喵星人毛色的秘密：花猫攻击性更强

Is your puss a bit catty, the sort to scratch and hiss when handled?

你的猫是不是有点凶，摸一下就又挠又叫？

Then it's likely to be black and white, grey and white or tortoiseshell, say veterinary scientists who believe a cat's fur colour is linked to how aggressive it is.

按照兽医学家的说法，这很可能是只黑白、灰白，或黄褐黑白相间的喵了。兽医学家认为，猫咪的毛色与其攻击性多强有关。

Researchers at the University of California studied 1,274 cats to demonstrate how a moggie's colour is symptomatic of their behaviour.

加州大学的研究人员对1274只猫咪进行研究，证明猫咪的行为如何通过毛色体现的。

In a study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, experts used a survey to test whether calico cats - who have a spotted or particoloured that is predominately white - are 'significantly more aggressive towards people' than other types of cat, as is thought to be the case.

在《动物福利学期刊》（Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science）上刊登的一项研究中，专家通过调查对三花猫（带有以白色为主的斑点或杂色的猫咪）进行测试，看看这种猫是否如人们想的那样，对人的攻击性远比别的猫强。

Owners responded to the questionnaire which asked them to detail how often their pet was aggressive during a typical day, how it reacts when handled and its behaviour at the vet.

参加研究的三花猫主人回答了问卷调查上的问题。该问卷要求他们详述爱猫一天里具有攻击性的频率如何，受到抚摸时有什么反应，以及看兽医时的表现如何。

They replied by giving their cat a rating on a scale of aggression.

主人们只需给爱猫的攻击程度评个级就行。

The answers given confirmed calico females, black and white and grey and white cats were regularly 'more aggressive towards humans'.

调查结果证实，三花猫、毛色为黑白相间和灰白相间的猫“对人的攻击性更强”。

When broken down, the study also found black and white cats were particularly aggressive when handled, grey-and-white cats during a trip to the vet and calico females in everyday contact with humans.

具体来说，研究还发现黑白毛猫受到抚摸时攻击性尤其强，灰白毛猫在看兽医师时特别不安，而雌性三花猫与人接触的每一天都异常好斗。

It concluded that the ideal pet is a black, grey, white or tabby cat.

该研究总结出黑猫、灰猫、白猫和虎斑猫才是最理想的宠物猫。

The study comes a month after researchers at the University of Lincoln found cats, unlike dogs, do not need humans to feel protected.

此项研究是在林肯大学研究人员公布其结果一个月后得出的。此前，林肯大学的研究人员发现，猫不像狗那样需要从人那里获得安全感。

In particular, they found cats don't suffer from separation anxiety and any noise they make when their owner leaves is more likely to be out of boredom or frustration.

特别是他们发现猫在主人离开时并不会产生分离焦虑症，而它们制造的噪音也更可能是出于无聊和失望的原因。

Vocabulary

tortoiseshell：（毛色为黄褐黑白相间的）家猫

moggie：[英国俚语]猫

particoloured：杂色的

boredom：厌倦

英文来源：每日邮报

译者：BUPT许楠楠