I found some videos online last night that are really just audio clips of noises, like walking on gravel, or snow, stuff that makes wonderful crunching noises. I started listening to them and found them to be extremely relaxing, even enjoyable. I just laid my phone down on the bed and let it play on an endless loop of delightful sounds. I looked up after a bit to find that my cat had joined me, was lying on her back, all four legs out-stretched. Her head was rolled back and she was just lying there enjoying the sounds. It was adorable to watch my high-strung cat get so relaxed. It's clear to me now that stuff that we humans find enjoyable, can also be enjoyed by our pets. I wonder if she was listening to the sounds on the same level that I was, or was her hearing acute enough to pick up nuances that I wasn't even hearing? I'll never know, of course, but beneath the crunching of gravel or whatever, there was the sounds of the wind blowing, birdsong, and other background noises. It's entirely possible that she was hearing sounds that I couldn't even begin to fathom. I am loving the fact that there is something that soothes the wild beast within my cat as she is about as nervous as a pet can get. I was wondering if anyone else out there ever tried something like this with your little 'Nervous Nellie' furballs? What works on your cat to cause relaxation?
I am not sure how cats process sound waves but I can vouch for a fact that they capture them better and with a higher intensity than us humans. Thats why cats flee at any sudden burst of sound. Thats why we should avoid high decibel sounds in the vicinity which would make pets uncomfortable including dogs. I have reason to believe that cats enjoy a constant pitch and tone of sound like that of a small radio. You can test this by giving them some snack or milk to check whether they would take it. This is a testimony that they are taking the sounds positively. Gradual increases i volume tend to make little difference since view have acclimatized. Cats tend to cope better with environmental stressors like dogs and tend to process both danger and disturbance for a brief period of time before discarding the same. This is insured by their agility unlike dogs who are less agile and tend to rely on their senses and are on guard most of the times and possess a good memory of the goings on on a daily basis.
I am not sure how cats process sound waves but I can vouch for a fact that they capture them better and with a higher intensity than us humans. Thats why cats flee at any sudden burst of sound. Thats why we should avoid high decibel sounds in the vicinity which would make pets uncomfortable including dogs. I have reason to believe that cats enjoy a constant pitch and tone of sound like that of a small radio. You can test this by giving them some snack or milk to check whether they would take it. This is a testimony that they are taking the sounds positively. Gradual increases i volume tend to make little difference since view have acclimatized. Cats tend to cope better with environmental stressors like dogs and tend to process both danger and disturbance for a brief period of time before discarding the same. This is insured by their agility unlike dogs who are less agile and tend to rely on their senses and are on guard most of the times and possess a good memory of the goings on on a daily basis.
Well I cannot really speak to any personal experience here, but I am very curious now, and I am thinking that I really have to try something like this. With my luck I am sure my little guy will take it as a sign of weakness on my part and then he will just go crazy, but you never know I suppose. It makes sense, and if things go right I might be able to perform some experiments and see how smart my guy actually is. If nothing else, though, this is really interesting and it is really fun to think about how they might respond to stimuli the same ways that we do. Very fascinating, and thanks for sharing.
(08-26-2016, 11:24 PM)Tom1 Wrote: Disсlаimеr: My еvidеnсе is purеly pеrsоnаl аnd аnесdоtаl. It is nоt thе rеsult оf а sсiеntifiс study.
Givеn thаt, I think it's fоr оwnеrs tо fееl gооd аbоut dоing sоmеthing fоr thеir саts.
Wе аrе bоth prоfеssiоnаl musiсiаns. Wе plаy аnd prасtiсе оur instrumеnts in thе hоusе with оur six сurrеnt саts, аnd with оur prеviоus саts, in thе hоusе with us.
Thеy аppеаr tо bе соmplеtеly unаffесtеd by оur musiс.
Whеn wе hаvе friеnds оvеr tо plаy, thе саts mаy hidе if it's strаngеrs. Thеy will hаng аrоund if it's pеоplе thеy knоw аnd likе.
Thе оnly timе thеy wеrе аffесtеd wаs whеn thеrе wаs а Thеrеmin bеing plаyеd, аnd tо bе pоlitе аbоut it, thеy wеrе nоt thrillеd!
My mom has several cats in her home and when she plays the piano they will react in different ways. Some will quietly leave the room, while others will just curl up and sleep. She has one cat who routinely trots over to the piano when nobody is looking, and plays notes on it. I guess he gets quite fancy, as if trying to emulate the music she plays. I have yet to hear him do this for myself but I have, in the past, seen her cats react to different types of piano music. They tended to enjoy the peppy, bouncy tunes best for some reason. Perhaps because those songs more closely matched the energy of the cats themselves. I don't know for sure.
That's true, I used to fall asleep whilst playing Counter Strike on my PC because of the relaxing walking sounds, for real, the feeling is just great, the sound of the grass and also the sound of the ground that shoes produce as you walk is extremely relaxing.
