Don't Judge a Cat By Its Color

People are a judgmental lot. It turns out that in addition to judging each other based on appearance and stereotypes, we judge our feline friends in much the same way. You can probably guess which color cats we think are spooky and which kitties we assume are aloof and fussy.

A University of California, Berkeley researcher conducted a study to learn more about the link between cat color and cat adoption rates. Mikel Delgado, a doctoral student in psychology and the study’s lead author, surveyed 189 cat owners and found that:

orange cats were more likely to be described as friendly
white cats tended to be characterized as aloof, shy, lazy, calm
tortoiseshell cats were more likely to be labeled as intolerant, but more trainable
black cats were stereotyped according to superstition
white cats, black cats, and tri-colored cats were all regarded as less sociable than orange cats

Those perceptions may influence how people choose which cats to adopt in the first place. According to Ms. Delgado, prior research shows that black and brown cats are less likely to be adopted than other cats, a fact echoed by the ASPCA. Dark cats are also more likely to be euthanized. This time of year, talk of Halloween and witches and superstitition only serves to reinforce negative stereotypes about black cats. However, there is no reason to believe that a cat’s color has any relationship to personality.

“To date there is little evidence that these perceived differences between differently colored cats actually exist, but there are serious repercussions for cats if people believe that some cat colors are friendlier than others,” says Delgado. “We hope that this study will be a starting point for further research in what qualities affect adoption and retention of pet cats, and whether there is a genetic or physical basis (such as coat color) for personality differences in cats.”

Details of the study were published in Anthrozoos, the official journal of the International Society for Anthrozoology. Coauthors were Jacqueline Munera, New College of Florida, and Gretchen Reevy, California State University, East Bay.

Did you see these cute cat videos?

Read more: Adoptable pets, Cats, Halloween, Life, News & Issues, Pets

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Darla T.

7:00AM PDT on Apr 26, 2013

A cat's personality has nothing to do with color in my opinion. It's sad that people are so judgmental.

April 26
send a green star

Antonella C.

6:33AM PDT on Apr 26, 2013

don't judge a cat by its color: you'll mistake!!

Duane B.

11:16AM PDT on Apr 9, 2013

Thank you for sharing.

April 9
send a green star

Darren W.

1:41AM PDT on Mar 22, 2013

Thanks for sharing . . . passing around. . .

March 22
send a green star

Melania P.

1:29PM PDT on Mar 13, 2013

Absolutely! I´ve had yellow, grey, and black cats, all spectacular!!

March 13
send a green star

Val M.

2:48AM PDT on Mar 13, 2013

Every cat is a unique personality!

Becky H.

6:21PM PDT on Mar 12, 2013

i have had a number of cats. my black cats had the most personality. i will always chose a black dog or cat over other colors. besides the personalities of past pets, black critters have the most trouble getting adopted.