Palingsound refers to a smooth melodic and sometimes sentimental sound, with close vocal harmonies, combined with matching arrangements and a studio mixing style.

[4] Further elements that would become influential for palingsound from this period in the music of The Cats would be the added arrangements of jazz musician Wim Jongbloed and the continental European mixing techniques of producer Klaas Leyen.

Bands such as Maddog, Left Side, Next One and BZN would pick up the style and continue to expand its popularity with the general public.

Het Vrije Volk would publish an article in March 1968 mentioning: "... the sound is, according to experts, 'a typical palingsound'.

Another contributing factor to the naming was that Jan Buijs, manager of The Cats, would always bring some European eel for Den Draaijer when he came to the Veronica studio.