Picture of a ginger tabby cat camouflaged in a woodpile

Picture of a ginger tabby cat resting in a woodpile. Photo: Reddit.com.

The Sun newspaper reported on this. But the success of the difficulty in finding the cat in the woodpile is not all to do with the colour and texture of the cat but the poor image quality in the original. I have smartened up the image as best I can but it is still poor in terms of image quality. The cat is marked! The newspaper ran a 'spot the cat' article.

Reddit users struggled to find the cat. Well, the cat is a ginger tabby. That's bound to create complications in a woodpile. This cat appears to be a dilute ginger tabby so the background colour is similar. But if the image was of decent quality you'd see this cat much more easily.

What are gray and white cats called?

Gray ('grey' in the UK) and white cats are called 'bicolor cats' (two colour cats: gray or another color and white!). Sometimes people refer them as 'solid and white'. Solid and white applies to all colours and to shorthair and longhair cats. Gray and white describes a cat coat type not a cat breed. Many cat breeds are allowed under breed standards to have gray and white coats such as the Scottish Fold shown below.

Gray and white cat which happens to be a Scottish Fold but the coat applies to any cat, purebred or moggie. Photo in the public domain.

Cat coat colour and personality stereotyping

'You can't judge a cat by its colour' is the mantra to follow at a cat shelter. Adopters should spend time with cats at shelters and not prejudge using stereotyping. Some people judge domestic cats by their coat colour but there is little evidence that a cat's coat type and colour has an effect on personality. 

Male white British Longhair cat bred in Russia by the Golden Leris cattery. Photo:  Питомник британских кошек Golden Leris located in Moscow, Russia. White cats seen as aloof.

It is anecdotal and stereotypes circulate on the internet. The trouble is that typecasting cats by their colour has implications at cat shelters. We know the colours which are the least popular such as black. Here are some more associations between colour and personality:

• Orange cats (usually orange or red tabbies) are stereotyped as friendly;
• Black, white and tricolour (tortoiseshell) cats are stereotyped as being antisocial;
• Black cats are regarded as having less extreme character traits;
• White cats are typecast as being aloof, shy, lazy, and calm;
• Tortoiseshell cats are regarded as being intolerant ('catitude) and are more trainable.

The lead author of a study, Delgado, on this stereotyping said: "To date there is little evidence that these perceived differences between differently colored cats actually exist, but there are serious repercussions for cats if people believe that some cat colors are friendlier than others...".

Perhaps it is time for a definitive study on the link between coat type and color and the cat's personality if a link exists. 

Red tabbies are regarded as 'leadership material'! (my thoughts). 

Tortoiseshell and calico cats (tortoiseshell-and-white) cats are widely seen as having an attitude problem of sorts. 

Black cats are seen as bring bad luck. A stupid throwback to the Middle Ages. You'd think that by now people would have given up this absurd stereotype. 

Delgado and his fellow researchers used Craigslist to reach out to cat owners, requesting them to rate on a scale of 1 to 7 the personalities of black, white, bicolor, tricolor (tortoiseshell) and orange cats using the following traits: active, aloof, bold, calm, friendly, intolerant, shy, stubborn, tolerant and trainable. 

Most participants said that personality was an important factor in selecting a cat to adopt but coat color played an unconscious or conscious role in that choice. 

When more than one black cat is in a shelter adoption room few adoptions take place said Berkeley East Bay Humane Society (BEBHS) cat coordinator Cathy Marden.

Cat Thin Fur Above Eyes

I will keep this very short because I only want to say one thing about the cat who has thin fur above the eyes. Quite a few people search for this, looking for answers. It is not possible to provide a complete answer unless you are a veterinarian and the cat is in your presence. However, in my estimation, people who search for information about why their cat has thin hair above the eyes are referring to something that is normal and unrelated to health. The coat immediately above the eyes is, in my experience, more sparse in terms of hair strand density, than any other part of the body except the tips of the ears.

So if you are searching for information about what you perceive as a lack of sufficient hair above the eyes you're probably looking at something that is completely normal. That said you need to observe other behaviours and symptoms to confirm it. If, for example your cat is scratching or over-grooming above the eyes or around the face then you have to conclude that there is some sort of parasite infestation causing irritation and therefore scratching and hair loss around the eyes.

But without more; without any further signs or symptoms or indications and provided the cat is behaving normally and eating well while defecating and urinating normally, then I think you can conclude that a thin coat of hair above the eyes is perfectly normal.

Cat Pattern Symmetry Means Good Health?

Rarely, do we see cats with perfectly symmetrical patterns. Sometimes, perhaps most times, it is due to selective breeding. Cat breeders focus on appearance so in certain breeds a nice symmetrical pattern will make the cat more desirable. Siamese cats are naturally symmetrical. The classic inverted "V" on the forehead of the Turkish Van is symmetrical. That cat is all white except for a patterned tail so the classic Turkish Van is symmetrical. You'll find that the most attractive Japanese Bobtails have symmetrical patterns. These are bicolour cats and the bicolour lends itself to nice symmetrical coat patterns. Tabby coats are more random.

I would say that there are more purebred cats with symmetrical patterns than there are random bred. But when random selection, Darwin style, throws up a nice symmetrical pattern is it a sign that a cat has better health than other cats? In purebred cats I don't think that a symmetrical pattern means better health because the pattern was created artificially (regarding procreation).

The reason why I ask is because in the human species the opposite sex is attracted to regular features, which could be construed to mean symmetrical features. This apparently is a sign of good health and such a person is a better bet in terms of providing an improved chance of creating offspring, which in turn promotes survival. It is all about survival, bottom line. So symmetrical animals are better at procreating, it seems. And the opposite sex subliminally believe that a symmetrical creature is better made and therefore healthier.

Update: My speculation about a symmetrical appearance indicating good health is, it seems, purely that because a study published around 2014 on asymmetry in humans and how it might signal ill-health in humans could find no real connection between the two. The conclusion is that symmetry in humans does not indicate that those humans are healthier than humans with asymmetrical appearances. I have therefore got to conclude that the same applies to domestic cats!

If you have a cat with a symmetrical pattern, why not show him/her to me and other visitors to the site and perhaps enter him into the pictures of cats competition at the same time? Update: Competition is over, sorry 😢.

Here is a picture from the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic.  This photo has been used with permission for teaching/educational purposes at this website.

Symmetrical random bred cat - Photo copyright: Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic

This cat's pattern is not quite perfectly symmetrical, but close nonetheless. Very cute cat.

Sphynx Cat Picture

An arresting Sphynx cat picture by Helmi Flick. This is a cat breed that makes you look. I thought; "how odd" when I first saw this strange looking cat at a cat show. But, you know, they aren't that odd and they are very lovable, partly because they are smart cats and because they are strong, athletic cats despite what seems to be a rather fragile appearance. They win the cat intelligence prize. The CFA breed standard refers to a wide range of allowable colors and patterns such as the mackerel tabby pattern and chocolate color. It is difficult to see how these sorts of coat colors and patterns can be manifested on a naked cat! But they can. The skin follows the fur...err...no the fur follows the skin...Read and see more if wish...

Is the Manx cat long haired?

Manx  - photo copyright Helmi Flick

No. The long haired version of the Manx is the Cymric a different cat breed. The Manx has a shorthaired coat that is double layered and extremely thick and plush. The adds to the compact appearance of this cat breed.

The Cymric has a semi-longhaired coat that is silky textured and soft, with a "well padded quality" (1). The undercoat is thick and close.

---

Note (1): Legacy of the Cat by Gloria Stephens - ISBN 0-8118-2910-3

The photo on this page is protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA).