According to musical myth , the strings of violins were once made from cat guts . Yet despite this , it seems that playing your pet a piece of classical violin music may be the best way to make them relax , according to new research . Scientists have found that playing Samuel Barber 's Adagio for Strings can calm cats and may even help them recover quicker after a visit to the vets . Scroll down for video . The cats were played clips of music through headphones while undergoing surgery , shown above , a heart monitor attached to their tongue measured their pulse and scientists recorded the diameter of their pupils . In a bizarre set of experiments , researchers fitted headphones to cats ears so they could listen to music while undergoing surgery at a veterinary clinic in Portugal . The scientists played two-minute bursts of classical , pop and rock music to the animals and measured their reaction while under anaesthesia . Most people will have heard music that sounds a bit like cats fighting - but it turns out that is not far from the kind music our feline pets actually enjoy . Scientists have created what they say is the first species-specific music for domestic cats by replicating some of the sounds the animals produce themselves . They say the music could provide new ways for cat owners to enrich the environments that their pets live in while also helping to calm agitated animals . The cat music has been created by psychologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and musicians at the University of Maryland . The music uses rhythms that mimics the pulsating of a cat 's purr along with melodies that were similar to their high pitched meows . In tests against classical human music by composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Gabriel Faure , the cats showed stronger reactions to the feline tunes . Just like in humans , however , the younger the cat was , the more excited it got about the music - with middle aged cats seeming the least interested . They found that the classical music - Samuel Barber 's Adagio for Strings - made the cats more relaxed while Natalie Imbruglia 's Torn was slightly less effective . Listening to AC/DC 's Thunderstruck appeared to increase the stress levels of the animals . While listening to music is known to reduce pain and stress in human patients , the study is thought to be the first to show it can also have the same impact in cats . Dr Miguel Carreira , a veterinary surgeon at the University of Lisbon , Portugal who led the study , said : 'After reading about the influence of music on physiological parameters in humans , I decided to design a study protocol to investigate whether music could have any physiological effects on my surgical patients . 'In the surgical theatres at the faculty where I teach and at the private veterinary medical centre where I spend my time operating , environmental music is always present . 'During consultations I have noticed , for example , that most cats like classical music , particularly George Handel compositions , and become more calm , confident and tolerant throughout the clinical evaluation . ' The researchers played the music to 12 cats while they were undergoing neutering surgery through headphones . They attached a heartbeat monitor to the animals ' tongue , measured their respiratory rate and pupil diametre . The cats were exposed to two minutes of silence followed by random clips of music . The rock music of AC/DC , pictured above , seemed to increase the stress experienced by cats during surgery . When listening to classical music , the cats had a lower respiratory rate and smaller pupil diametre , suggesting they were more relaxed . Previous studies have suggested that cats prefer classical music because it contains tempos and frequencies that match purring for example . Dr Carreira and his colleagues suggest that playing classical music during surgery could help make surgery safer and improve an animal 's recovery . Writing in the Journal of Feline Medicine , said : 'Use of certain music genres in the surgical theatre may contribute to a decrease in the anaesthetic dose required , reducing undesirable side effects of anaesthetic agents and thus promoting patient safety . ' The researchers now hope to look at how music might impact other animals including dogs . The strings of a violin were originally thought to have been made from cat 's gut , but playing classical violin music ( above ) , such as Adagio for Strings , may also be the best way to calm your pet say the scientists .
Scientists at AC/DC 's , Portugal , fitted headphones to cats . They recorded the cats ' breathing and pupil size while undergoing surgery . The cats were calmer when listening to Samuel Barber 's Adagio for Strings . When played the University of Lisbon Thunderstruck , their vital signs showed more stress while pop music like Natalie Imbruglia 's Torn gave intermediate results .