The connection between cats and music

There is an old saying, “Music soothes the savage beast.” Being an ever-curious cat and savage beast myself, I did a little research and discovered there have been a few studies on cats and music, and they all concluded the same thing: Cats do like music, but more specifically, they prefer music that is catered to them.

In a 2015 study, scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Maryland worked with musician David Teie to compose “cat-centric music” to see how cats responded.

They studied 47 different domestic cats and compared their reactions between the cat-specific music and two human songs, including Bach’s “Air on a G String” and Gabriel Fauré’s “Elegie.”

The researchers found that the cats showed a “significant preference for and interest in” the cat-specific music over the human music. In fact, they didn’t respond to the two human songs at all. They also discovered that younger and older cats had better reactions to the music than middle-aged cats.

Another peer-reviewed study from The National Library of Medicine showed that this cat-specific music can actually help reduce cat’s stress in environments like the vet or while traveling. In their study, they exposed cats to one of three options (either silence, classical, or cat-specific music) during three separate physical examinations two weeks apart. They found that the cat-specific music did in fact lower their stress scores and improve their overall experience at the vet’s office.

Upon this interesting discovery, I decided to do my own little musical experiment. Watch my reaction to hearing cat music for the very first time—Katey Moss Catwalk by David Teie:

@luketherescuecat

Watch me react to cat music for the first time 🎶 Did you know that cats prefer cat-targeted music? I'm writing about it in my newsletter ... See more

My mom then tried playing several human songs of different genres (Cat’s in the Cradle by Cat Stevens; Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton; Simple Man by Lynard Skynard; Lose Control by Teddy Swims), all of which I didn’t react to. But watch how interested I get when my mom turns on the cat-targeted Cosmo’s Air by David Teie:

Your weekly inspurration

My Instagram Furrend of the Week: @coloradocowcats

This week, I would like to share my bowl of tuna with @coloradocowcats. Follow their Instagram for adorable photos of Sushi, Loki, and Mojo, like this sweet pic of Sushi:

Please message me directly on Instagram if you would like to be featured in an upcoming issue!

Share me with your friends!

Thank you for reading this week’s issue! I’m always wagging my tail when I see that my friends are reading my newsletters. Next week, I will reveal the June giveaway winner, as well as my new paw-some prize for July!

Please take a moment to share this issue with your friends on social media. Let them know that they’re missing out on some of the best cat content on the internet. It would mean more to me than a freeze-dried chicken treat!