Music/bass & Cats

[alizero]

Hi, 

Semi new to the forums. I signed up a little bit ago due to an issue my cat was having but ended up just going to the vet over it instead of waiting to figure it out.

New issue not sure if Vet can help.

I have a 16 year old cat, named Ali (like the boxer). Not sure what kind he really is. Have had him since he was a few months old and ever since. 

I work in the music industry, studying sound engineering, and have been recently been building a studio in my own apartment. I have had Ali for the most part of his entire life. I have always been around music as has he. I recently was able to acquire a good set of speakers for my studio. I set them up today and began playing with the sound from them. They're great but what I noticed was Ali was scared at first. 

I think the subwoofer is what scared him the most. When it first went on he literally jumped & ran.  I turned it down quickly to a tolerable level and he is still walking around scared. 

I picked him up and held him close, tried introducing him to the equipment. I guess trying to get him to understand where it's coming from. Still walking around like he's scared. Turned the subwoofer off, and he is fine again. Turn it on scared little one again. 

This was in the beginning, after about 5 hours he is coming around slightly. Finally, sitting next to me where before he would cower somewhere on his own or run when I tried to pick him up. 

I love my equipment, job, and studio but I love my cat more so I have a couple questions and was hoping someone could answer them for me. 

Will he ever get used to the noise/sound? Or will he continue to act like he's scared? Like I said after a few hours he is finally sitting next to me but I don't want him to be scared at all. 

Is there a noise level at which I could hurt his ears at? It didn't dawn on me until today to realize they hear better than we do, so now I am worried. I don't blare the equipment but still wonder if it is a concern at any level. 

Not sure if it has an relevance but I do wonder so I'll add it. A few years ago I was in a rough spot. My landlord at the time decided to illegally evict me, boarded up the windows/changed the locks, the whole deal. During that he decided to take Ali and turn him over to animal control where I eventually found him in a metal cage, all alone outside!  Ever since then then he's always seemed to be scared of loud noises, new males, & knocks at the door. I don't know if the bass from the subwoofer is scaring him due to that. He is sitting next to me right now and every time the bass hits he lifts his head & looks around so I have to wonder. 

Sorry for the long post & unique question but I really don't want to do anything that causes him discomfort or scares him and am deeply concerned. I really didn't think this was a situation where his vet could help but if anyone thinks differently please let me know & we will go. 

Thank you so much for any help. 

 

[di and bob]

I don't know if I can help you or not, but I know that ALL my cats hate it when we turn on the Bose sound system, they used to scatter every direction. The only thing I can think of is that it is the bass that does it, cause it sure sounds 'tinny' without them on. I would think eventually your cat will get used to the difference in sounds, ours only jump when an especially loud and sudden noise goes off now, after 2 months. I would keep it low for a while and see if he can handle it. (I know, it's hard!) Maybe you could keep him in another room if you want it really loud for a while. I'm sure he was traumatized terribly by your landlord, I'm so glad you were able to be reunited! They remember things for a LONG time. Good luck and bless you for caring so much about your furbaby!

 

[alizero]

Thank you so much for your reply it puts me at ease to know someone can relate or understands the situation. 

After a few hours now of letting it play he has come back around. He is still jumpy, like you said, when the bass/noise is unexpected. But he seems to be calmer than before. 

I will take your advice and continue to keep it at a low volume so he can get used to it. And yes that is hard to do but I don't care to inflict fear into my little guy. 

I would try to keep him out of the room but he hates not being able to access areas where he knows I am at & I am not looking to disrupt his availability right now so hoping keeping it low will help him adjust. 

Thank you so much for your advice & input we both appreciate it!

 

[coco and rose]

Not sure if sharing my experience will help ypu at all, but I have had cats that didnt mind THAT MUCH v loud noises, once they knew they were in a safe environment and nothing wrong was going on. My sister's cat, Monico, for example would even sing with my sister when she sang to him (rather yell at him). It was quite anoying if you ask me, and i could never understand how was that possible but it was their thing.
I have two girls now, Rose & Coco, I adopted them a few weeks ago, so they are slowly getting used to my noisy lifestyle. I wake up with the radio or music at very high volume (connected to my BOSE sound system) so I can hear it all throughout my 1bedroom apartment and they did, definitely, get a bit scared at the beginning because they didn't know what the hell was going on. But now, after only a few weeks, they're totally fine with the loud music and just ignore it (and me singing out loud) when it's on. The pigeons outside my window seem to keep getting all their attention as usual.
Having said that, cats do have an extra accute hearing sense, so noise is many times as much stimulous as it is for us human beings. You should maybe do some research on that, and find out exactly what types and decibels could be dangerous for them. Because if loud music or noises could damage humans imagine what it could do if our hearing was as sensitive as cats'.
So I reckon it might take time, but as long as you're not hurting your boy, he might get used to it and learn not to fear it.
Good luck!