Meow-sic Preferences: Exploring What Music Cats Like
Quick Answer
How Cats Perceive Sound
Humans and cats have a similar lower limit of hearing, at around 20 Hz.
However, there is a significant difference in their ability to hear higher frequencies.
While human ears can hear only up to 20,000 Hz, a cat’s ears can hear sounds as high as 64,000 Hz.
This means they can detect sounds at much higher pitches than human beings and can perceive ultrasonic sounds that are far beyond the range of human hearing.
Cats can also hear sounds from about four to five times farther away than we can.
So it’s safe to say that cats have a more sensitive and finely-tuned sense of hearing compared to humans and experience the world differently as a result.
The question is, does any of this have an impact on how cats respond to music?
Do they respond to music at all?
How Cats Respond To Music
Anecdotally, I can tell you that our beautiful rescue cat Loulou was always partial to classical music, particularly Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake or one of Mendelssohn’s violin concertos.
The higher the pitch and the more violins, the more she liked it.
I’ll never forget the look of utter bliss on her face as she settled into her favorite cardboard box to listen.
In fact, if Loulou was elsewhere in the house, she would often come running to the room where I was playing the music, eager to hear her favorite opus.
Because Loulou enjoyed being serenaded by strings so much, I never thought to test her response to cat-specific music.
This is a shame, because research shows cats are most responsive to music that is specifically designed for them.
What a missed opportunity!
Studies designed to explore how cats respond to music have found that cats generally show more positive responses to classical music.
These responses include:
- Purring
- Relaxed behavior
- Increased rubbing against their owners
Intriguingly, though, cats are even more responsive to specially designed cat music.
And perhaps unsurprisingly, they are more likely to display signs of stress and anxiety when fast-paced heavy metal or rock music is played.
Classical Music vs. Cat-Specific Music
In a study published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, cat music composer David Teie and his research team compared the effects of species-specific music and classical music on cats.
Obviously, classical music varies widely and can be loud or quiet, melodic or dissonant, slow or fast, and just about anything in between.
So for clarity, the music in the study was chosen specifically for its similarity to the human resting pulse rate.
The two pieces of classical music selected were:
- Faure’s Elegie (has a pulse rate of 66 beats per minute and a frequency range encompassing the human vocal range)
- Bach’s Air on a G String (has a pulse rate of 56 beats per minute and is in the human vocal range)
The two samples of cat-specific music used were:
- Cozmo’s Air (has a pulse related to purring – around 1380 beats per minute)
- Rusty’s Ballad (has a pulse rate related to kittens suckling – around 250 beats per minute)
The music for cats, composed by Teie, is tailored specifically to imitate the sounds and frequencies cats use to communicate.
The goal is for the music to have a soothing effect on cats while also integrating elements to pique their interest.
The average pitch of Teie’s cat-specific compositions (1.34 kHz) was notably higher (about two octaves) than the human control pieces (335 Hz), and set at a frequency level (about one octave) beyond what is naturally found in the typical range of feline vocalizations.
In music, an octave represents a specific interval between two musical notes.
It’s the distance between one musical pitch and another with double or half the frequency (e.g., C to D, or C to C#).
How The Experiment Worked
In the experiment, two speakers were set up in the homes of 47 cats and their owners, approximately 15 ft. apart.
Cat music was then played through one speaker, while the human music was played through the other speaker.
The researchers used the following behaviors as an indication of the cats’ interest in the music:
- Orienting the head toward the speaker
- Movement toward the speaker
- Rubbing against the speaker
- Sniffing the speaker
The results show the cats had a far more significant preference for the cat music, and they responded to it much more quickly too.
Not only that, but 15 of the cats in the study became calmer after hearing the cat music.
In contrast, the human music only had a calming effect on two of the cats.
What Is Cat Music?
When creating music specifically designed for cats, composers take into account the frequency range and patterns that cats respond to, then incorporate these elements into their work.
Cat music typically includes gentle, rhythmic melodies with soft tones and natural sounds, such as purring or suckling sounds.
Cat music may also feature repetitive patterns and similar tempos that mimic the pace of a cat’s heartbeat or breathing, providing a sense of familiarity and calm.
