At the cat shelter
where I work we refer to "naughty torties"
and "laid back blacks". One of our vets
also used the "naughty tortie" epithet
and told us it is "well known that tortie
cats are temperamental". However, the
addition of white has a "calming effect"
and tortie-and-whites are "not quite as
temperamental as brindled torties. The naughty
tortie tag is not applied to dilute torties
(blue-creams), possibly because they are less
common in the moggy population. Ginger cats are
said to be spirited and fiery (and sometimes
mean-spirited or sly) - very apt considering their
fiery color and there is the epithet "ginger
tom" to describe the supposedly typical alley
cat. Blotched tabbies are "real
homebodies" while their striped cousins are
"more independent".
Common stereotypes
are the "archetypal ginger tom" - the
flea-bitten, irascible alley cat. Ginger females
are "flighty". Confusingly, ginger cats
are also quoted as being laid back, but they
supposedly have very hot tempers when annoyed -
just like human red-heads, especially those of
fiery Celtic origin. Oddly enough, ginger coloration
in cats is relatively common in
Scotland.
A fiery or assertive temperament might
be an advantage in some environments - for both
cats and humans! Meanwhile, blotched tabbies of
either gender are considered "comfortable,
home-loving" cats; languid and good pets.
Many cards depict tabby cats curled up by a fire
as a symbol of domestic warmth and comfort. Black
and white cats are said to be wanderers while
white cats are shy or nervy. There is a list of
characteristics associated with particular colors at the foot of this article.
How much of this is
myth and how much is a cat's color and pattern
linked to personality? Both are, after all,
inherited and genetically controlled, so it is not
impossible for coat color to be linked to
temperament. We selectively breed cats for their
looks, but seldom for personality. Coat
color,
fur type and certain personality traits may be
linked genetically. In some rodents, the white color
is associated with greater docility and
increased tolerance of handling which may be why
white mice and white rats are common laboratory
animals.
Looking for Stereotypes
Part of the problem
is that owners expect cats to conform to
stereotypes. If you tell people that black cats
are sweeter natured and ginger cats a mean
tempered, those people are likely to focus on the
stereotype behaviors and disregard contradictory behaviors
as being "out of character".
Human beings dislike chaos and unpredictability
and look for order and patterns in everything -
that is how we have become the most successful
species on the planet - and sometimes we find (or
invent) patterns where there are actually no
pattern at all.
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