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Animation writers often use a cat's coat color to determine its personality. When an orange cat and a white (usually all-white) cat are paired together, the orange one is usually male and the white one is usually female.
Sometimes, a cat's breed is used to determine its personality by making it a kind of voiced ethnic stereotype, especially if the name of the breed has a country in it. This has little to do with how the breed really acts, as anyone who has cats will attest. Breed stereotypes are rarely done with cats since breed variations aren't always as striking and well known compared to dogs.
Cat Stereotypes
Cat Coat Color, Marking, and Pattern Stereotypes:
White: Usually all-white in fur color, can sometimes include extreme high grade white spotting cats with nonwhite patches restricted to the ears and tip of tail at most. note The all-white fur pattern can either be a result of pink-eyed (or complete) albinism (rare), blue eyed albinism (rare), most extreme form of white spotting (rare), or the dominant white gene (most common). The dominant white gene trumps all other coat color genes.:
- Generally good, particularly if paired against a black cat. Kind, nice, and refined. Often upper-class and rich. An alternate portrayal of a white cat is as a The Mentor. Can alternately be antisocial. Can also be shy or nervous. Usually female when paired with an orange male cat. Almost always have blue eyes in fiction, though the deafness associated with blue-eyed white cats is rarely mentioned.
Red, Orange, or Ginger: With or without white spotting; the white part can either stark white, off-white, flesh-colored, light yellow, or two, three, or all four of those the white; can either a locket, tuxedo, mitted, bicolor, harlequin, or van; either one or more shade of orange, yellow orange, light orange, or yellow note There are no actual nonagouti (that is, solid-colored) red or cream cats. Red and cream cats that are genetic nonagoutis have muzzles that are orange or cream like the rest of their bodies and those that are genetic agoutis have white or whitish muzzles, but both are tabbies even if they look solid-colored.
- Heroic and humble. Usually male in fiction regardless of whether there's another cat present, but especially when paired with an all-white cat. Can also be Lovable Rogue types. Scrappy, wisecracking, comic releif and maybe a bit spirited, firey, tricky, and clever. Also portrayed as irascible alley cats. Can be laid back, friendly, and/or affectionate, but can also have a bit of a temper. Female cats with this coat color tend to be more laid back than males with this coat color, but can alternately be flighty.
- Sometimes a cartoon cat would be made orange to make it obvious that it is a male character– like bows on girl characters.
- The usually male part is partially justified as orange cats are a little more likely to be male than female. note Specifically, the gene for red/orange fur is located on the X chromosome. A normal male cat will only have one X chromosome and one red gene = red/orange fur. A female has to inherit genes for red fur on both X chromosomes in order to become a red/orange cat — one red gene and one non-red gene will result in a tortoiseshell or calico coat.
Black: Either solid-black or more than one shade of black, dark brown, grey, or dark grey; no white, off-white, light tan, light beige, light grey, or flesh-color beyond a locket or muzzle:
- In Real Life, they're associated with witches and bad luck. note Black cats are bad luck in the US and Catholic Europe, but they're good luck in the UK and Asia. This carries over into fiction, where black cats are often evil or unlucky. Also often magical or mysterious. Antisocial, less extreme personality. Alternately, they are stubborn and friendly at the same time, good natured, placid, companionable, and sociable, are said to be good hunters, and have a tendency to roam.
Black and White: The white part can either stark white, off-white, flesh-colored, light tan, lIght beige, light grey, or two, three, four, or all five of those; the white can range from tuxedo, mitted, bicolor, harlequin, and van:
- They tend to be quite unsuccessful, yet always brave and hopeful. Black and white cats with this stereotype are usually male. In other words, they're Idiot Hero wannabes. They are also said to be even tempered, placid, and can make real lap cats, though they can also be wanderers. Black and white cats with low grade white spotting (like tuxedo or mitted) can sometimes play the typical black cat stereotypes above. Kittens with a low grade variant of this color (like tuxedo or mitted) are often portrayed as nondescript. Female cats with this coloring are often portrayed as snarky. The black and white cat stereotype is completely different for kittens and female cats than for tomcats.
Grey or Blue: With or without white spotting, the white part can either stark white, off-white, flesh-colored, light beige, light grey or two, three, four, or all five of those; the white can range from locket, tuxedo, mitted, bicolor, harlequin, and van. note The grey coat color is the dilute version of the black one.
