The question of whether cats appreciate music is an interesting one, and we still don’t have definitive answers despite attempts to make music for our furry friends and study the way they respond to sound.
We’ve mentioned the ongoing efforts to make tunes for felines on this blog before, and previously experimented by playing composer David Teie‘s “Music for Cats“ for our brave volunteer, Buddy.
Excited by the possibility of music specifically designed for cats, and a study in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery that found it had a calming effect on the species, we queued up a track and watched the Budster’s reaction:
“Using Buddy as my test subject, I went to Youtube, selected the track Cozmo’s Air from “Music for Cats” and sat back, expecting Bud to start nodding his furry head at any moment.
Instead his ears pricked up, did their radar-dish swivel toward the speakers, and his eyes went wide. As the song gained volume and intensity, Bud’s ears and whiskers snapped back and he let out a clearly anxious “yerrrrrrrrrrppp!” I tried to calm him down, to no avail, and a second track didn’t improve things.
He wasn’t having it.”
Over at Catster, Christopher Bays writes about his cat, Olga, and her relationship with music.
Olga “has listened to classic rock, jazz, blues, classical, heavy metal, punk (or new wave?), and accordion tunes from Hungary, and it all sounds the same to her,” Bays concludes.
Noting that our tastes change as we age, Bays said he’s thankful Olga wasn’t around during his teenage punk and metal phase (ditto), and notes she’s not particularly interested in any sounds coming from electronic devices, with the exception of the roaring MGM lion. (Fun fact: The famous “lion’s roar” is actually a recording of a tiger played over footage of a lion yawning. The creators apparently felt lions don’t sound sufficiently badass enough.)
Bays points out our cats don’t exactly have control over what we play, and while that’s true, if you’re a genre-hopper like me, you’ve probably observed your furry friend’s reaction to various types of music.
Given the fact that the small amount of research done so far indicates cats do respond to tunes — and the existence of music-loving animals like Kiki and Snowball — I think felines probably are capable of enjoying the organized, rhythmic arrangements of sounds we call music.
I can’t say whether a favorite track can unleash a wave of emotion, nostalgia or energy the way it can for us humans, but I’ve played a lot of music around Bud and even played music for him on my guitar and keyboard.
He seems very comfortable with old jazz, soul and funk, he comfortably loafs when I’m in the mood for classic 90s hip hop, and he seems to tolerate the prog rock of Coheed and Cambria well enough. More recently he’s been on a 90s nostalgia trip with me: Blues Traveler, the Spin Doctors, Nirvana, Oasis, Better Than Ezra, Letters to Cleo, Ash, Weezer, Blur, The Roots.
And he seems especially chill in the sonic presence of synthwave, also called retrowave, an EDM-inflected genre that evokes nostalgia for an era that never really existed outside of 80s retrofuturism. It’s highly rhythmic, with steady 4/4 beats and vintage synthesizers cranking out arpeggios that rise and fall like waves, which may be a source of comfort to a species that likes things just the way they are without any big surprises.
Have you noticed your cats responding to music? What’s your kitty’s favorite genre or song? Is there anything they clearly don’t like?
Pain In The Bud 
Hmm. Not sure my cat has any interests in anything but treats. But i put oldies music at my clients house via Alexa. I have records. I do leave WQXR when i leave for the cats.
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No freak-outs in response to classical? Bud doesn’t seem to like it very much. I think there is something to the idea that cats get comfort from familiarity in sound the same way they’re comforted by familiarity in surroundings and routine, and with exceptions like Ravel’s Bolero, classical isn’t big on repetition.
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No freak outs. My cat does freak out at my whisling. He runs to window and sees no birds. 🤣🤣😾One cat named Azi does chirping sound when i whistle. So only sound cats respond to is me.
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Both cats respond to my singing bowl…does that count?
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It makes sense. They’re resonant, there’s a wave pattern to the sustained notes and the tones are restricted by the size and shape.
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Ramses grew up on hard rock and heavy metal (70s-80s). 🤘 We don’t listen to anything else in this house except for the occasional foray into the 60s.
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You might like retrowave. The Pylot album I linked to is heavily 80s influenced and there’s some serious shredding on the guitar solos.
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“Classic” 90s? Hahaha! Tell me you’re a youngster
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It’s funny, I feel the same way when I see comments on Youtube by kids “reminiscing” about a song that came out like 5 years ago. I’m like “That was yesterday!”
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As far as I’m concerned, the kids today don’t know music from their…bellybutton.
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Panther in Michigan, by Mike Smith, is a favorite of our cats … But seriously, all it got today was a few perked ears and opened eyes in a roomful of sleepy cats. A few Kiffness songs and they woke up a bit more, but no particular reactions to the cat-originated sounds. During the only metal song I play, Endless Forms Most Beautiful, they stirred around, did some head bonking and chow munching, and now we’re entering Nap Phase again.
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I like that Kiffness remix of the guy singing a traditional Finnish song set to the video of a cat vibing.
As powerful as music can be, it simply cannot compete with nap time as far as felines are concerned.
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Bella is unfazed by any sound really, she obviously responds to rustles and crinkly wrappers. Bertie is very sensitive to sudden noises (I guess from when he was abandoned and living on his wits) so I am cautious around him when he is eating but he is definitely getting more accustomed to “house noises” like the TV, neither has any reaction to any music really, I even tried playing Bella my own band which simply made her leave the room…
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Not exactly a vote of confidence for your band from Bella there, but her reaction is hilarious.
Do they bother you with the drums at all? Bud likes to be involved in everything I do, including music. He’s been known to reach out a paw and pluck a string or three on the guitar while I’m playing, and he’s notorious for cutting in with his own avant garde keyboard playing by walking across the keys.
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Fortunately my “Home Kit” is electronic so it makes no sound at all! – You should get Buddy a recording deal – he clearly has the talent!!! and with being a multi instumentatlist he would be superb in avant garde music!!
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