Soothing sounds and music can be great for relaxation, reducing stress and anxiety, and helping you sleep at night. But calming music isn’t just for humans. Your pets can benefit too. Pick out dog music or soothing cat music to help your furry friend get over a stressful situation.
Is Your Cat or Dog Stressed?
People are often surprised to learn that their pets can also suffer from poor mental health. Stress, anxiety, and fear occur in both dogs and cats. Something might trigger a perfectly normal stress response, like thunder and lightning. The pet typically recovers quickly. In other cases, a pet struggles more than usual and can benefit from interventions.
Signs of stress or anxiety in dogs include barking or howling, pacing, defecating or urinating inappropriately, chewing and destroying things, trying to escape, or preventing you from leaving the house. Anxious cats tend to hide, stop eating, pant, be hyper-vigilant, and have dilated pupils.
How to Use Calm Music for Dogs
If you know your dog, you know when a specific situation will cause them stress. Maybe it’s fireworks on a holiday weekend or an unfamiliar houseguest. Research suggests that, whatever the stressor, music can help.According to one review of studies, classical music is the best music for dogs to relax in a stressful setting.
When you know your dog will be in a stressful situation, counteract it with soothing music. Classical music might be best in general, but each dog is unique. Find the music or sounds they respond to.
Puppies are a joy, but they also have boundless energy and poor impulse control. Puppy calming music helps tame the energy of your newest family member. A certain sound or relaxing song can be a great way to signal to your puppy that it’s time to wind down for the night. They will come to associate it with going to bed.
How to Use Relaxing Music for Cats
Cats are often harder to read than dogs. Unlike dogs, they often hide when stressed rather than seeking out their humans for comfort. Know the signs of stress and anxiety so you can provide music to soothe cats and help them relax.
One of the most stressful situations that cats encounter is a trip to the vet. A study of cats at the vet found that a particular type of music soothed them. Studies show that cats are particular. They prefer music in the range of cat vocal sounds, which is higher than the human vocal range. They also respond well to purring, suckling sounds, and birds.
You can use this cat music in the car on the way to the vet and in the vet's office, but also at home. Cats can become stressed by loud sounds, an outdoor cat lurking around the house, or new pets or people in the home.
If you have an anxious pet, or you just want to bond with your buddy at bedtime with a relaxing sleep routine, check out BetterSleep’s sleep sounds. You can search through a variety of music to see what your pet likes. Also, try mixing in things like purring or birds chirping for your feline friend.
