Why do people fear black cats? When it comes to adoption, cats with darker colors seem to get the shorter end of the stick. Black cats stay in shelters longer and they are also more likely to get euthanize than light-colored ones.

According to researchers at the University of California conducted a study to find the link between a cat’s color and a person’s perspective of cat personality. The results were surprising – people judge cat personalities by their color and they don’t assess black cats negatively to other felines.

“Previous research supports the existence of ‘black cat syndrome,’ where black and brown cats are less likely to be adopted than cats of other colors”, said Mikel Delgado, the lead author of the study.

If it all boils down to the looks, it may be that people don’t think that black cats are beautiful enough. Research suggests that only if shelters had empirically reviewed the tools needed to assess cat personality they could match them to potential owners better and try to work around their color biases.

Source: Furry Racism At The Pound: Why Is It Harder For Black Cats To Find Homes?