Cellist to compose album of music for cats

Cellist and composer David Teie has successfully raised over $143,000 via a Kickstarter campaign to create the first album of music designed specifically for cats. In 2008 the National Symphony Orchestra musician teamed with scientists at the University of Wisconsin to compose two works which elicited a positive response in 77 per cent of felines. These animals had demonstrated no perceptible reaction to 'human' music.

'Unlike humans, felines establish their sense of music outside of the womb, through sounds heard after they're born, like the chirping of birds, the sucking of milk, or the purring of their mother,' writes Teie. 'Using only musical instruments, I incorporated those sounds and their natural vocalisations into music and matched it to the frequency range they use to communicate. The reason harp notes play in rapid succession (23 per second!) is because that's the precise rate of a cat's purr'

The project has clearly captured the imagination of cat lovers, who have smashed Teie's original fundraising goal of $20,000 by some distance. Currently being recorded, the new album aims to calm and 'enrich the lives' of cats around the world.

Read: Study finds classical music has a calming effect on cats