Entirely or primarily black catsKuroneko (黒猫) literally means black cat in Japanese, and may refer to: Kuroneko, a 1968 Japanese horror film.https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Kuroneko_(disambiguation)
Gray cats and orange tabbies get adopted at the highest rates, according to their numbers. (However, those numbers vary from what the ASPCA estimates—in the Priceonomics study, brown cats were more likely to get adopted than black cats, for instance.)
Black cats seem to be the most common coat color and sadly also the least desirable at adoption time. In fact, black cats are half as likely to find a home than a cat of another color. Why is this? Superstition?
Given that domestic shorthair cats make up somewhere between 90% and 95% of cats in the United States, this is the type of cat you'll most likely adopt. Domestic shorthairs, like their longhair counterparts, are basically mixed-breed cats of unknown ancestry.
In order to understand whether the gender of an animal is important for its adoption, we looked into real historical data from several shelters and studied the adoptions for the last 10 years. The analysis shows that for cats, the gender does not affect the adoption.
Black and white cats, also known as “Tuxedo” cats, have an unusually low adoption rate at just below 70%, while gray, blue or silver cats seem to be particularly appealing. The following charts shows the adoption rates for color groups that show up at least 500 times in the dataset.
While pups are top dog in US households, one third (35%) of Americans own a cat. As with dogs, men (37%) are more likely to own a feline friend than women (33%), with ownership peaking among Millennials (46%).
Entirely or primarily black cats will be less likely adopted—and more likely euthanized—than cats of other colors.
What color cat is the most popular? While not definitive, surveys reveal that the most popular cat colors in the U.S. include orange tabbies and tuxedo-colored cats (black and white).
More recently, people speculate that adopters may be seeking more photogenic cats. Other potential barriers against adopting black cats include superstition (i.e., black cats symbolize bad luck) and negative associations of black cats with witchcraft or evil.
Superstition, prejudice, bringer of good or bad luck
In most Western cultures, black cats have typically been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens, specifically being suspected of being the familiars of witches, or actually shape-shifting witches themselves.
Since male cats typically only have 1 X chromosome, they can never have both black and orange fur. Female cats, however, can be both orange and black, as they can have orange in one X chromosome and black in the other. Calico cats should therefore always be female.
Calico: Calico is the traditional color of a Feng Shui cat. Many believe that calico cats are he luckiest color to attract wealth and prosperity.
More recently, people speculate that adopters may be seeking more photogenic cats. Other potential barriers against adopting black cats include superstition (i.e., black cats symbolize bad luck) and negative associations of black cats with witchcraft or evil.
8 weeks is also a great age to adopt because the kittens are typically very independent by this point--their teeth are in, they have been eating and using the litter box on their own for weeks, and they're just about 2 pounds which is a safe and ideal time to spay and neuter.
Two X chromosomes are needed for a cat to have that distinctive tri-color coat. If a cat has an XX pair, she will be female. Male cats have an XY chromosome pair, so they can't be Calicos.
The Sokoke Cat
The Sokoke cat is extremely rare! The Sokoke cat is said to be the rarest cat in the world. Rather than being a man-created breed, the Sosoke is a naturally occurring, tiny wildcat that can be found only in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Preserve in Kenya (Africa).
Genetics are the reason calico tomcats are so rare. Coat color in cats is typically a sex-linked trait—in other words, color is coded into certain chromosomes. 2 Both male and female cats can be orange (a mutant gene) or black because the gene that controls those colors is on the X chromosome.
Male (neutered) cats are generally believed to be more accepting of other cats, both male and female. Even though this has not been my experience, female cats may not get along as well with each other.
As long as both pets are spayed or neutered, the sex of the cats doesn't matter; it's temperament and age you'll want to take into consideration.