We have a tuxedo-colored cat that is very shy. He rarely approaches us, basically only when he’s hungry.
When we have strangers over, he immediately goes into hiding upstairs. Unless we tell them, our guest only think we have two.
However…
Whenever our visitor is black, he will come down and watch them. He won’t come up to them, but he’ll stay on the stair landing looking at them. Anyone else, and he never appears. But he always comes out to be seen when it’s a black person.
What’s your sample size,AWB? what I mean is, how many black people come to your house? And do they have something in common other than race?
My neighbors dog (where I once lived) didn’t seem to care for white folks at all. He finally got used to me, even friendly, but that didn’t seem to change his opinion of others. And he wasn’t fooled by complection.
Maybe some animals are aware of things that we are not?
Interesting.
Peace,
mangeorge
What’s your sample size,AWB? what I mean is, how many black people come to your house? And do they have something in common other than race?
My neighbors dog (where I once lived) didn’t seem to care for white folks at all. He finally got used to me, even friendly, but that didn’t seem to change his opinion of others. And he wasn’t fooled by complection.
Maybe some animals are aware of things that we are not?
Interesting.
Peace,
mangeorge
FWIW–We have cats and while we have not notice any racial preferences, we have noted a fondness for specific colors that relate to them. To explain a bit better: Our black cat prefers to curl up on my dark trousers as opposed to my light colored ones, prefers a dark blanket to light ones. Our grey cat has a grey blanket he will search out, but when that is not available will go for our grayish couch. Our calico, well, she’s just generally confused anyway.
We mentioned this to our vet and he said cats retain that from their days as wild animals and in need of camouflage. I’m not sure if this relates to dark cats and darker hued people.
Out of about 40 visitors, around 10 of them were black. And every single time, the black cat never appears for white people and always does for black people.
Camouflage?
I’m chuckling so much it’s hard to type.
Who knows. Could be, I guess. Seems like if that were so the cat would go to the people, not look at them. Probably just curious.
It’s already been well established on these boards that cats are just weird. Right now mine’s sitting there, just looking at me. Probably wondering what the hell I’m laughing at.
Peace,
mangeorge (The Camo Cat)
I do know that cats perceive direct eye contact as aggression, and this produces some curious effects:
Three people are sitting on a sofa. A cat walks into the room. The first two people, being self-declared cat lovers, start cooing and making “here kitty kitty” gestures at the cat. The cat doesn’t want to know. The third person hates cats, and turns his head away in disgust. The cat promptly jumps onto his lap.
Maybe white people tend to like cats more. I dunno. Maybe the cat is just curious. I wonder if the cat in the OP was given to a black family for several years, if white people would have the same effects on it.
As a kid, we had a very friendly dog. She liked most people, but my sister’s boyfriend at the time was a special case. I’m sure our dog had a crush on him. She’d fall at his feet, and promptly proceed to wet herself. The guy was always dressed in purple from head to foot (hey, it was the 70s!), I wonder if that had anything to do with it.
I wonder if it’s the sound of their voices? I remember when I was little, our dog used to sit under the piano when my mother played. I wonder if the cat is attacted to the richness and timbre of the African American speaking voice?
It still doesn’t appear we have any information upon which to generalize. First, there is the problem of selection bias. Fraid that we’re all subject to faulty, self-reinforcing recollection. (typical problem for issues such as “prediction” from dreams, as well as casual observatoin) Second, what possible conclusions can one achieve? We don’t know the possible commonalities between the visitors. We don’t know very much at all. Only thing we can do is exclude human biological answers.
My brother’s fiancee’s cat definitely prefers the company of men over women. My brother’s fiancee thinks that her cat’s first owner was a woman who abused it. So, AWB, are you your cat’s first owner? Maybe your cat is bias based on an earlier experience.
