What color is your cat?

A cat's color might be a way of adapting to nature - especially in hunting situations.

According to Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, the author of The Tribe of Tiger, cats developed their camouflage in various habitats so that they could hide and hunt more efficiently.

For example, cats living in northern climates are often soft colored and grayish. This is because they must match the background during all four seasons, especially in snow. On the other hand, cats that live in the tropics are often brightly striped or spotted. This way, they can match the dappled sunlight falling through leaves in the forest or jungles. Cats in the savannahs are plain colored - tawny to match the dry grass.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rules. The cheetah, for example, or the puma - whose colors don't necessarily serve as camouflage. The cheetah dashes so fast that hiding may not be needed. The puma, since they live all over from the north to the south, may have adopted generic camouflage colors to go with various backgrounds. These are speculations.

The interesting part is that even if the colors of cats are different from those of the background, as long as the tone and intensity of the colors are the same, they can blend in the surroundings easily and are difficult to spot. Naturally, these adaptations of colors are more for wild cats who must survive wild in nature. But it's certainly fun imagining how our domesticated cats got their colors originally.