Red Light, Green Light

I found this charming little cat statue at the Ships of the Maritime Museum in Savannah Georgia:

With the accompanying description:

14. "Cat"

Probably French, 19th century

"Ceramic "cats" like this were placed in the windows of brothels in English ports in the late 18th and 19th centuries. If the cat had green eyes, this meant the house was open; if the cat had red eyes, it meant the house was full or that police were nearby; if the cat's back was turned, it meant the house was closed.

So uh, hey...

 

Is that where the traffic light colors come from? Brothel cat eye codes?

The Straight Dope about the origin of traffic light colors cites early 1800s railroad signals, but is the cat's eye code older than those?