Species-Specific Music To Calm Cats
AnimalCare 
Mar 17, 2016 
AnimalCare, NGOs 
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Music to calm shelter cats and cats going on veterinary visits, music as medicine!
Charles Snowdon, PhD of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a team of researchers set out to discover sounds that are appealing to cats, and turn those sounds into music composed by David Teie of the University of Maryland School of Music.
The researchers listened to the natural vocalizations of cats to match music to the same frequency range. They also added tempos the cats might naturally find appealing, including the tempo of purring, suckling, and birds chirping.
They also incorporated sliding notes in the music, since cats use lots of sliding frequencies in their vocalizations.
Next, the researchers visited 47 pet cats in their homes, with their owners present. They brought along their new musical creations, and also two recordings that are known to be pleasing to humans — Gabriel Fauré’s “Elegie” and Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Air on a G String.”
When the human music was played, the cats showed zero interest. But when the researchers played the special cat-centric recordings, things got interesting. The kitties perked right up when “their” music was playing — so much so that many of them rubbed their heads against the speakers.
Cats have scent glands along the length of their tails, on each side of their head, between their front paws, and other locations on their bodies. When your kitty rubs against an object or person (or another pet), he’s claiming that thing or creature as his own.
In the study, the cats “claimed” the speakers from which the melodious feline-friendly tunes emanated.
If only there were music to make alpha and titanic cats stop spraying!!
Source: https://myanimalcare.org/2016/03/17/species-specific-music-t..
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