When a late‑night crash of piano keys echoed through their home once again, the owner of a tabby cat named Jamie realized they needed help.
The owner told Newsweek that they live with “five pets: two cats, two dogs, and a snake”—and surprisingly, “one of the dogs and one of the cats both enjoy playing the piano.”
Finn, a Dalmatian, had actually learned to hit keys at a puppy training school, where trainers rewarded him every time he pressed a note.
“They were unaware that we had a piano at home he would repeat this new skill with,” the owner, who would prefer to stay anonymous, said. “Finn usually only plays if I help him balance on the stool, and then he happily slams on keys and looks at me for approval.”
But sometimes, the owner added, “he’ll jump up and play himself if he feels left out.”
Jamie, a tabby cat, meanwhile, picked up the habit on her own.
“She started hitting keys just when she was climbing up to her favorite spot,” the owner said. “Every once in a while, though, she sits on the top of the piano and leans down to press random ones before actually getting down. She seems to enjoy the chaos of it.”
The chaos recently turned into a viral sensation.
On January 12, the pet owner took to Reddit under u/no_understanding2616 to share an image of Jamie perched confidently on a piano stool, front paws resting on the keys exactly like a miniature pianist preparing to play. The post, uploaded to r/cats, has since received more than 40,000 upvotes and a wave of amused comments from viewers who could not quite believe how the cat looked so ready to perform.
In the caption, the owner asked fellow cat lovers: “Odd question, but how do I get my cat to stop playing the piano? It’s driving me crazy, especially at night.”
What began as a lighthearted query quickly snowballed into a communal moment of sympathy and laughter as pet owners recognized the challenge of living with an animal who has a mind of their own.
In the post, the owner explained how what was once cute had now become a daily—and nightly—occurrence.
“She jump scares me multiple times a day by slamming on keys, and wakes me up periodically with her bad music skills,” the post read.
The owner added that the timing of Jamie’s musical endeavors could be especially disruptive: “Not to mention how jarring and unpleasant it is when I’m trying to watch a movie. Or awkward to explain when I’m on the phone.”
To the owner’s frustration, Jamie is not just hitting the keys when she climbs up or down the piano stool.
“Sometimes she just hits them for fun, it seems like,” the post continued.
The owner said she had tried everything to stop the noise, including placing household items across the keys.
“There’s no piano cover, nothing I’ve thought of that I can put on there that she won’t knock off,” the post continued, “and the aluminum foil thing doesn’t work on her.
“Nothing I’ve thought of that I can put on there she won’t knock off.”
The owner said they never expected the post about Jamie’s unexpected musical talent to gain traction.
“The response to the post is much bigger than I anticipated,” they added. “I was just lying in bed when I heard Jamie playing the piano again downstairs.
“I scrolled through my camera roll and found the one of her with her paws on the keys and thought, ‘I wonder if people would find this entertaining.’ And I could use some help controlling her banging on the keys.”
The owner had originally planned to post in r/catadvice but switched to r/cats after realizing photos were not permitted there. What followed was an avalanche of funny reactions.
“Lots of slander against me for trying to stop her playing,” the owner said. “I found many of the comments hilarious. I’ve read through most of them.”
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