Do Cats Like Music?

Music soothes the human soul. It brings a feeling of contentment, relaxation, and an overall good time that cat parents just want to share that with their fur babies too.

But doesn’t it seem like cats show little to no interest in music? Do they really not care for music at all?

What Researchers Say

A study in the Applied Animal Behavior Science Journal takes a deeper look into whether cats like music and if they do, what kind of music they like. According to the research, cats display no interest in music that most humans listen to. But that doesn’t mean cats don’t care for all kinds of music either.

In fact, the researchers of the study say cats love music. They just have a different taste from us, humans, because their language and way of interacting is on a different level.

The Right Music for Cats

Further research led to the discovery that music is, in fact, species-specific. Humans relate to music when it uses tempos that fall to the beat of the human heart as well as acoustic and vocal ranges that we can process. It makes sense why human music doesn’t appeal to cats—they have a different biological makeup and have different senses than humans.

The composer David Teie has scientifically created music just for cats. The “Music for Cats” caters to the cats’ senses such as their ability to sense vibrations in the air through their whiskers. It uses classical music as its core with layers of purring and suckling sounds which cats find pleasing because these are familiar and comforting for them.

If you want your cat to love music, play sounds that are calming and light such as classical music. Avoid heavy metal music as it can raise feline stress levels. Now that you know cats do love music, you can bond better by listening to music that is right for both you and your feline friend.