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. 2022 Oct;24(10):1046-1052.
doi: 10.1177/1098612X211066484. Epub 2021 Dec 20.

Evaluation of music therapy to reduce stress in hospitalized cats

Juliane Eg Paz  1 , Fernanda Va da Costa  2 , Luciana N Nunes  3 , Eduardo R Monteiro  2 , Jenifer Jung  4
Affiliations

Evaluation of music therapy to reduce stress in hospitalized cats

Juliane Eg Paz et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the use of two different types of music - cat-specific music and classical music - compared with no music, to reduce stress in cats during hospitalization.

Methods: Thirty-five hospitalized cats were randomly divided into three groups and each group received a different stimulus - cat-specific music, classical music or no music (control) - throughout their hospitalization. Respiratory rate, salivary cortisol and social interaction were documented. A blinded researcher performed the Cat Stress Score (CSS) during the video analysis of recordings at five specific times over 31 h of hospitalization.

Results: There was no difference in the mean CSS between cats listening to cat-specific music, classical music and control throughout the five evaluations. Cat-specific music had a higher percentage of positive social interactions than the other groups on the first evaluation (P <0.05). The average respiratory rate was significantly lower in the classical music group vs control on the fourth evaluation (P <0.05). Although statistically insignificant, the average respiratory rate decreased only in the classical music group during the five evaluations. Cortisol quantification did not seem to follow the CSS results. However, owing to the low and unrepresentative number of samples, it was not possible to perform statistical analysis on these results or a group sample comparison.

Conclusions and relevance: Both cat-specific music and classical music seem to have some benefit to hospitalized cats. The salivary cortisol analysis was not adequate nor useful to measure stress in hospitalized cats in our study.

Keywords: Cat Stress Score; Species-specific music; hospitalization; salivary cortisol; well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summarized methods of the five assessments (A1–A5). CSS = Cat Stress Score; RR = respiratory rate
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cages used in the study, located in the cat hospitalization room in the Feline Medicine Service of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, UFRGS
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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