Music for . . . cats???

Thanks to a tip from fellow author and blogger Alma Boykin , I was led to this news report.

A musician has created an album of music for feline listeners, even though he is allergic to them.

David Teie, a scientist and cellist in the US National Symphony Orchestra, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through crowdfunding and sold 10,000 copies of his record independently.

He was then offered a deal with Universal Music and his album Music For Cats is set for release on 28 October.

Mr Teie said that the music was created based on his scientific theory that cats appreciate music through the sounds they hear as kittens, such as their mother's purr or birds chirping.

. . .

"I like the idea that critical taste applies to cats too.

"But I've seen videos where cats nuzzle up to the speaker or even curl completely around it.

"Very excitable cats are completely calmed and formerly abused or feral cats tend to respond best."

The music is played at shelters, where Mr Teie says it can cut down the time it takes for a feral cat to interact with humans.

"It is communication in the cat's language, of acceptance and understanding and the comfort that goes along with that."

. . .

A spokesman for Universal Music said they were "thrilled to be part of this world-first project and break into the massive untapped market of non-human music fans".

"The possibilities are endless for more species-specific 'Music For' albums - dogs and horses could all be on the cards."

There's more at the link.

Intrigued, I looked for more information.  I found the original Kickstarter campaign for the project, and through that, came across this video explaining it.

Fascinating!  While I was listening to it, seated at my desk, our cat sprang up to my lap, craning her neck, head twisted to one side, to listen to the computer speakers.  She settled down in my arms, purring, listening intently until it finished, then looked at me quizzically as if to say, "What?  Is that all?"

I think I'll have to get a copy of the recording for her.  However, I don't know about the same sort of thing for other animals.  Dog music might be a bit noisy - and as for elephant music, I really don't want a pachyderm purring all over me.  That might not be survivable!




Peter