Super purry animals:
how rise of music aimed at pets is cool for cats
IT is a new album of gentle classical tunes which has been racing up the music charts. But despite being snapped up eagerly by humans, the difference is this music is designed specifically for cats. Its US creator, cellist David Teie, says the “species-appropriate music” featuring low strings and purring has been scientifically proven to enrich cats’ lives.
Animal welfare charity the Scottish SPCA has said it is investigating the effect of music on animals to see if it can help reduce stress levels.
The appropriately entitled Music For Cats album – which had a launch party last week at a cat café in London complete with feline critics – has made it to number two in Amazon UK’s classical orchestral music charts, and number two in iTunes top classical musical albums.
It also made the top 40 in the Official Charts album category, entering at number 33 on Friday, ahead of the likes of Oasis, Eminem and Kanye West.
To the cynics, it might seem a clever ploy to squeeze more money out of doting pet owners. But the website for the album cites a study carried out at the University of Wisconsin which found that cats showed a “significant preference for an interest in species-appropriate music”.
The Scottish SPCA also said it is researching the effect of music on animals, after a study last year carried out in conjunction with the University of Glasgow found classical tunes had a calming effect on dogs.
Its head of education and policy, Gilly Mendes Ferreira, said: “Results showed that dogs’ stress levels decreased significantly after listening to classical music.
“This was the first step in a longer line of research as we are currently in the process of analysing data regarding how different genres of music affect a dog’s stress levels.
“In the long term we will as- sess if music has a positive and calming effect on other animals including cats.”
The Music for Cats album, which has tracks such as Katey Moss Catwalk has been released by Universal Music, making it the first major record label to cater for non-human “music fans”.
Universal has said it could pave the way for albums for other animals, such as dogs and horses, and Teie has spoken of his hope that in 100 years people will “have to be taught that music was once only for humans”.
So far, the reviews on Amazon have been mainly positive. One owner wrote: “The effect on our mature but nervous cat is amazing. The first time through she listened intently then fell asleep, and was calmer all evening.”
Another more tongue-in-cheek review read: “My Matisse looks like he’s high on marijuana while listening to this, he’s so chilled out and cool. Helped him to reform his bad habits and now he’s less promiscuous.”
But other cats seem less inclined to appreciate the efforts made by their owners to enrich their lives through music.
One reviewer wrote: “I like it – but I can’t get my cats to hang around long enough to feel relaxed and chilled by it.”
My Matisse looks like he’s high on marijuana while listening to this, he’s so chilled out and cool. It’s helped him to reform his bad habits and now he’s less promiscuous