The colour of a cat’s coat has been traditionally linked to its personality. Studies on whether these cat-colour-personality assertions are accurate have been mixed, but a study of 130 adoptable cats in a shelter in Florida, on their responses to being handled by strangers, found no significant difference between any of the coat colours (Munera 2010).
However, how potential adopters might perceive personality in relation to coat color may have important ramifications as to whether cats are adopted from shelters.
A new study; ‘Human Perceptions of Coat Color as an Indicator of Domestic Cat Personality’ looked to determine whether people projected particular personality types to cats, based solely on colour. One hundred and eighty-nine people were asked to complete an online survery and assign the given terms;
active / aloof / bold / calm / friendly / intolerant / shy / stubborn / tolerant / trainable
… to five different colors of cats
orange / tricolored / white / black / bi-colored
And found;
There were significant differences in how participants in this study chose to assign personality terms to differently colored cats.
For example, participants (n = 189) were more likely to attribute the trait ‘friendliness’ to orange cats, ‘intolerance’ to tri-colored cats, and ‘aloofness’ to white and tri-colored cats.
White cats were seen as less bold and active and more shy and calm than other colors of cats.
While survey respondents stated that they placed more importance on personality than color when selecting a companion cat, there is some evidence that they believe the two qualities are linked.
Knowing that people are probably making inaccurate generalisations about coat colour, means well-written pet profiles on adoption sites like PetRescue then become key in educating potential adopters that colour is less significant than the personality traits of individual cats. We can also give special attention to those cats who spend extra time with rescue, as potentially their colour could be acting as an impediment to their adoption.
Do you find certain cat colours ‘walk out the door’, while others take a little longer to find their forever families?
I’ve never chosen based on coat colour alone– admittedly, the cat who happened to be looking at me across the room when I walked in (and his brother) happened to be ginger (and I have a soft spot for gingers) but every other time (and even that one: I SWEAR, if I hadn’t taken Ryan home that day, that look he was giving me would have haunted me still today), it’s been the cat who’s chosen ME.
Could the coat colour stereotypes work in a different direction, though, too? Suppose someone meets a shelter cat who’s of a colour they previously associated with “unfriendly” and s/he turns out to be really friendly (and therefore gets chosen)?
There’s maybe a tendency to select the more unusual/prettier colours, plus it’s harder to get a really good photo of all black cats. I’ve been mulling over whether we could improve our photos by investing in a really bright light to illuminate a bench we could sit cats on while having their pics taken.
Black or black and white cats seem to come out significantly clearer if pics are taken when they’re checked out by the vet and I think that’s because examination tables are very well lit.