Have you ever been at home and decided to put the radio or music player on? Have you then looked over to your cat and found them to be impressed or unimpressed?
Cats can’t tell us to stop that infernal racket, but at the same time, it’s unlikely to see your kitty dancing to the beat either!
Because of this, unless we were to do some sort of scientific experiment – it would be quite difficult to find out if your cat is a fan of music… but luckily, these experiments and studies have already been done, and we’ve read the results!
So, in this article we’ll be telling you if cats like music and if they do – what sort of music they like!
Get yourself settled in and read on to find out if your music list is making your kitty happy or angry.
Cats And Music
In short – cats do like music, but they’re not a fan of normal human music, especially not these days!
You won’t be seeing your feline friends in a club dancing to Usher or Ed Sheeran any time soon.
Studies conducted put everything from classical music to heavy metal to see if there was cat music within human music.
The determination was that cats are not fans of any types or genres of our music, but they were able to come up with music for cats that became species appropriate music.
Typically, the studies noted that cats were fans of music that had chirping or purring involved.
In reality, you could say that cat music is more sounds and natural noises that are mixed together that make them feel more comfortable and happier – but this is another point.
Species appropriate music is not intended for a cat to start dancing or bobbing their heads, it’s designed to soothe and comfort them.
Even something as calming to humans as classical music is annoying to cats.
David Teie is the person who now makes it his mission to make specific music, and he is a very well known and established cellist that has worked with notable artists and with most genres, from the most smooth to the heaviest.
He’s concluded that it’s the type of music that cats listen to that changes their opinion on it, especially when it comes to kittens.
But, as stated – this isn’t your usual instrument created sounds.
The one thing we sometimes forget with our cats is that they have a different hearing range to us and can hear in different frequencies.
Their frequency range is much higher than ours, so logically cat-appropriate music will be at a much higher frequency.
In terms of the types of music they enjoy, as we said it’s more about putting together sounds rather than creating music with tempos, a rhythm or interesting lyrics.
Cat specific music is more about putting together the sounds and noises that you’d establish and link with a cat’s natural communication.
So, when we’re discussing chirping, purring and things like that – a cat will feel at home.
Basically, it’s music therapy that brings about soothing sounds, familiar sounds and makes this genre of music what the experts will call feline appropriate music!
Does This Mean Cats Don’t Like Any Of Our Music?
Not necessarily. While your little furry friend will definitely prefer you play their own music, it doesn’t mean you should stop playing your own music at home forever!
Some cats in other studies have responded positively to other genres of music and this includes classical, rock music and pop music.
But, if you were planning to head out for a while and didn’t want to leave your cat home in the quiet, dark and cold – you can leave the heat on with some mood lighting and leave some classical songs on for your little buddy.
If you do have some music created specifically for cats though, we would certainly recommend that you put that on a loop instead though!
Is There Any Benefit To Playing A Piece Of Music For Cats?
There’s little evidence in the scientific world to suggest that there are heaps of biological or psychological benefits to playing music for your cat.
For example, there’s a myth that it helps with a cat’s pregnancy period – but there’s nothing concrete to support that.
However, with music created specifically for cats, they will feel slightly more relaxed and soothed, but they can get the same feeling with basic things like boxes, toys and play time.
The best thing to do is to read your cat’s body language and general emotional responses.
If your cat moves its tail negatively or looks like they might be annoyed – it’s best to turn the music off.
However, if your cat begins to purr or looks content, then leave it on!
Do Other Animals Respond To Music?
It’s actually a large area of study. There’s a field of study called zoomusicology which looks at the links between animals and music.
Studies suggest that most animals respond to their own species-specific music, and it’s suggested that the reason behind this is that any animals (including ourselves) respond positively to sounds and frequencies that we can hear, understand and connect with.
The most studies have been conducted on dogs and cats, and they’ve concluded that cats were easier as a control group, whereas dogs differ wildly in breeds and their abilities to hear certain frequencies and other sounds.
Currently, the studies are still being conducted, and it’s likely they will discover if other animals feel the same way.
Summary
To conclude, cats do enjoy music, but they prefer their own cat music which reminds them of their natural communicative methods like purring and chirps.
Other animals hold similarities in this regard.
Cats aren’t fond of humans’ genres of music, but they can tolerate classical at best.
I’m Courtney Trent and I hope that I can answer some burning questions that you have about cats, as well as some questions that you’d never have thought to ask before.
I am aiming to shed new light on these amazing pets and hopefully change some people’s opinions on them. Also, let’s talk about wild cats - they’re just as awesome as domestic cats!
So, stay a while and learn more about domestic and wild cats from Windhaven Ocicats.
