Judging a Cat (Wrongly) by the Color of its Coat

As much as we might not like to admit it, humans make snap judgments based on appearances all the time. And that’s true even when it comes to cats. White Persians are snooty. Black cats are evil or unlucky. Some shelters even suspend adoptions of black cats and white cats around Halloween in fear of what misguided people might do with the kitties. In a new study published in Anthrozoos, researchers from California State University and the New College of Florida set out to discover our hidden kitty biases with an Internet-based survey of nearly 200 people. They asked the participants to associate 10 personality terms (active, aloof, bold, calm, friendly, intolerant, shy, stubborn, tolerant and trainable) with five cat colors–orange, tri-colored (tortoiseshells and calico cats), white, black and bi-colored (white and anything else).