Accommodating cats; their colors

[mtbc]

Nearly a year ago I was commenting here on the divisive issue of keeping pet cats indoors or allowing them to roam outdoors. The norm in the US is toward the former, in the UK the latter. In some cases simply not having a cat might be best but the perfect is the enemy of the good: I do think it behooves one not to be dogmatic about these issues: there is a veritable surplus of cats and a high fraction of likely homes are probably an improvement over being caged for many months in a shelter and possibly euthanized.

Recently I was reading that black cats, also black and white cats, are less popular than more colorful cats. This surprised me: though our cat Pippin is a tabby I find black cats adequately nice relative to others; I suppose that I differ from the mainstream but I have little idea why. However, I had been thinking that black cats might be more difficult to dye: it occurred to me that for the safety of outdoor cats among road traffic it may be responsible to dye them bright colors even if that impedes their hunting and raises eyebrows among the neighbors. Needless to say, I may differ substantially from the mainstream in imagining that dyeing cats could ever be a good idea as I do not notice dyes being advertised as being safe for cats to lick.

Comments

[aldabra]

OMG must not google cat dye images at work. Also, Daily Mail warning.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2760745/They-looked-boring-Pet-styling-salon-dyes-cats-look-like-green-dragons-dogs-resemble-bumblebees-claim-animals-ENJOY-it.html

[goldibehr]

The pictures at that link are so, so wrong. Pets shouldn't be treated like fashion accessories.