- Often older, wise, and/or a mentor. Can also be fat, mellow, peaceable, calm, and/or lazy. Can alternately be mischievous and a bit frantic. Can sometimes be mean and/or snarky, or just screw with people or obfuscate stupidity. Light grey cats tend to play all-white cat stereotypes more than they play the typical grey cat stereotypes.
Tabby: With or without white spotting, the white part can either stark white, off-white, flesh-colored, light beige for both tabbies, light tan for brown tabbies, and light grey for blue/grey tabbies, or two, three, or all four of those; the white can range from locket, tuxedo, mitted, bicolor, harlequin, and van. note There are the four basic types of tabby or agouti patterns: mackerel or striped, classic or blotched, ticked with or without leg, neck, and tail stripes, and spotted. Also, grey/blue, lilac, fawn, and cream/buff tabbies are the dilute versions of brown/black, chocolate, cinnamon, and red/orange/ginger tabbies respectively.
- Aloof, bored, superior, and/or snarky. Alternately finicky. Usually hyperactive and kind of dumb, with ADD tendencies. Usually extremely friendly as well. Can also be laid back, calm, very affectionate, and more sociable, sometimes relaxed to the point of being lazy. Blotched or classic tabbies tend to be placid, comfortable homebodies while their striped or mackerel cousins tend to be more independent.
Tortoiseshell (Tortie) and Calico: With or without white spotting, the white part can either stark white, off-white, flesh-colored, or two or all three of those; the white can range from locket, tuxedo, mitted, bicolor, harlequin, and van. note The size of the patches varies from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of color. If tortie without white spotting or with only a locket, the patches are usually look fine and speckled. If calico, the patches are usually large and distinct. With torties with low grade white spotting (mitted or tuxedo), the patch size would be somewhere in between.:
- Are usually girl cats. Are usually sort of spunky but kind, nice, and refined (like white cats). Can alternately have "tortitude"; that is, be strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, fiercely independent, feisty, unpredictable, and talkative. These traits seem stronger in torties than in calicos.
- The first part is Truth in Television; male cats can only be tortoiseshell or calico if they have an extra X chromosome (a.k.a. Klinefelter's Syndrome), have chimerism, or have mosaicism. note Tortoiseshell cats with medium or high grade white (like bicolor, harlequin, and van) spotting are called calico, those with low grade white spotting (like tuxedo and mitted) are called tortoiseshell and white or torticos, and those without white spotting or just have lockets are simply referred to as tortoiseshells or torties. Tabby torties are called torbies, tabby torticos are sometimes called torbicos, and tabby calicos are sometimes called calibies. Dilute versions of this coat pattern (like grey/blue, lilac, or fawn and cream instead of black, chocolate, or cinnamon and red/orange/ginger) are called dilute tortoiseshells.
Shaded and Chinchilla: There are two variants of this coat color, Silver shaded and chinchilla and golden shaded and chinchilla. note The silver variant has a white undercoat with grey-tipped fur and the golden variant has a gold or apricot undercoat with dark brown or black tipped fur. This pattern is most common in Persians.
- Often upper-class and rich. Usually Persian and have most or all the stereotypes associated with them. Almost always have sea green eyes. Often portrayed in the same or similar manner as white cats since silver chinchilla ones ones look superficially white all over.
Colorpoint and Lynx Point: With or without white spotting, the white part can either stark white, off-white, flesh-colored, or two or all three of those; the white can range from locket, tuxedo, mitted, bicolor, harlequin, and van. note Colorpoint or solid colored point includes seal/black, chocolate/champagne, and cinnamon and their dilute variants, blue/grey, lilac/platinum, and fawn. Lynx point or tabby point includes brown/black, chocolate, cinnamon, and red/orange/ginger/flame and their dilute versions blue/grey, lilac, fawn, and cream. Tortie and torbie point cats are colorpoint and lynx point cats with a tortoiseshell pattern respectively.
- Tend to be extroverted, spirited, inquisitive, clever, talkative, and highly active. Generally, such cats have personality traits and stereotypes similar to those of the Siamese, though modified by the traits and stereotypes of the other breeds involved if they are involved.
