April Fool's Day is a hard time for seekers of serious news stories, particularly when there are some stories that seem fanciful but are not.

Here are two 'true' pet stories from around the world.

Cats are amenable to classical music. A study in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery found that cats hate heavy metal, are indifferent to pop but are fond of classical music. Twelve cats under anaesthetic and wearing headphones were exposed to the three genres of music for two minutes at a time. Those listening to classical appeared calmer — breathing more slowly and with smaller pupils. Miguel Carreira from the University of Lisbon said that cats are especially partial to the music of George Handel.

A dog can play the drums to Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. Maple, a border collie mixed breed, is the star of a video in which she taps a drum pedal in time as her owner plays Jack White's famous riff on the guitar. Maple's percussion skills have earned her 170,000 followers on her Vine channel and 46,900 Instagram followers.