Ecology
Certainly, many people still have a prejudice against black cats, but tortoiseshell cats are probably the worst. A team of psychologists decided to learn about people's perceptions about cats and found that people also judge their pets by their appearance, which affects the lives of their four-legged friends.
Psychologist Mikel Delgado and her co-authors interviewed 189 people to describe the personality characteristics of cats of different colors.
According to the study, participants more often attributed “friendliness” to red cats, and “intolerance” and “alienation” to tortoiseshell cats (tricolor).
White cats were often described as less active and more timid and calm. In black cats, oddly enough, no individual features stood out sharply. At the same time, according to such a character trait as “stubbornness”, there were no differences in cats with different coat colors.
However, the researchers emphasize that there is no evidence that there is a significant difference in the character of cats of different colors. However, people's perceptions can influence a pet's well-being. For example, dark-colored cats are more likely to be euthanized than light-colored cats, and three-colored cats are more likely to be returned to shelter.
