Ecology
Black cats can bring bad luck, but more often to themselves than to others. A new study suggests that black cats are seen as more alienated in character than their red-haired counterparts. This helps explain why it takes longer to find an owner for a black cat compared to other colored cats.
The study's findings suggest that prejudices about black cats go far beyond superstition. “Previous studies confirm the existence of a 'black cat syndrome', where cats of this and brown color are less likely to find an owner,” says Mikel Delgado in a statement (Mikel Delgado), an expert from the University of California at Berkeley. “We were interested in understanding whether color influences the existing relationship between personality and color.”
In European countries, black cats often languish in shelters, and a 2002 study showed that charcoal colored kittens are more likely to be killed. Experts suspect that potential owners are reacting to the superstition that black cats are synonymous with bad luck. Since the Middle Ages, black cats have been unfairly categorized as supernatural creatures that help witches.
However, prejudice against tar-colored cats often goes beyond the usual superstition. To understand what's really going on and how people feel about black cats, Delgado conducted an experiment in which he asked cat lovers to rate black, colorful and red cats by personality characteristics such as laziness, stubbornness and friendliness.
All cat lovers have emphasized that a cat's personality is the most important factor when choosing an animal. Thus, kittens of different colors were assigned different personality characteristics. Black cats were described by most people as introverted and unsociable, which was not said about white cats or animals of other colors. In general, red cats were considered to be the friendliest and friendliest.
Black cats are generally very ambiguous, perhaps because people view these “dark horses” as a mystery. Thus, black cats face a difficult task, as it is most difficult for them to find an owner.