Cat Behavior
Cat Music
CATS & MUSIC
Cat Music
You can read all kinds of views about whether cats like music. We list some sources below. And you may have your own experiences which have given you your own opinions.
In this source (go a few paragraphs down) they state: “It’s a little-known fact that cats enjoy music only when the notes are specifically designed to meet their acoustic, vocal, and heartbeat range.”
Sounds very scientific yes? It’s also utter nonsense in my experience. Cats may not like most of the music most people listen to, but then who can blame them? I don’t like a lot of the music a lot of people listen to. But cats can love music and demonstrate how it affects them in no unequivocal terms.
Cats & Live Music
The greatest fan of my guitar playing, which employs elaborate finger picking, was my cat. He’d come around, stay near and stretch and twist with obvious pleasure when I’d play. I mean, he could have left the room if he’d wanted. That music was both structured and complex and the sound of the strings were themselves captivating and the cat couldn’t get enough of it.
I got a small Celtic harp thinking I might learn to play that. I had it nicely tuned and was just strumming it and picking the strings mostly randomly – no song – and the cat went into what I can only surmise was ecstasy. He melted, he writhed, closed his eyes and gave himself up to the sounds – as if they were penetrating him and caressing him from the inside. I do not believe he was capable of more pleasure than he got from the harp. It was a phenomena.
My Own Music Please
Here is another source which says cats don’t like human music and they cite the music of Led Zeppelin and J.S. Bach. I doubt my cat was much different from any other cat and he Loved Bach and I’m sure he would have loved some of Zeppelin’s music too.
In fact he loved most melodic instrumental music, and I think these are important points – instrumental and melodic.
Cats have a lot of associations with the human voice, fraught with ambivalence, a sense of contradiction, confusion, uncertainty and capable of inciting any number of reactions such as fear, a sense of safety, comfort expectancy of caring or abuse. A cat has to try to decipher what that particular voice in that particular modality (mood, intent, inflections, innuendo, etc.) means to him. Is it a threat? Is it safe? Can it be trusted? Imagine listening to vocal music with those subroutines running through the back, or front, of your mind? Would you be able to tune in and get into it? Likely not.
As to the melodic part, melody is form, structure, mathematical precision and though not widely studied as of yet, those are qualities inherently meaningful and important to a cat. Possibly because they convey reliability – melody is a kind of uniformity that can be trusted – a very important component in a cat’s life.
The Truth About Cats & Music
at least as far as I’m concerned, is that cats can enjoy all kinds of music made by and for humans, though they may or not like the music you move to.
According to the study shown here cats prefer the ‘created for cats’ music. Listening to it I can hear how any cat would be intrigued by it. When my cat listened to real music he wasn’t just interested, he seemed – ‘moved’ – if you will. Does the synthesized for cats music do that? Maybe.
In any case, for other views, below are some links you might find worthwhile on the subject of cat music.
https://www.mic.com/articles/111948/scientists-have-developed-rock-music-that-cats-will-enjoy
http://www.sci-news.com/biology/science-cats-prefer-cat-music-02583.html