Most common colors/patterns?

(I wasn't sure which category to put this in. Apologies if it is in the wrong place.)

What are the most common cat colors and patterns? I was just looking at the petfinder lists for several shelters near my home, and I noticed that there are very few all-white cats (only 1 in hundreds of cats), but lots of all-black and black-and-white cats. And a medium number of other colors like the various tabbies (orange, gray, brown), tortoiseshell, calico, etc. There seemed to be fewer gray ones. And very few pointed ones (just a couple).

Is this an accurate representation of the relative numbers of the different cat colors/patterns in general? Or is it skewed due to the lists being from rescue/shelter places. I.e. the ones that aren't there either don't get abandoned or get adopted quickly?

What has been your experience?

When I worked for an animal shelter, red tabbies were most common. For the most part, black cats are least likely to be adopted.

I see TONS of black kitties, and black and white kitties in the shelters and adoption agencies around these parts. Lots of Siamese mix type kitties too...no specific patterns...just 'pointed' in general, with those brilliant blue eyes. Although Tabby type points seem quite common with the 'siamese crosses'.

For the most part, black cats are least likely to be adopted.

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That's what I was told when I got my cat Napolean [his brother was black.] The chick that had the rescue said people tend to go for the "cooler" colored cats.

But it's also similar in dogs, black dogs are least likely to be adopted, but that's because they are considered "scarier". A lot of people have "nasty black dog" stories.

I would say what we see at the clinic tabby cats are the most common, then black/black and white cats.

I see Tortoiseshell and black n' white cats in shelters...(Mostly)

Originally Posted by Plebayo

That's what I was told when I got my cat Napolean [his brother was black.] The chick that had the rescue said people tend to go for the "cooler" colored cats.

But it's also similar in dogs, black dogs are least likely to be adopted, but that's because they are considered "scarier". A lot of people have "nasty black dog" stories.

I would say what we see at the clinic tabby cats are the most common, then black/black and white cats.

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I love black cats. We have 3 black cats here and 3 Black dogs. But I like my dogs to look scarey (they are big cuddly sooks tho)

yep I know black cats are usually the last to go. the humane society here was so happy that I came in for a couple of black cats...
too many people are superstitous.

I would say tabbies dominate almost every cat - even solid colors like black, you can sometimes see faint tabby stripes. Second would be the bicolors (black/white, blue/white, etc.) Then your multicolor (torties/calicos).

The other colors are mainly recessive and got by careful genetic breeding to reproduce them.

Black/brown mackerel tabby is the original 'wild-type' coat colour for cats, and if looking globally, is probably the most common colour & pattern. Most wildcats (various species of felis sylvestris related to the domestic cat) are black/brown striped tabbies, although in some species and individuals the stripes are broken down into spots. There are regional variations amongst domestic cat patterns, for example in the UK the classic tabby is a far more common pattern than mackerel.