From Bored To Blown Away: Feline Reactions To 'Music For Cats'

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Last week we invited you to bring your cat closer to your speakers, not to hear anything I had to say, but this...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPOOKS DITTY")

SIMON: "Spooks Ditty," composed by David Teie, who writes music for cats. This is not a Prairie Home Companion skit. Mr. Teie says his audience responds.

DAVID TEIE: Mind you, not every cat responds, they have their personalities. And some of them are so touching. Actually, I get moved by hearing about how they come and cuddle and listen to the speaker.

SIMON: After the show, a lot of listeners took to Twitter and Facebook to report on how their cats reacted to the music. Sunshine lives with Patty Olds in Brunswick, Maine.

PATTY OLDS: She always has projects going on. When I come home from work, I often feel like I'm interrupting her. She doesn't need a lot from me. In the evening she'll snuggle up when I'm reading. Other than that, she really has her own life.

SIMON: But when Sunshine heard this...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SPOOKS DITTY")

OLDS: She came running in, jumped up on my table and sat there, cocked her head back and forth, went over to the radio and snuggled up to it. I've never seen anything like it.

SIMON: Snuggling the radio? Me neither. Others wrote in to report twitching tails, vigorous licks, looks of alarm and caressing the radio. But Justin Swanhart in Johnstown, Pa. said his cat seemed briefly interested then just resumed ignoring him. And Cassy Clayton of Cocoa Beach, Fla. says that when one of her cats heard the music, he or she picked up its rubber-band toy and left the room. Critics. Would they prefer something else? Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.