at Louisiana State School of Veterinary Medicine began playing cat-specific music to calm their patients, with success. You may note that some other vet practices use soft music in their cat rooms now.
So far, David Teie, the musician contacted by the University of Wisconsin, is the only known musician who has composed music just for cats. You’ll see what is meant by sliding tones on his free website musicforcats.com where you can play compositions of cello, squeaks, rhythmic heartbeats, and sliding ‘meowy’ notes.
If you want to entertain your cat while you’re away, cats.org suggests that you turn on quiet, calm music, perhaps with higher notes, like something you would play in a child’s nursery, and leave the door to the room open to provide an escape route when the cat has had enough.
Heron’s Crossing provides end-of-life care for pets in the Metro Atlanta area. In-home appointments with compassionate vets are available. If you’d prefer a home-like setting away from your home, our Decatur office is also available by appointment.