- These are cats with a temperature sensitive form of partial albinism in which the cat has color expressed on the legs, feet, tail, face, and ears. note Point, Himalayan, or Siamese has maximum contrast between points and body color and blue eyes, Mink or Tonkinese has moderate contrast and turqoise eyes, and Sepia or Burmese has the least contrast and green or gold eyes. These markings are associated with cat breeds such as the Siamese, Ragdolls, Ragamuffins, Birmans, and various Siamese crossbreeds (including the Balinese, Burmese, Colourpoint Shorthair, Himalayan, Javanese, Ocicat, Oriental Shorthair and Longhair, Snowshoe, and Tonkinese).
Cat Breed Stereotypes:
Persians/Himalayans:
- Generally seen as the showy, rich, snooty, upper-class type. Tend to be Right Hand Cats. Persians in fiction are almost always white or shaded/chinchilla-patterned, often with snow-themed names. In Real Life, they tend to be sweet, affectionate, and even-tempered, unlike their snooty Hollywood portrayal.
Siamese:
- Often portrayed as mean, sometimes even by cat standards. The wedgeheaded or "modern" Siamese are depicted as ill-tempered, bratty, aristocratic and showy, like the Persian. The Applehead or "traditional" Siamese are depicted more neutrally, looking more like typical cats, but may still be just as mean. Most writers are unaware that the Appleheaded Siamese exists at all, so the former will be used more often. In Real Life, both types are nothing like their Hollywood portrayal, being one of the most affectionate and energetic among the cat breeds. (If a bit noisy.)
Sphynx/Hairless cats:
- Not as cute as fluffy kitties, so they're not as nice. If the Right-Hand Cat isn't a Persian, it's this. When Cats Are Mean is invoked, Sphynx cats are often used, because the general public (or at least some small children) don't find hairless cats attractive, and therefore will not sympathize with them.note In real life, Sphynx cats tend to be extremely sociable and affectionate, at least partly due to the fact that their hairlessness makes them more vulnerable to both cold weather and harsh sunlight, and therefore more dependent on humans. More positive portrayals will portray the Sphynx as Ugly Cute, energetic, and/or a Cloud Cuckoo Lander. Usually female. Often portrayed as not being born hairless, but losing their fur through accidents.
Scottish Folds/Highland Folds:
Maine Coons, Siberians and Norwegian Forest Cats:
- Tough survivors and skilled hunters, but gentle in personality. Usually male.
Examples
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Cat Coat Color, Marking, and Pattern
Advertising
- Morris the Cat from the 9-Lives cat food commercials was a red tabby. He probably created the stereotype for them. Aloof, bored, superior, snarky, and finicky.
Anime & Manga
- Naota's cat in FLCL fits the old, fat and lazy grey cat stereotype.
- Bleach: Yoruichi transforms from a human woman into a black cat. Even by Bleach standards this is very weird magic. Shapeshifting isn't a normal ability and how she can do it has never been explained.
- Gatomon from Digimon Adventure follows the White Cat sterotype a little: Generally good, female, and often paired with an orange friend. Subverts it that's she not upper class or rich, and instead of an orange cat, she's paired up with an orange hamster/bat thing.
- Chi's Sweet Home: Chi fits the "friendly" and "hyperactive" tabby stereotypes. Kurono/Blackie is a black cat, but his personality seems to be a mix of the "orange" and "gray" stereotypes. Alice is orange and white, but plays the showy white cat stereotype more. Cocchi from the manga is very much a black-and-white sterotype: Idiot Hero wannabe and Small Name, Big Ego.
- Pokémon has the prim Delcatty, the obese Purugly, and the devious Purrloin.
- Sailor Moon has Luna, who subverts the usual black cat by being very much a good kitty; both she and Artemis are both examples of The Mentor so he fills that white cat stereotype but not really any others except possibly the 'rich' one as his 'owner' Minako Aino's family is shown living in a large house like Usagi's (Luna's 'owner') which in central Tokyo, and in the Azabu-Juuban Ward in particular means you are quite well off but as it's never played up (compared to the catless Ami Mizuno) he doesn't really fit that one. Their daughter, Diana, is grey and fits the mischievous stereotype.
Comic Books
Films — Animation
- Gay Purr-ee: Jaune Tom (a yellow-orange male cat with orange stripes), Mewsette (an all-white female cat), and Meowrice (a villainous black and white tuxedo male cat).
