Are Tuxedo Cats More Intelligent Than Other Cats?

As I write, I can hear my cat in the next room, begging for attention. Ole has the most amusing personality I've ever seen in the feline species. He has mastered tricks such as dancing and fetching, and always manages to get into the dog food, no matter where I hide it. Given his unique feline abilities, I always knew Ole fit into the stereotype of the intelligent tuxedo cat.

A tuxedo cat looks like he's dressed up for the prom. He (or she) is mostly black, with white markings on the stomach, paws and sometimes, the face. Some tuxedo cats are also labeled "black mask" cats, as their coloring makes it look like a black mask has been pulled over the eyes.

Tuxedo cats are not a specific breed of cat, just a certain type of coloring. As such, tuxedo cats can be found in many different pure breeds and mixed breeds. These bicolor cats are most often of American Shorthair, British Shorthair, Manx or Turkish Van descent.

Many people claim that tuxedo cats are smarter than other types of cats. Based on my experience with Ole, I'd like to believe this is true. However, I happen to be extremely biased towards my clever kitty. Despite an oft-quoted article I've seen floating around the web, I have been forced to admit that this stereotype has little factual basis. The article, first put up on the About website, claims that "Tuxedo cats are significantly more intelligent than other cats...Research indicates that this difference may be as great as 200%." This supposed tuxedo cat study was never cited in the article, and after a lot of searching on research databases, I continued to come up short. A search for the vetrinarian who is said to have verified the information was equally inconclusive.

The internet does have its limits, so I thought I'd talk to my neighborhood vet. He said that it is ludicrous to connect intelligence levels to coat color alone. The oft-noted intelligence of tuxedo cats is more likely to derive from their breeding. After all, many tuxedo cats come from very intelligent breeds. For example, many a tuxedo cat is a Turkish Van, which is ranked as one of the more intelligent breeds. My vet warned me that while breeding may give some indication as to why the tuxedo cat is considered intelligent, it is not the end-all determinant. Ranking of intelligent breeds can be extremely subjective.

I am sad to say that Ole is not part of a superior group of cats. That doesn't change my attitude towards my feline friend one bit. I still think he is the cleverest creature around.