Tabby cats are placid, but beware the tortoiseshell

BLACK and white cats are most aggressive while a tabby is more likely to have a gentle disposition, according to a study that suggests the colour of a pet may reveal its temperament.

Researchers questioned more than 1,200 cat owners about the everyday interactions of their pet.

Answers were then used to give each cat a rating on an “aggression scale”.

The study, published in the Journal

of Applied Animal Welfare Science, found that cats which were black and white, tortoiseshell and white, or grey and white were the most likely to exhibit aggressive behaviour.

Those that were black, grey, white or tabby were the more placid, the study found.

Veterinary scientists at the University of California, Davis also examined the types of interactions that were likely to provoke bad behaviour.

In total, 1,274 cat owners responded to the questionnaire which asked them

Tortoiseshell and white females are ‘significantly more often aggressive towards people’

to list the frequency and the extent of their cat’s aggressive behaviour during everyday interactions, as well as when they were handled, and when they were taken to the vet.

Black and white cats responded badly to being handled and grey and white cats were most likely to become aggressive when they visited a vet.

The study’s authors also used the online survey to test a “common assumption” that tortoiseshell and white females are “significantly more often aggressive towards people” than other types of cat.

Comparing the average aggression rating for different colour groups, scientists confirmed that tortoiseshell and white females, along with black-andwhite and grey-and-white cats, were “more frequently aggressive toward humans”.

Last month researchers at the University of Lincoln concluded that cats, unlike dogs, do not need humans to feel protected, preferring to look after themselves.