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Tortoiseshell-and-white females have a mean streak.
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, however, maybe you should judge a cat by its color.
Tortoiseshell-and-white cats, known as calico cats in the US, have a reputation for anti-social behaviour. In 1895, Henry Huidekoper – an American general in the Battle of Gettysburg – called the mogs “not over-affectionate, and sometimes even sinister and ill-tempered”.
It seems he had a point. Veterinary scientists at the University of California, Davis, may have found a link between the color of a cat’s fur and its aggressive tendencies toward humans.
In a study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, experts used an online survey to test a “common assumption” that calico females are “significantly more often aggressive towards people” than any other types of cat.
In total, 1,274 cat owners responded to the questionnaire which asked them to list the frequency and degree of their cat’s aggressive behavior during their interactions with their cats every day, when handled and when taken to the vet. Answers were used to give each cat a rating for the aggression scale.
Comparing the average aggression rating for different color groups, scientists confirmed that calico females, along with black-and-white and grey-and-white cats, were and are “more frequently aggressive toward humans”.
Male calicos are rare. Genes for orange and black fur are both carried by the X chromosome and, since females have two X chromosomes, they can carry both genes. Neither gene is dominant, resulting in a random distribution of orange and black in the cat’s coat.
The study also found that black-and-white cats were particularly aggressive when handled, grey-and-white cats had a hissy fit when they visited a vet, and calico females became cranky in everyday interactions with humans.
The good news for cat-lovers is that the study, led by clinician Elizabeth Stelow, suggested that, overall, puss is a bit of a pushover. But if owners really want to consult the shade chart, for maximum cuddles and minimum fuss, the ideal pet to have is black, grey, white or tabby.
