“喵可貌相”喵星人有多兇？看毛色便知道

Is your puss a bit catty, the sort to scratch and hiss when handled?
你的貓是不是有點兇，摸一下就又撓又叫？

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.
按照獸醫學家的說法，這很可能是只黑白、灰白，或黃褐黑白相間的喵了。獸醫學家認為，貓咪的毛色與其攻擊性多強有關。

Researchers at the University of California studied 1,274 cats to demonstrate how a moggie's colour is symptomatic of their behaviour.
加州大學的研究人員對1274只貓咪進行研究，證明貓咪的行為如何通過毛色體現的。

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《動物福利學期刊》（Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science）上刊登的一項研究中，專家通過調查對三花貓（帶有以白色為主的斑點或雜色的貓咪）進行測試，看看這種貓是否如人們想的那樣，對人的攻擊性遠比別的貓強。

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.
參加研究的三花貓主人回答了問卷調查上的問題。該問卷要求他們詳述愛貓一天里具有攻擊性的頻率如何，受到撫摸時有什么反應，以及看獸醫時的表現如何。

They replied by giving their cat a rating on a scale of aggression.
主人們只需給愛貓的攻擊程度評個級就行。

The answers given confirmed calico females, black and white and grey and white cats were regularly 'more aggressive towards humans'.
調查結果證實，三花貓、毛色為黑白相間和灰白相間的貓“對人的攻擊性更強”。

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.
具體來說，研究還發現黑白毛貓受到撫摸時攻擊性尤其強，灰白毛貓在看獸醫師時特別不安，而雌性三花貓與人接觸的每一天都異常好斗。

It concluded that the ideal pet is a black, grey, white or tabby cat.
該研究總結出黑貓、灰貓、白貓和虎斑貓才是最理想的寵物貓。

The study comes a month after researchers at the University of Lincoln found cats, unlike dogs, do not need humans to feel protected.
此項研究是在林肯大學研究人員公布其結果一個月后得出的。此前，林肯大學的研究人員發現，貓不像狗那樣需要從人那里獲得安全感。

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.
特別是他們發現貓在主人離開時并不會產生分離焦慮癥，而它們制造的噪音也更可能是出于無聊和失望的原因。

Vocabulary

tortoiseshell：（毛色為黃褐黑白相間的）家貓

moggie：[英國俚語]貓

particoloured：雜色的

boredom：厭倦

英文來源：每日郵報

譯者：BUPT許楠楠

審校&編輯：丁一