A Feline Sonata: Why Cats Love Sliding Notes

The researchers then played these specially composed songs for 47 domestic cats in their respective homes with owners present. The cats were almost always instantly drawn towards the speakers, acting both relaxed and even happy - often rubbing against the speakers to mark this thing they liked as theirs.

Conversely, when the researchers played popular Bach or Fauré pieces that humans find relaxing, the cats simply ignored them - not showing any agitation but also not giving the speakers any love.

As most of the cats in the study were mixed breeds, the researchers are unsure if preference for this "cat music" varies among breeds or subspecies. However, it's not the first time the team has tried this approach with success.

In work published in the journal Biology Letters five years ago, the researchers also attempted to make music specific for tamaran monkeys - a species who had shown an unusual preference for the band Metallica.

They composed both a "tamaran ballad" to induce calm and several other songs to induce excitement.

"Our predictions were supported," Snowdon said, through a Teyus Music announcement. "Music composed for tamarins had a much greater effect on the behavior... Tamarins displayed significant behavioral change only to the music that was specifically composed for them and were unaffected by human music."

"To the best of our knowledge, this marks the first time that an art form has been shown by scientific test and observation to engender the measurable appreciation of any species other than human," the researchers concluded.

As the culmination of their success, you can now listen to the "Kitty Ditties, Cat Ballads," and more for yourself here. Just be prepared to find your speakers covered in happy cats.

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