Benefits Of Feline-Centric Compositions
Because of their exceptional hearing abilities, cats can be highly sensitive to their environment, and loud or jarring noises can easily startle or stress them out.
White Noise
Playing calming music in the background can help distract cats from loud noises (like fireworks, thunderstorms, or the vacuum cleaner) or unfamiliar sounds (like the garbage truck or an emergency vehicle siren) that may cause them distress.
In terms of which type of music, research shows that feline-appropriate music can have a positive impact on cats’ stress levels, reduce anxiety, promote relaxation, and even improve sleep quality.
One trick we’ve often used is to play cat music if any of our cats become agitated in the car when we’re taking them to the vet.
Just recently, we had our rescue cat Rainbow with us in the car on the way to her checkup.
As soon as we started driving, she began meowing loudly and pacing around her carrier – definite signs of stress.
We turned on a cat music playlist, and within a few minutes, Rainbow settled down and curled up quietly.
The music worked like a charm to relax her during the ride.
If you want to give it a try, there are lots of cat music playlists available on YouTube and Spotify that use frequencies and tones proven to reduce anxiety in cats.
Calming Aid
Has your cat been acting anxious or on edge lately due to a sudden change in her environment?
Adding a new pet to the home, moving to a new house, or even having guests stay over can be very disruptive and stressful for our feline friends.
Not to mention the arrival of a new baby, noisy renovations in the home, or being adopted into a new home.
Next time your cat seems distressed by unfamiliar sights, sounds, or routines, try playing some cat music and see if it helps to alleviate her anxiety.
We also know that cats, just like dogs, can struggle with separation anxiety.
If your cat happens to be one of those, you may find that some of that special music can help.
At The Veterinarian
A recent study published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery backs up the findings of Teie and colleagues that cats do prefer cat-specific music.
They found that the 20 cats in their study responded more positively to cat music and that their stress levels were lower, compared to both classical music and silence.
Based on their findings, the researchers suggested that playing cat-specific music in a veterinary clinical setting could help reduce anxiety.
“A cat displaying less anxiety while listening to cat-specific music is more comfortable in its surroundings and is easier to handle,” the study says.
“Easier handling can allow veterinarians and staff to conduct better physical examinations and acquire more accurate vitals.
“The ease of handling may also provide comfort to the client and boost their confidence in the veterinary team, and would, in turn, lead to better owner compliance when scheduling veterinary visits.”
At The Animal Shelter
If cat music at the vet’s office can potentially help reduce a cat’s stress levels, then why not in an animal shelter too?
Shelters are notoriously stressful places for animals to be, with all those different scents and sounds, and people and animals coming and going at random.
Audio Enrichment
If not overused to the point where your cat gets fed up with it, cat music can also serve as audio enrichment and provide mental stimulation.
Having said that, it’s important to make sure your cat has a choice to remove herself from wherever you’re playing the music, if she doesn’t like it.
If she wanders off or leaves the room, that’s a fairly clear sign that she’s not overly enthusiastic, so pay attention to your cat’s reaction and adjust accordingly.
Just like people, different cats will have different preferences.
This means that some cats may respond better to classical piano music, while others may prefer the gentle sounds of a harp or flute.
Some cats, like our lovely Loulou, may respond more positively to violins and other stringed instruments, while others may prefer cat-centric music, or something else altogether.
It’s important to take the time to observe your cat’s preferences and find what works best for her.
It may take some trial and error to find the right music that your cat finds soothing and enjoyable.
She may even have a favorite song!
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Resources
- Can Music Make Cats Less Stressed? – Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado
- Cat Music – Spotify
- Cats prefer species-appropriate music – Charles T. Snowdon, David Teie, & Megan Savage
- Cozmo’s Air [Video] – David Teie
- David Teie on YouTube
- Effects of music on behavior and physiological stress response of domestic cats in a veterinary clinic – Amanda Hampton, Alexandra Ford, Roy E Cox, III, Chin-chi Liu, & Ronald Koh
- How well do cats hear? – FirstVet
- Music for Cats – David Teie
- Relax My Cat – YouTube
- Rusty’s Ballad [Video] – David Teie
- Swan Lake [Video] – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Violin Concerto in E minor op. 64 [Video] – Felix Bertholdy Mendelssohn