- The Aristocats: Thomas O'Malley is a Lovable Rogue orange or cinnamon male cat and Duchess is an upper-class, all-white female cat. Also, Toulouse (an orange male kitten) and Marie (an all-white female kitten) fit orange cat and white cat stereotypes respectively. However, Berlioz (a grey male kitten) doesn't fit any of the grey or black cat stereotypes.
- Cats Dont Dance: Danny (an orange male cat) and Sawyer (a white female cat). Sawyer has orangey brown eyes unlike the white cat stereotype however.
- Oliver & Company: Oliver the cat is orange, and is one of the nicest characters in the movie.
- An American Tail: Tiger (orange) is the one good cat. In the first sequel his love interest is light grey.
- In the Shrek movies, Puss-in-Boots is a swashbuckling, wisecracking orange cat.
- Lucifer from Cinderella is dark grey and grey (or dark brown and beige/tan Depending on the Artist) with a black head and off-white muzzle, and fits both black and grey cat stereotypes by being evil, fat and lazy.
- Mittens from Bolt is a snarky black-and-white cat.
- In the film of Felidae, Felicity is portrayed as an off-white cat with blue eyes. She's not deaf; she's blind.
Films — Live-Action
- Milo of The Adventures of Milo and Otis is an orange and white cat who is always getting into mischief. Also a male. The female cat who has his kittens is white.
Literature
- Throgmorton from The Lives of Christopher Chant is a loveable rogue orange cat (although he starts out evil-tempered, bullying and anything but lovable). Bethi is a gentle white female, and the favorite cat of the Goddess.
- From Terry Pratchett's Discworld series:
- Granny Weatherwax's cat You is a pure white kitten, full of purity and innocence. Note that You's purity and innocence is of the same kind as her owner's. This is why when You comes around, Greebo hides.
- Nanny Ogg's cat Greebo, on the other hand, is grey, and is older, wiser, and pure malevolent evil. Greebo used to be young. Those days he was a satiny black, and pure malevolent evil on top of distilled sexy (for cats). The latter is actually still true, if his human form is any indication. Of course, he's also a Memetic Molester... he's said to be every one of a kitten (not You, who actually managed to intimidate him)'s paternal ancestors for ten generations. Yikes.
Newspaper Comics
- Subverted with Garfield. He's orange, but even though he has heroic moments sometimes, he's snarky as opposed to humble. He does play the aloof and snarky tabby stereotypes straight, though.
- Heathcliff is an orange male cat.
- Krazy Kat is a black cat of Ambiguous Gender which seems very unlucky for being in love with Ignatz Mouse who trows bricks at him/her/it with perverse delight though he/she/it doesn't seem to mind.
Other
Web Animation
- Cat Face is a male white, blue-eyed (though you can only tell if you look closely) floating cat with a French-ish accent; he's generally arrogant and bossy, generally always complaining or saying nonsense.
- You keep talking, but all I am hearing is silliness.
Web Original
- I Can Has Cheezburger? has Ceiling Cat (the lolcat deity), who is white and dwells in the ceiling, and his counterpart, the soul-eating Basement Cat, who is black and lurks in the basement.
- Roast Beef of Achewood is colored gray in official materials, but plays with the stereotype in that he's depressed and pessimistic just as often as he is snarky.
Western Animation
- Heathcliff And The Catillac Cats: Heathcliff (an orange male cat, as in the comics) and Sonya (an all-white female cat). Averted with Cleo (a cream-colored female cat with long orange hair), however.
- The "black cats are bad luck" stereotype is subverted with the most famous fictional black cat, Felix. Indeed, his very name (Latin for "luck") alludes to it.
- Bad Luck Blackie plays around with the idea of the unlucky black cat. The eponymous Blackie uses his bad luck to protect a whitish shaded silver kitten (gender undetermined) from a Bully Bulldog. In the end the bulldog neutralizes the bad luck by painting Blackie white, but the white kitty paints himself black and gives the dog his comeuppance.
- Sylvester from Looney Tunes is the codifier for the unsuccessful black and white cat stereotype.
- Inspector Gadget villain Dr. Claw has a grey Right-Hand Cat with black and white stripes and white paws who is usually shown as having as mean a streak as its owner.
- Scratchy from The Simpsons' Show Within a Show The Itchy And Scratchy Show plays the unlucky part of the black cat stereotype.
