Sound therapy for stress-relief during neutering procedure for female cats

There is evidence that musical sounds can reduce pain, anxiety and stress of animals during neutering procedure. As consequence this can lead to a decrease in anaesthetic and analgesic requirements. The stimulation of a sound is based on vibration which positively affects blood circulation and central nervous system. However, the choice of the right sound for different species of animals is very important. Cats are carnivores with a great sense of hearing that helps them to catch prey. This ability makes sound therapy possible for them as it is similar to cats ability to purr and that may be the way to deal with stress and pain. The present study has been done by measuring the diameter of the cat‘s eye pupil, respiratory rate and heart rate in chosen two points of a female feline neutering surgery – T1 (abdominal wall near linea alba) and T2 (ovarian lig. suspensorium). This has been done while three different types of music (classical music, special cat sounds and sound of kitten) were playing using the earphones which were inserted in the ears of a cat. Before each of these measuring points, two minutes of control has been made. 12 cats were examined during the research, half of them were 12 to 60 months of age. Results of the research show that the heart rate at point T2 was faster (21, 34 bpm) than at point T1 while breathing rate almost did not change during the whole surgery. Most measured physiological factors were the biggest when the sounds of kittens were playing (KK), average when classical music was playing (KM) and lowest when a special cat music (SKM) was playing. Comparing KT and SKM using a T-test these results were significant: the diameter of the eye pupil (T1, P = 0.032; T2, P = 0.001), heart rate at (T2, P = 0.010) Also, while comparing KT and KM the results were significant when measuring the diameter of the eye pupil at T2 (P = 0.002). Using of SKM showed very promising results in relieving [...].