Pets' hearing is much more acute than that of humans. The question of how animals respond to different sounds is uncertain. After all, the music that the owner listens to sometimes evokes negative associations in the cat.
Veterinary specialists and simply animal lovers distinguish several groups - cats that love to listen to music, those that are completely indifferent to music, and those that become irritable when listening to music. This depends mainly on the temperament of the pet, its gender and breed.
How do cats hear?
It is important to understand that cats hear differently than humans. Their hearing and the way they detect sound is incredibly complex and can vary in duration, frequency and intensity.
To understand how cats hear, you can compare their capabilities with other animals. Different species perceive sounds in different ranges, for example:
- Wax moth: up to 300 kHz.
- Dolphins: 20 Hz to 150 kHz (seven times that of humans).
- Bats: 50 Hz to 20 kHz.
- Dogs: 10,000 to 50,000 Hz (four times that of humans).
- Cats: 30 to 65,000 Hz.
- Humans: 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
Hertz is a unit of measurement of the frequency of vibrational motion, in this case sound.
The impact of music on a living organism
Most pet owners want their pet to share musical tastes, reacting to them the way the owners want. Many people want the cat to react positively to music, starting to move, which can please friends and Internet users when watching funny videos. Unfortunately, most cats react negatively to sharp sounds and music is not to their taste at all.
Modern music undergoes changes every year. Modern musical compositions are much more aggressive, faster, and the directions are completely diverse. The rhythms and sounds of music have a certain type of impact on the entire world around us.
With the help of properly selected music, you can improve your health, but you need to select music in such a way as not to harm your pets. Music also affects indoor plants.
Experts and scientists have spent a lot of time researching to determine how music affects living organisms. It has become known that cats hear music and react to it in a way that is typical for them. Harmonious music is held in high regard by pets. Different pieces of music influence in certain ways.
For cats, listening to classical music is preferable. Animals calm down and enjoy the sounds. When listening to modern music by pop artists, cats do not react in a special way, but rock compositions evoke negative emotions in animals. When listening to such music, cats try to avoid contact with the sound source or run around the room in search of a quiet place.
Back in the 19th century, nuns in Great Britain played Mozart's compositions for cattle. The great composer's serenades had a beneficial effect on the condition of animals, which was manifested in the production of more milk than usual. In Germany, farmers already in the 20th century came to such conclusions and began to use classical music on their farms to increase milk production.
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].
Do cats like classical music? What do cats hear?
So, do cats like music or not ? Well, it depends. When we try to understand how cats listen and what cats like to hear, we must observe exactly how cats associate different sounds. For example, when cats hear high-pitched sounds (around 65,000 Hz), this corresponds to kittens calling to their mothers or siblings. However, the most severe sounds (less than Hz) are associated with older cats who feel threatened.
One of the most interesting facts when it comes to cat sound and hearing is that cats meowing is actually an invention of animal domestication . By this we mean that cats meow, if it was due to the need to communicate with people, technically it should disappear after weaning. Meows are not a standard form of cat communication and are used primarily only by kittens who need their mother's attention. Meows are short sounds of 0.5 to 0.7 seconds, which can be as long as 3 or 6 seconds, depending on the severity of the kitten's need. Kitten calls are usually expressed in cases of cold, hunger or danger. Research shows that cold calling can occur before 4 weeks of life and is usually the most acute. Solo calls tend to be longer and require maintenance, while jail calls are more serious.
A cat's purr, unlike a kitten's call, usually persists throughout its life. Cat snorts or grunts, which are more serious tones, indicate threat or anxiety. And then we also have the mating call, which is a longer form of vocalization.
Are you interested in learning what each cat sound means in more detail? If so, take a look at our article where we learn 11 sounds cats make and what they mean.
Does meowing cause a response in a cat?
People meowing at their cats are like a human child trying to speak a language they have not yet mastered. This is gibberish and nonsense. When you meow to your cat, does she look at you like you're making no sense? Or does he ignore it and go back to sleep?
People may meow or make sounds like their cats, but to them the meowing is most likely gibberish. However, there are times when cats respond and enter into a meowing contest with their owners. But it could be a cat trying to teach its human the finer points of cat language.
In any case, cats can respond to your meow if they want to. If not, then... no.
