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 like classical music? What do cats hear?
So, do cats like music or not ? Well, it depends. When we're trying to understand how cats hear and what cats like to listen to, we need to look at how cats associate different sounds. For example, when cats hear high-pitched sounds (around 65,000 Hz), this corresponds to kittens calling for their mothers or siblings. However, lower sounds (lower Hz) are associated with wariness in adult cats that feel threatened.
One of the most interesting facts when it comes to cat sound and hearing is that the cat's ''meow'' is actually ' an invention of animal domestication .' By this we mean that the cat's 'meow', If I were' Due to the need to interact with people, it should technically disappear after weaning. Meowing is not a standard form of cat communication and is used primarily only by kittens that need their mother's attention. Meows are short sounds of 0.5 to 0.7 seconds, which can last up to 3 or 6 seconds, depending on the severity of the need. kitten.. 'the kitten is calling' They usually express themselves in cases of cold, hunger or danger. Research shows that cold calling can occur before 4 weeks of age and is typically the most acute. Loneliness calls tend to be longer and serviced, while labor and delivery calls are more severe.
Cat's purrs, unlike kitten calls, usually persist throughout its life. Cat's snorting or grunting, which are more serious tones, indicates threat or anxiety. And then we also have the mating call, which are longer forms of vocalization[one].
Are you interested in learning what each cat sound means in more detail? If so, take a look at our article where we discovered there are 11 sounds a cat makes and what they mean.
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.
Cat music calmed cats better than classical human music
Foil cat is in a good mood
You can reduce stress for cats during an examination at a veterinary clinic using music specially recorded for them with the sounds of kittens purring and feeding. This was found out by American scientists who played 21 cats either cat music, classical music, or nothing at all. Subjective behavioral indicators of stress in the first case in animals decreased, scientists write in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery
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One of the important effects of music is to change the psychological state of the person who listens to it. This is why various melodies are often used, for example, in psychotherapy, and a meta-analysis conducted a couple of years ago even showed that music can reduce anxiety and reduce pain in surgical patients after surgery.
Interestingly, the calming effect of music has been successfully tested not only on humans, but also on animals: classical music, for example, reduces stress in dogs living in shelters, as well as in cats during visits to veterinary clinics. It is assumed that it is not human music that may be more effective in reducing stress in animals, but melodies that are created specifically for other species, taking into account, for example, the range of sound frequencies perceived by them and the characteristics of natural communication. For example, David Teie from the University of Maryland in 2015 recorded several compositions in which he used cat sounds and melodies in the range of their vocalizations (from 55 to 200 hertz): with the help of a small study, he showed that cats are actually They prefer this kind of music to human music.
Amanda Hampton of Louisiana State University and her colleagues used one of Thaye's compositions to test how cats' stress levels changed in response to feline and human music. Their study involved 21 cats, all of which had to undergo three checkups with a veterinarian, each two weeks apart. During each examination, the cats were randomly played either classical music (“Elegy” by Gabriel Fauré), cat music (“Scooter Beer’s Aria” by David Thaye), or nothing at all.
Before, during and after each examination, the researchers measured the animals' stress levels using a special behavioral questionnaire and assessing their reactions to the person nearby, and the scientists used the ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes in the blood as a physiological indicator of stress.
Stress scores and reactions to people in cats did not differ before the examination, but during the examination, both indicators were lower in cats that listened to cat music, compared to those animals that were played classical music or nothing. Music did not affect physiological indicators of stress. Interestingly, the cats who listened to cat music also had significantly lower levels of stress after the examination ended—when the music was turned off.
Indicators of stress and reactions to a person during an experiment when listening to classical music (red), cat music (green) or silence (blue)
Amanda Hampton et al. / Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2020
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The researchers have thus confirmed that cats actually respond more readily to music specially created for them: the sounds of kittens purring and feeding, which were used in the recording, appear to have a calming effect on cats. As for physiological indicators, scientists note that the ratio of the level of neutrophils to lymphocytes in response to stress increases sharply in response to a stressful situation and returns to normal only after a few hours: most likely physiological stress was caused by transporting the cat to the veterinary clinic, and its level I didn’t have time to fall during the 20-minute examination using music. That's why scientists are pushing to re-measure these indicators in another study, perhaps over time.
In general, the editor’s favorite news about animals listening to music is about a 2021 study that studied the auditory perception of crocodiles. In it, animals that were put into an MRI were played Bach's Brandenburg Concerto.
Elizaveta Ivtushok
I love cats music??
In conclusion, we recommend inviting your cat to 'species-appropriate' Music to enjoy. However, if this is not possible, we can get this classical music. This is the favorite music genre for cats. But why? This is because cats tend to enjoy harmonious sounds and softer genres of music as it promotes relaxation...
It's also important to remember that some cats cannot bond with human music unless it is in the appropriate frequency range, which is specific to the cat's ear. Some studies show that some cats prefer silence to human music.
Want to test this theory? Try our HowMeow video on YouTube!
Species music: cat music
Many applied animal behavior scientists have also started playing cat sounds to suggest cats... ' species-appropriate music' . Species-appropriate music is a genre based on a cat's natural vocalizations paired with music of the same frequency range. The purpose of this study was to use music as a form of auditory enrichment for the non-human ear, and research has shown that it was successful.[2].
In this kingdom, music therapy for animals We also found that there are some classical musicians like Felix Pando who offer special “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 precious cats. Find out in our article, what sounds do cats hate?
