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Stereotypes about kitty colors—black cats are bad luck—can have a negative effect on adoption rates at animal shelters, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

While most people surveyed said personality informs their decision about which cat to adopt, the characteristics they ascribed to cats based on their coat color indicated that color consciously or unconsciously played a key role in their final choice of which kitty to take home.

Overall, orange cats and bi-colored cats were characterized as friendly, while black cats, white cats, and tri-colored cats were regarded as more antisocial.

Full story at Futurity.

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