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Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:

I know cats communicate nonverbally so I’m just interested — I was playing my guitar and singing and I realized my cat was a few feet away. I thought I might be annoying her but I finished the song anyway and when I did I turned to her and said “sorry” and she winked at me! What does that mean?

Orange cat sitting next to a guitar. Photo CC-BY-SA Randal Cooper

Cats do enjoy some music. Photo CC-BY-SA Randal Cooper

~ Christian

Siouxsie: It may surprise you to know that we cats are connoisseurs of music!

Thomas: That’s not to say we enjoy all music, mind you. That thumpy, bleepy  stuff makes us want to hide.

Bella: Actually, I kind of like it! It makes me want to run around the house and fling my mousie in the air and climb my cat tree!

Siouxsie: Of course it does. That’s because you’re still an annoying little teenager. Teenagers like that kind of stuff.

Bella: Well, Mama’s not a teenager, and she likes bouncy music that makes me want to dance, too.

Siouxsie: I’m glad she doesn’t play it often. You exhaust me even when you’re not listening to music. And stop chasing me! *hissss*

Bella: I want to play! Won’t you please play with me?

Siouxsie: *grrrrrrr* *hissss*

Thomas: Oh, Bella, you know Siouxsie doesn’t like being chased all around the house. Now come over here and snuggle with me a while.

Bella: Oh, I suppose. *sigh*

Siouxsie: Now, Christian, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted … we cats do enjoy certain tones and rhythms of music. Mama’s found out through observing us that we tend to like slower and more mellow music that doesn’t have a lot of high notes in it.

Thomas: High notes hurt our ears, but we like calmer music that reminds us of a purr. Take, for example, this beautiful classical guitar piece…

Siouxsie: Oh, that just makes me purr.

Thomas: We don’t know if you were playing an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar, but we know we love those deep and rich sounds you can get from an acoustic.

Bella: We also love this song, and it’s one of Mama’s favorites, too.

Siouxsie: As for your kitty’s wink, we think that’s her way of telling you that she liked what she heard.

Thomas: We don’t know if you’ve heard of the “I love you” blink. That’s when your cat friend blinks at you very slowly. You can actually do the same thing to your kitty — try giving her the “I love you” blink and see if she blinks back.

Bella: We bet she will!

Siouxsie: You might have to try it a couple of times, though.

Thomas: In any case, we’re pretty sure your cat approves of your musical stylings. Keep it up and experiment with her to see what kind of songs and what keys she likes best. We’d love to hear the results of your experiments. Please write us back and let us know.

Bella: I like all music!

Siouxsie: You already said that!

Bella: *pout*

Siouxsie: What about you? What kind of music do your cats like? Please share your furry friend’s favorite tunes or genres in the comments.