For nearly five years, Elaine Thomas’ cat Sweetface endured regular fluid injections because of kidney disease. “At first, he feared them, growing agitated and struggling,” Thomas says. “It was extremely difficult.” Then one day, Thomas put on an Enya CD, “more to calm myself than him,” she says. “I know it sounds absolutely crazy but it worked. It became a ritual: Sweetface would fall into a trance-like state for the few minutes the injection took each day.”

 Anecdotal evidence of how cats react to music is overwhelming. Stories abound about cats rolling around purring in front of speakers during particular songs, howling when humans play instruments and even racing to sit in front of the television during Gilbert and Sullivan performances. My cats regularly curl into meditative states when a soft tune hums through the house.

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