Cats understand some human words
If your cat lives with you for more than a few months, she will definitely understand some words that mean something to her. For example, if you give your kitten treats every day and say "treat" to him every day, he will know what that word means and will come running. Or, if you say their name regularly when you first get your cat, over time they will respond to their name.
Like human children, cats learn some human words over time through repetition. Over time, cats begin to understand certain words that they often hear and associate with something useful. “Food,” “treats,” “snacks,” and other food words are words that cats learn fairly quickly because the item the word implies is given immediately.
They also respond to their name if it is used frequently. It's not that they recognize words as words in themselves, but they associate their name and other words with human behavior and other cat-positive things. Dogs, like other domesticated animals, are built in exactly the same way.
Babies are taught in much the same way that language can be taught to pets. But because cats and other animals don't have the ability to form words and sentences, they likely won't be able to respond to you in human language any time soon.
Species-appropriate music: music for cats
Many applied animal behavior scientists have also started playing cat sounds to suggest cats. Species-appropriate music . Appropriate music for the species is a genus based on the cat's natural vocalizations, which is combined with music of the same frequency range. The goal of this study was to use music as a form of auditory enrichment for the non-human ear, and according to the research, it was successful.
In this kingdom of music therapy for animals , we also discovered that there are some classical musicians such as felix pando who offer classical music for dogs and cats (which can be downloaded online).
For more information, you may also be interested in knowing what sounds to avoid when it comes to our beautiful cats. Find out in our article, what sounds do cats hate?
Music for parrots
You've probably come across a video of parrots shaking their heads to energetic music. The fact that they have an ear for music is not surprising - these creatures can even repeat human words! In 2012, researchers from the University of Lincoln (UK) decided to identify the musical sounds of gray parrots. As it turned out, these feathered smart guys are not at all averse to dancing and even singing along to various rock bands and reggae music. They also like classical music - the birds enthusiastically preened their feathers to it.
Conclusion: parrots may like the songs of the rock group U2, as well as reggae - the UB40 team makes good music. But for some reason, electronic music without words provokes stress in parrots
Higher frequency sounds resonate better with cats
Cats hear at a higher frequency than humans, so deep voices or sounds become background noise for the cat. Higher voices, such as a woman's voice, are easier for a cat to hear. If you've ever tried calling your cat with a deep voice and then a higher voice, you may have noticed that the cat ignores your deep voice but then recognizes the higher voice.
Cats hear sounds at a frequency of 85 kHz, while humans hear at a frequency of 20 kHz, meaning sounds that you may not be able to hear will irritate your cat. Why do they hear at this frequency? This is an evolutionarily developed function of predatory animals. They have a small skull and long, funnel-shaped ears that allow them to hear the squeaking of mice, the cat's natural enemy.
That's why when you say "kitty, kitty" in a high-pitched voice, they come running faster than if you spoke in a normal voice.
Music for sharks
What really surprised scientists were sharks. While filming a documentary, the Discovery Channel wanted to attract the attention of a white shark nicknamed Joan of Shark. Since these predatory fish perceive low-frequency sounds best, it was decided to apply it to the sound of heavy death-metal music. The film crew never reached the desired white shark, but two smaller individuals swam to the sounds of electric guitars. Scientists have repeatedly proven the interest of sharks in heavy metal, so sharks are the real “bad guys” of the underwater world.
Conclusion: sharks would love to go to concerts of bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death and Carcass. They are also not averse to listening to AC/DC
If you are interested in science and technology news, subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen. There you will find materials that were not published on the site!
In general, music is a vast topic about which hundreds of materials can be written. I recently wrote an article in which I outlined what scientists currently know about music. The topics of why all people listen to different music and what musical tastes generally are from a scientific point of view were touched upon. I also provided a link to a service that contains songs from almost all musical genres existing today.
Cats come running when they hear the sound of a can opener being opened.
If you frequently use an electric can opener to open cans of food or take out tuna fish, when they hear this sound, they will come running when they hear you using the can opener to see if they got more food. You may be using it to make dinner, but for cats it means more dinner for them.
Although this point is not usually studied scientifically, anyone who has owned cats in the past knows how willing they are to come to you when you use a can opener. However, most cat food cans these days tend to have a hinged lid, so you won't be using a can opener to feed them. But if you've ever opened a can of tuna and given them some juice, they will still recognize that sound and respond to it.
