Here’s How To Make a Custom Spotify Playlist for Your Companion Animal

You probably know how important it is to curate the perfect Spotify playlist to suit your musical interests. But did you know that research shows the benefits of a perfectly cultivated Spotify playlist can also extend to your companion animals?

If you're wondering how to make pet-approved playlists for the special companion animals in your life, look no further. Keep reading to learn all about Spotify's Pet Playlists feature, how you can use Spotify's playlists to curate the perfect musical mix for your family's animal companions, and how your furry friends can enjoy the benefits of music in general.

In January 2020, Spotify introduced a celebrated feature amongst its users: Pet Playlists. The streaming service doubled down on the buggy but appreciated feature in honor of National Pet Day in April 2022, imploring users to make custom playlists for furry friends that could be played while they were away or enjoyed together. The feature allowed users to create unique playlists based on their animal's species, personality, and temperament.

Sadly, the feature appears to have been removed, as the website to create custom playlists redirects to the general Spotify platform.

Spotify users today can search for "pet playlist" and be treated to Spotify's 50-song Pet Mix, and Spotify's 50-song Cat Mix and their popular 115-song mix entitled "Calming Music for Pets."

As Reddit users have learned, however, these mixes are influenced by your personal music preferences, as the songs within the mixes share similarities with songs that you play often.

While Spotify's highly customizable Pet Playlists feature appears to no longer be active as of December 2024, you can still create a playlist for your companion animals just as you would create a normal Spotify playlist on the app or website.

You can still personalize your playlist by giving your companion animal-centered mix a cute name (we named ours "Colby's Catchy Tunes") and choosing a photo that fits the vibe of the playlist.

Of course, if you are wondering what music might be best to fill your new Spotify playlist, you're not alone. According to veterinarian Catherine Rowan-Collier, DVM in PetMD by Chewy, some research shows that the right music can positively impact your companion animal's overall health.

This is why you often find user-generated playlists on Spotify that claim to be able to calm your furry friend.

Per Dr. Rowan-Collier, research supports playing classical music can keep your dog calmer. Additional research suggests that soft rock and reggae may also reduce stress in companion creatures.

Per BeChewy, instrumental music creates a calming effect for dogs and cats. Research published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information concluded that playing classical and cat-specific music helped cat stress levels in veterinary clinics.