Why are Red Haired Cats mean?

[corarose]

I have a little Red Tabby Persian the size of a 6 month old kitten and he is a mean cat. He is always beating up on our Large White Cat that was a stray.

Are red haired cats meaner then other cats?

[SheilaT]

1. One red haired cat is hardly

a random sample.

[DivinBreuvage]

4. It's enough for an American TV news poll

100% of interviewees characterized the war in Calicoland as going "reasonably to remarkably" well, and rated King Pussywhiskey as the wisest and greatest cat king ever to take the throne.

[Loonman]

2. No idea

But I haven't yet met an Orange Tabby cat that hasn't been dumb as a box of rocks.

[DivinBreuvage]

3. Because redheads are sultry little spitfires, of course, wild with passion

and raw animal LUST! (In my case, though, I think the adjectives people tend to use most often are probably more along the lines of "bitchy" and "bitter".)

[OldEurope]

5. They are not. Our red one was the cutest thing ever. He came

at once when somebody called his name, he never did anything mean. Not even to the mice, he never managed to catch anything.

[corarose]

18. They are not Dumb

My little guy is one of the smartest cats in the world. Little Al learned his name within a matter of days and he was only 7 weeks old when I got him.

We both know how smart Red Tabbies are don't we.

[Melsky]

6. My red cat is very smart

and very loving!

[WillParkinson]

7. Cider is red and white...

And she's sweet and loving.

Of course that could be from the white part of her fur and not the red part...

[Bertha Venation]

8. Get "Feliway"

It comes in a diffuser (like glade plugins) and a spray. It is expensive but it could help. It's a chemical version of a cat's natural "calm" pheromones.

I don't think red cats are meaner. I just think you have a very rambunctious youngster. Has he been neutered yet? If not, that might help.

[Bertha Venation]

16. Really! Get "Feliway!" Dammit!

aaaaaaaaaaggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

[brainshrub]

9. My gf has a red-haired cat

he is the kindest, sweetest cat I have ever met.

[Blue-Jay]

10. Why are red-haired women mean?

just wondering...

[DivinBreuvage]

11. Because we can be.

And you love it, too, admit it. :P

[Blue-Jay]

13. Actually, I *do* love it.

It certainly keeps things from getting boring.

[DivinBreuvage]

17. I thought as much.

And I agree, a litle spat now and then does help keep things percolating.

[hyphenate]

23. I think we can get away

with more, but I don't think we redheads are meaner.

[skippysmom]

12. may just be that cat...

my parents have had 3 orange cats over the years and all have been great cats. The one they have now is a little neurotic, but smart as hell.

Now calicos on the other hand...

[corarose]

20. I am on my second Red Tabby Persian

Both have been fiesty cats.

[Lindacooks]

14. I've had two red and white cats

and they have the most incredibly sweet personalities.

[HEyHEY]

15. My red haired tabby is the most gentle cat I've ever met

He's never in his 9 years scratch or bit anyone...only thing is he is a tad shy.

[BuelahWitch]

19. I had a red Persian female

She was very sweet tempered. Bossy, but not mean by any means. She bit my mom once when Mom was trying to give her medicine and you could tell she felt terrible about it. I know, people will say that cats don't have the same emotions we do, but Tisha was special. :loveya:

[iverglas]

21. Ginger?

Cat devotee that I am, I've never heard an orange tabby called "red" -- same thing only darker?

Our current ginger tabby, the six-toed Eddie, is a meanie too. But mean in a totally gleeful, "make my day" kind of way. He just loves to torment other cats.

My last orange cat, who was named Orange (the orange cat that came in the door, as Tab was the tabby cat that came in the door ...), even though the vet listed him as "tan and white", and had snotty Persian genes in him, was so mean he bit my nose and I had to get a tetanus shot. That was before neutering. After neutering, he was just as mean (too old), but didn't bite my nose.

But I discovered that all the fights with Carl, the cat-biting cat, that I attributed to Orange, the one who got a $200 abscess every time, were probably actually at Carl's instigation. I caught Carl one day standing up with his paws on the edge of the cushion of the armchair where Orange was sleeping, motionless and just staring at Orange, waiting for him to wake up and freak out when he saw Carl in his face. And when Orange died and the volume of cat urine deposited all over the house didn't significantly decrease, I realized I'd probably been blaming him for Carl's foibles in that regard too. Maybe your white cat is getting away with murder by setting the red guy up. It's like having a batch of three-year-olds in the house.

Orange also became sexually fixated on me, which was rather perturbing. The first time I noticed, I was asleep and awoke to find Orange kneading the pillow, grinding his groin on the comforter, and staring deeply into my eyes. I wondered who (he thought) was most desperate. So all in all, when the depo-provera shot didn't do anything, he spent a fair bit of time on valium.

Anyhow, gingers (always or almost always male?) are closely related to calicos -- which are extremely intelligent, and always female. I think the fighting is sometimes just what they invent to amuse themselves. If the victims of their little game would just ignore them, they'd likely go away. Meanwhile ... arm yourself with a spray bottle -- just point and shoot, no shouting or admonitions, so he'll learn that if he does "x", a thunderbolt from the sky will hit him, even if you're not around. At least that's the theory.

.

[corarose]

22. Hey guys he is the sweetest little guy in the world but he is mean

He beats my Dad's big cat up all day long.

I had my other Red Tabby Persian for 16 years and he was the sweetest boy in the world.

This little guy is a little spoiled brat. When I brought him home I use to lay him on my belly and then I would cover him up with a baby blanket and he would sleep for hours.

I love him more then anyone can imagine. I love both of my Boys.

[hyphenate]

24. I wouldn't say that red cats

are meaner, but if he is the only male in the group, he's likely just strutting and claiming his "pride." Males do tend to dominate a household.

[corarose]

25. I have two boys

They are fighting day and night.