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Don't Press Paws: Scientists Created Music Specifically For Cats

by Emily Arata

To reduce your guilt about leaving your fluffy kitten home alone all day, try playing music designed for her ears alone.

The Huffington Post reports researchers Charles Snowdon and Megan Savage have been working to create music especially suited for the delicate ears of domesticated felines.

The songs, created by David Teie, contain notes and noises cats already find interesting.

Snowdon told Discovery News,

We incorporated tempos that we thought cats would find interesting -- the tempo of purring in one piece and the tempo of suckling in another... Since cats use lots of sliding frequencies in their calls, the cat music had many more sliding notes than the human music.

When the team played two of the tunes for 47 house cats, alternating them with classical music, many of the felines rubbed their scent glands against the speakers in an attempt to mark the music as their own.

It was a mark of affection they didn't show to Bach or Fauré.

Curious? You can listen to snippets of Teie's compositions on MusicForCats.com and vote on your favorites. It sounds a lot like New Age spa music with a few chirping birds thrown in.

And although the gentle music would be convenient for busy pet owners during the workday, they're actually not Snowdon's only target audience.

He hopes to provide animal shelters with cat-friendly music, giving the lonely cats a sense of comfort and enjoyment during the day.

Citations: Scientists Create Music For Cats, And Fur A Good Reason (Huffington Post)