Spotify Pet Playlists Can Keep Your Furry, Feathery, or Scaly Friend Relaxed While You’re Away

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When you’re concerned about leaving your fur baby home alone, make them a Spotify pet playlist. Preliminary studies indicate some dogs like listening to music (often the kind we like, too). Cats, on the other hand, are more attracted to soundscapes designed specifically for them. No matter which four-legged friend you have, the music streaming service Spotify makes it easy to find tunes for your pet.

How It Works

In 2020, the company conducted an online survey of more than 5,000 pet parents from Australia, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. More than 70 percent of respondents stated they play music for their pets, and nearly 50 percent believe it helps reduce stress.

Spotify’s “algorithmically generated” playlists and podcasts are curated just for pets. The service initially partnered with musicologist David Teie, founder of Music for Cats and a cellist with America’s National Symphony Orchestra, to determine what animals might like.

For example, dogs often perceive low-pitched noises as threats, so music selections in lower registers weren’t recommended. For cats, Teie crafted Mellow Meowsic, which blends music with engaging sounds (such as the suckling of nursing kittens) that make their whiskers twitch and perk up their ears.

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Creating a Spotify Pet Playlist

Maybe you want to use a focused playlist to soothe a dog with separation anxiety or calm an anxious cat. Or perhaps certain tunes will help lift their spirits if your fluffy pet feels a bit depressed (it happens to both dogs and cats). Whatever the reason, here’s how to make a Spotify playlist for your pet.

• First, click on Spotify for Pets.

• Enter your login information or sign up for an account.

• Once you’re logged in, choose your pet: bird, cat, dog, hamster, or iguana.

• To determine a “playlist vibe,” use a sliding scale to determine your pet’s personality. You’ll choose between “relaxed” and “energetic,” “shy” and “friendly,” and “apathetic” and “curious”.

• Add your pet’s name and photo.

• The algorithm generates a personalized playlist of about 50 songs your pet might enjoy.

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Try a Spotify Podcast for Your Pet

Or maybe your furry, scaly, or feathery friend prefers a podcast, like My Dog’s Favourite Podcast. According to CNN, animal experts helped develop the podcast with Spotify to “help relieve stress” in animals. Alex Benjamin, an animal psychologist from the University of York in England, worked on the podcast and spoke to CNN about the benefits of the new tools. She said both the playlists and the podcast could calm pets by covering up the “startling sounds of the outside world such as traffic, car doors slamming, or the bins being emptied.”

The podcast has four episodes ranging from two to five hours long. They feature “human voices, relaxing music, and ambient sounds,” CNN notes. Fun fact: Those voices belong to British actors Ralph Ineson from Game of Thrones and Jessica Raine from Call the Midwife.