Music to cats’ ears: Project soothes the savage feline
NEW YORK — In the long battle for feline affection, cat owners may have some fresh ammunition.
David Teie, a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, recently teamed up with animal scientists to develop “Music for Cats,” a series of whirring, lilting and at times squeaky musical tracks designed for cats’ brains and ears.
Some owners leave the radio or a playlist on for cats alone in the house, assuming they will share human musical tastes, be it classical, country or the lyrical tones of NPR hosts. But cats’ hearing develops differently, and “we mindlessly turn on music” for them, said Charles Snowdon, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who worked with Teie on the project. With its special instruments and tonal mixing, “Music for Cats” aims to bridge that sensory gap, he said.
In some tracks, sounds similar to the chirps of birds are overlaid with hurried streams of staccato for an energizing effect; in others, crescendos of purring and suckling sounds are designed to relax. To a human ear, the sounds are otherworldly and at times soporific.
But what about the music’s target audience? My cat, Pocket, could do with some music-induced relaxation. She was found wandering the streets of the Bronx, and when we took her from the New York City Animal Care and Control shelter to her new home in Brooklyn, she developed a nervous habit of running full speed down the hallway, smacking her head against doors along the way.
Listening to the track “Cozmo’s Air,” built upon soothing vibrato sounds, she sat still. By the end of the four-anda-half minutes, she had curled herself around the speakers, purring.
Young rescue cats such as Pocket are generally the most responsive to the music, Snowdon said, adding that the more-calming tracks could be therapeutic for cats who have experienced neglect or abuse.
A Kickstarter campaign aims to raise $20,000 to produce more songs for a full album that can be left on for housebound pets. It will include about six tracks of 10 minutes of music, interspersed with silences.
In a video that accompanies the campaign, some of Instagram’s favorite cats are shown listening for the first time to music designed for them. In the video, Nala, Bacon, City the Kitty and Cole and Marmalade appear to react variably with surprise, confusion or contentment.
The “Music for Cats” project joins a pet market that was worth more than $74 billion last year and continues to grow, according to George Puro, who analyzes it for Packaged Facts, a marketresearch company.
For several years, marketers have been particularly successful selling pet products and treatments generally associated with humans. Consumers who see their pets as family members (referred to as “pet humanization”) are increasingly inclined to spend money on things they themselves would appreciate, Puro said. The cat music can now be added to a list including spa treatments, artisan food and designer clothes.
Teie said he wants to bring “the beauty and comfort of music to as many species as possible.” Next up: dogs.
“I worry they will want to sing along, though,” he said.