- Tom of Tom And Jerry, a grayish-blue cat with white patches, was sometimes shown as lazy or mean, and did sometimes torment Jerry for fun, but it depended on the episode.
- Fat Cat from Chip And Dale Rescue Rangers, a gray-furred Big Bad, had the fat and mean part down.
- Pete from the Classic Disney Shorts is an evil, fat, black cat. Guess who's his archnemesis!
- Stimpy is a fire-engine red cat, and the nicest character on the show (if not particularly bright).
Cat Breed
Advertising
- The Fancy Feast cat food has a white Persian as a mascot.
Anime & Manga
- The Pokémon anime actually portrayed both Meowth and Persian (a Pokémon that looks a bit like a cougar, unlike its namesake) as the mascots for Team Rocket.
- Alice in Chi's New Address is a Highland Fold, but she isn't one bit fat or oafish.
Films — Animation
- The Aristocats features the rare example of colorful ethnic cat breed stereotypes, featuring a Russian cat (Billy Boss), a Siamese (Shun Gon), an English cat (Hit Cat), and an Italian cat (Peppo). Subverted with Shun Gon in that he's not mean the way many Siamese are depicted in fiction.
- Lady and the Tramp features two mean wedge-headed Siamese cats named Si and Am. They're twins. Get it?
- Tiger the Persian/Himalayan cat on Over The Hedge is snooty and standoffish. Bonus points for having the voice actor be of Persian (Iranian) descent.
- The 2006 stop-motion adaptation of Peter and The Wolf had the cat portrayed as an overweight persian
 whose attempts to catch the bird end in him in the frozen lake, cold and sopping wet. And then the bird poops on him.
Films — Live-Action
- Cats And Dogs
- Has a Russian Blue cat who not only has a Russian accent but also acts like a spy movie villain.
- Kitty Galore from the sequel is an evil Sphynx cat.
- Inverted in the James Bond films, where Big Bad Blofeld carries around a white persian cat wherever he goes.
- The James Bond Blofeld inversion is parodied in the Austin Powers films, where Dr. Evil originally also has a white Persian (but after a cryogenic accident it ends up hairless).
- Subverted in That Darn Cat. "D.C.", a Siamese, is initially shown as very naughty, but is really an adventure-loving Anti-Hero.
- The Stuart Little movies have Snowball, a white Persian, who doesn't really fit either of those types exactly: he'd like to think he's high-class and refined, but really isn't, and personality-wise he's more of a grey (though he starts off as a villain before his Heel Face Turn).
Literature
- The Siamese stereotype is subverted with Koko in The Cat Who... series, who, like real life Siamese, tends to be bright, friendly, inquisitive, and mouthy.
- The Siamese stereotype is also subverted with the eponymous Siamese Skippy Jon Jones, who, like real life Siamese, is bright, friendly, and inquisitive.
Newspaper Comics
- Bucky the Siamese in Get Fuzzy is just plain nasty to dog Satchel and owner Rob, and is a lot stupider than he thinks himself to be.
- Fleshy the Sphynx in Robotman and Monty has the "positive" depiction as one strange cat (in a strange strip).
Western Animation
- The James Bond Blofeld inversion is also parodied, and then inverted again, in a The Powerpuff Girls episode, where the girls rescue a seemingly innocent white Persian from a mad scientist, only to discover that it's really the cat who was evil and the scientist was under his control.
- The Siamese cats in the pilot episode of Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers.
- Kat from Kid VS Kat is a mean Sphynx cat.
- An episode of American Dragon Jake Long has Talking Animal Fu Dog face off against Yan Yan, a female hairless sphynx cat and longtime (as both have been fighting over a lucky coin during many famous periods in history such as the Ming Dynasty, 1793 France during the Revolution, 1917 during the Battle of Keilbergmelen in Germany, and even during the sinking of the Titanic) enemy who masqueraded as pet of Haley's arch-rival and Spoiled Brat Olivia Mears under the Unfortunate Name of Miss Tinkles during Show-and-tell.
- The short series of Cat22 cartoons played with this and dog stereotypes. 22 himself is a bad luck magnet and a black shorthaired cat; he's a secret agent, so mysterious is kind of a given, but he's polite to a fault and very loyal. One of his fellow agents is a Siamese that is a bit of klutz and The Girl Next Door. A rogue in the cat versus dog war is a hairless cat who just wants peace, and he's very kind and a Friend to All Living Things.
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