How do we know this? Because they tell us so.
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We recently watched a BBC documentary called Prog Rock Brittania. Reverend Jim spent most of it curled up in my lap. Now, it’s not like he doesn’t spend time in my lap. But he doesn’t spend that much time there for any other music. From the time he was a kitten, the combination of prog rock and lapsitting create an irresistible object in his mind.
We are used to thinking of music as something created and consumed by humans. We might forget that sounds have an affect on everyone with hearing and a heart to be played upon.
We have observed each of our cats showing up for the music they like, and leaving when the playlist shifts. If we pay attention, we might notice how our cats respond to our tone of voice, from sweet loving notes, to stern warnings, or even babytalk. That’s because cats are highly reliant on sound cues for their behavior.
Hunter/hunted: The slightest rustle, scrape, or squeak means dinner to our cats. So they are always up for investigating interesting noises. James Bond has drawn my attention to noises inside the refrigerator that I couldn’t hear until I opened the door.
The other side of this coin is how cats must always be on the alert to someone who is going to steal their dinner, or even make them dinner. And not in a good way.
Friend or foe: Any approach by another cat needs to be evaluated. Perhaps they are a friend… in a bad mood. Perhaps they are an enemy… in a good one.
Cats signal each other about their threshold for being bothered or engaged with various tones. From the chirp of friendship to the ear-splitting yowl of impending attack, cats are very alert to what other cats are trying to tell them.
Learning humans: With domestication, cats added another category to keep track of; human attention and intentions.
Cats love to be talked to. We might debate how much cognitive recognition goes on, but there’s no denying how cats are drawn to soft, happy, voices. They are alert to high, harsh, or distressed tones; they run from anger, and console our sadness.
When we consider that singing is actually “acting to music,” we begin to grasp how music, to our cats, could sound like a wonderful blend of many voices; even orchestral music. My cat Lawrence ignored all music except saxophone, which would lure him over to rub his face on the speakers. Sax is the instrument that sounds most like a human voice, and he certainly thought so.
Our kitten Ordell was a Devo fan; when the video “Freedom of Choice” was in rotation on VH1, he would show up reliably, every few hours, and then go back to what he had been doing once the song was over.
So if we notice our cat appearing at odd times, or showing up for “their song,” we have one more thing to share and enjoy with our cats.
Shared interests are one of the things friendships are built upon.
For more about cats and music, see Cat Affection Move: Their Song.
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Are you sure that Ordell didn’t like Freedom of Choice just because something bad happens to a dumb doggie? ;D
You funny! But at the time, Ordell had never met a doggie. I think it was the flowerpots
I had a cat once who loved Josh Groban. Floyd would sprawl out on the living room floor in front of the TV whenever I happened to land on a channel with Groban playing… even once leaving for the commercials and then returning again for the show. It was so funny and so striking that I bought a Groban album to play for him. Sure enough, he was always there once the music started.
Everybody in my family (except me) is a professional musician, so my senior ladycat has grown up surrounded by lots of music and instrumental noise. I can’t really tell if she likes a particular kind of music, because her preference for being where I am – or where the pesky kitten is not – seems to be stronger than her music taste. I wasn’t home for her encounter with a saxophone, but I’m told she came running and just about climbed inside the bell of it.
My cats tend to get Very Concerned when I sing along to the music; they find “Messiah” especially problematic. I guess that’s fair; I tend to find their Songs of Hunting Prowess and Triumph fairly similar to them getting disemboweled with a rusty hook (or what I imagine this would sound like).
We have very different aesthetics.
But- that’s what’s FUN!