On p. 147 of _Feline Behavior: A Guide for Veterinarians_ (2nd ed., 2003)
there is a provocative, small section in the chapter on feline social 
behavior.

"Genetics and Pigmentation
Epinephrine has the same metabolic pathway as the pigment melanin, and 
the same precursor is needed for the synthesis of both. Genetic 
manipulation of coat color could then be useful for breeding in or out 
certain behavioral characteristics, such as fear and aggression."

A footnote says, "Todd NB: Cats and commerce, Sci Am, 237:100-107, Nov 
1977."

Now, that's a very old Scientific American article. I'd like to know if 
there has been any more research done on this topic. In particular, has a 
positive correlation been found between coat color and patterns and 
behavior? All I have been able to find is a lot of anecdotal talk about 
"torties with attitude" and the even temperament of tabbies.

I posted the above to a couple of cat newsgroups. No directly relevant
response other that the negative one from a vet. Here's the thread so
far:http://tinyurl.com/ywzmq

I just performed a quick medline search, and there does seem to be
(good) research on pigmentation and behaviour in lines.  The citation
for this article is as follows: Science. 2002 Aug
23;297(5585):1339-43. (note: Science is certainly one of the top
scientific journals).  In the abstract, the authors state:

The mane of the African lion (Panthera leo) is a highly variable trait
that reflects male condition and ambient temperature. We examined the
consequences of this variation in a long-term study of lions in the
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Mane darkness indicates nutrition
and testosterone and influences both female choice and male-male
competition. Mane length signals fighting success and only appears to
influence male-male assessment. Dark-maned males enjoy longer
reproductive life-spans and higher offspring survival, but they suffer
higher surface temperatures, abnormal sperm, and lower food intake
during hot months of the year. Maned males are hotter than females,
and males have lighter and/or shorter manes in hotter seasons, years,
and habitats. This phenotypic plasticity suggests that the mane will
respond to forecasted increases in ambient temperature.

So, clearly pigmentation can affect some hormone production.