Do cats like music?

This week, I wondered - do cats like music? If so, what music do cats like? Is there a music for calming cats? 

According to DailyPaws.com, we can't actually determine whether cats like music, but there have been studies done that show that classical music can lower cats stress, while other music, like heavy metal, actually raises it. Catster.com points out that cats have very sensitive hearing and so music that sounds good to us might be overwhelming to them. 

David Teie, a cellist for the the National Symphony Orchestra, had a theory that different species will like different sounds based on their own brain development and vocalizations. He set out to create species specific music using elements of that species development. The musicforcats website gives an example of how humans enjoy a beat to their music because during our development we can hear our mother's pulse. It is thought that since a cats brain is only 1/8th the size at birth than it will be at 10 weeks, they don't have that same developmental experience of hearing their mother's pulse.  Instead, David uses a sound like suckling milk in creating his calm music for cats. David's cat music also incorporates other feline specific sounds like purring and bird chirps. ClassicFM also says it uses a frequency closer to a cat's vocal range, which is about 2 octaves higher than our own. 

The resulting music for cats was then played for cats during study done at the University of Wisconsin. Catster.com says they also played human music for cats. The cats did not react to the human songs, but the study concluded that the cats showed a significant preference for the cat music! They also noted that both younger and older cats had a better reaction than middle aged cats. 

Another study was done at Louisiana State University where cats were played either one of the songs for cats called "Scooter Bere's Aria", a classical piece called ‘Elégie’ by Gabriel Fauré, or nothing during a trip to the vet. According to ClassicFM.com, the cats who listened to the cat music had significantly decreased stress scores and handling scale scores. Their blood tests didn't show the same results, but the researchers thought that maybe 20 minutes of music wasn't long enough to impact blood tests,

If you would like to see if your cat would enjoy some music just for them, below is a link to the above mentioned song called "Scooter Bere's Aria". Try playing it for your cat and see how they react, or head over to musicforcats.com to buy some music for your feline friend!