Have you ever seen strange behaviour from your pets when you put a certain type of music on the radio? Sarah has. It only dawned on Sarah last month that Mottley’s behaviour of attacking her feet in the middle of the night may have something to do with music. It was so sporadic and there appeared to be no obvious link between the negative behaviour and anything. We had been through cigarette smoke, food, visitors, boarding and nothing seemed to have an positive correlation. Finally after keeping a diary of what music she played at night time we realised that Mottley became anxious and aggressive when dance music was played on the radio.

There appears to be no data or studies indicating the positive effects of music in animals. It is unlikely that there would be a positive effect of music on its own. However it is possible that certain music may have a calming affect on the owner and thus indirectly calm the cat. It is also possible that an negative inicident occurred some time in Mottley’s history and she ahs related that negative incident to the music that was playing at the time. That is why the music may increase the chance for a negative behaviour.

Something to think about.