Is Cat Coat Color Linked to Temperament?

The ticked and mackerel tabby patterns (and the spotted pattern as this is a form of mackerel tabby) are seen in depictions of ancient cats. Just like the tiger's stripes, the mackerel tabby pattern provides camouflage in woodland and grasses at dusk and dawn. Other colors would stick out like the proverbial sore thumb and the cat would be a less successful hunter or would be easy prey for something else. The blotched tabby mutation is believed to have occurred in Britain and spread with throughout the former British Empire with human colonists. Blotched tabby is found in the former British colonies, but is less common elsewhere and unknown in some parts.

The natural environment the cat lives in will determine the colors that predominate. Black and white forms predominate in urban ferals, but rural ferals are more likely to be tabby. In a rural environment, striped tabby provides a better camouflage (hence the European Wildcat is striped) and solid color cats would be at a disadvantage.

The tabby pattern breaks up the cat's outline and blends into the shadows of trees and woodland, when the cat hunts at dusk or dawn. In towns, where cats are frequently scavengers and where they are less likely to be predated upon, black or blotched tabby are not disadvantageous.

Dark-colored cats are believed to be more common where cats live closely with man, therefore, the earlier the urbanization of a place, the greater the proportion of dark forms (at least until the advent of neutering). This theory suggests that where cat arrived in America in the 17th century, the greatest variability in color will be found in the older industrial societies where they have had more time to mutate and where population density has selected for more sociable strains.

Body type and fur length show signs of natural selection (e.g. a stocky rather than lithe body type in American Shorthairs, longer fur in Maine Coons), but the theory regarding color evolution will probably never be proven. The common tabby pattern of the Maine Coon probably reflects that fact that these cats accompanied British colonists all over the world. In Australia, a high proportion of bush cats (rural ferals) have reverted to the brown mackerel pattern (with or without white spotting) which provides the best camouflage when hunting or being hunted.

Which Breed Did That Color Come From?

Black was probably the first color mutation, followed by red and white. Melanistic (black) forms of other cat species occur so it is probably a simple mutation. Different colors arose in different geographical areas. At the same time, different races of cats (what we call breeds) were evolving to suit the local conditions e.g. longhaired cats in colder climates, cobby shorthairs in temperament climates, skinny oriental-type cats in hot climates. Some colors have become associated with particular breeds and with the temperaments of those breeds e.g. Colorpoint (Siamese) in the lithe, extrovert cats of Thailand and Malaysia.