Soothing Music for Pets

As much as we'd love our precious pets to always be happy-go-lucky and carefree, they too are sometimes prone to nervousness and stress, just like people. Music can soothe peoples' minds and makes them feel good, and it occasionally can accomplish the same for cats, dogs and birds.

  1. Dogs and Music

    • When it comes to canines' preferred sounds, they tend to be drawn to basic song structures, sparse instrumentation and slow paces in general, notes Ohio-based veterinarian Susan Wagner. Background music is beneficial for dogs, rather than music with an aim to take over the whole room. Certain genres of music are also believed to be much more relaxing to dogs, specifically classical music. Heavy metal music is believed to actually irk dogs, and they are believed to have indifferent attitudes toward pop -- neither relaxation nor annoyance. If your dog has a separation anxiety issue and gets upset when you leave home, calming music can be a useful tool, notes the Houston SPCA.

    Volume

    • Volume also affects music's soothing properties with regard to canines. The furry guys' hearing frequencies are significantly more elevated than those of people, and therefore they require reduced volumes. Calm your pooch by playing music, but always turn it down a few notches first.

    Cats and Music

    • Some owners of felines also believe that music produces beneficial relaxation effects in their pets, according to Caroline Goldman of CatChannel.com. Soft music such as easy listening is often thought to put cats in giddy, serene moods, full of contented purring and even rolling onto their backs.

    Birds and Music

    • If your poor pet bird ever seems uneasy or frustrated, relaxing music could be just what he needs -- even if it just helps to obstruct outside sounds that might be contributing to his nerves. Classical music could be valuable for these purposes, reports Rebecca Sweat of BirdChannel.com.

    Nature Sounds

    • Although not technically "music," nature sounds also might be soothing to pets -- think waterfalls, waves, rainstorms and the like. These diverse sounds could even be a source of fascination to your little buddy.