I adopted two adult cats as my first cats a few years ago. I definitely think it is easier to evaluate the personality of an adult cat. I chose my cats totally based on personality with no regard to appearance and I’m very happy with them. They’re both incredibly affectionate towards people. One of them still has the playful, funny personality of a kitten even though he is now “middle aged”.
If you really want to help out a needy cat, you may want to consider adopting an adult black cat. A lot of shelters say that black cats (and large black dogs for that matter) are the last ones to get adopted. So if you are willing to consider an adult and don’t care about color, I think a black adult cat would be really lucky to get to go home with you!
Thanks! I will try out the lap test for sure. I would never declaw a cat, either.
I like the idea that people looking for an adult cat are taken more seriously. And thanks for the tidbit about black cats! I am not specifically pigeonholing myself into anything based on appearance, I’m more worried about bonding. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say that an orange or blue cat wouldn’t grab my eye before anything else
The advantage of picking an young adult cat is that their personality is solidly in place. So if you go to the Human society and can pick out the "I’m friendly, come pet me, I want your attention, Can I sit on you lap ? cat, from the get the fuck away from me ones.
I read somewhere during a short period during a kittens life will determine what type of personality a cat will have based on their environment is it left alone ? It’s experiences with humans at that point, good or bad . Etc.
For myself a cat with an amicable personality is the cat’s meow.
My cat will sit quietly in my lap, purring, but it has to be HER idea - she abhors being picked up. Her favourite thing in the world is lying on my chest when I’m trying to sleep. Cat’s is weird.
My last cat was like that. During the winters she was on me all the time as soon as she saw I was settled I’d see her coming over. I’d think to my self oh, better get comfortable this is going to take awhile. Clearly I was her servant/heater.
We have one of each (adopted an older - 5ish - and a lil’ bitty kitten) and I don’t think there’s really a “best” option. It’s really up to you and the individual cat. The older cat is just as bonded to us as the one we’ve had since kittenhood, although it certainly took him longer to warm up to us. (He’d almost certainly come from an abusive past.) But he’s a snugglebuddy now, and I’m certain that he feels we are as lucky to be graced by his presence as we feel he’s lucky to have found such a loving and food-filled home.
I wouldn’t worry about bringing toys to the shelter. This is between you, and the cat.
I have adopted a few kittens and one adult cat and I’ve only had great pets. I used to volunteer at a cat shelter and adopted my adult cat from there because I fell in love with him after spending time with him. Our shelter encouraged people to visit a couple of times and spend time interacting with the cat or kitten they were interested in. As many have pointed out, with an adult cat you know who you’re bringing home, with a kitten you don’t know. And yes, kittens are WILD and are apt to cause damage to furniture, etc. But then if I cared that much about my furniture I wouldn’t have cats.
My last two cats I got as kittens, because I also have two old dogs that don’t like cats and tend to terrorize those that aren’t used to them. However I always prefer adult animals - puppies and kittens are cute when they belong to someone else, but they are a ton of trouble and mostly annoy me when they are living in my house full-time. I’ve never had a problem bonding with an adult animal, or training adult animals.
I’ve volunteered for a local rescue place for the last 8 years. I’ve seen many a cat come and go and while I hate to stereotype, here are some things that seem to hold true:
By far, the best personalities I’ve seen in a cat (affection, playfulness, etc) is from the Male orange tabbies (short hair). If my current cat played well with others, I’d have adopted one myself by now.
Never, ever, adopt an all white Female cat (again, short hair). I don’t know what is wrong with them, but every single white female cat has been a total bitch.
Siamese talk. A LOT. So if you are renting a room, you may want to avoid them.
Going down to the shelter and speaking with the volunteers and meeting some cats is a very good idea.
One thing to keep in mind is that shelter life is not the best environment for cats and their true personalities may not always shine through. That cat that is standoffish at the shelter may very well turn into velcro lap cat once acclimated to their new home. Conversely, the velcro shelter cat, may become more independent when in a comfortable stable environment.
That’s an interesting point, Mauvaise. The only 2 orange tabbies I’ve ever known were both males, and cats of my uncle’s (at two different times, he didn’t own them concurrently), and BOTH were definitely adorable snugglebunnies. Whereas my mostly-white female cat growing up was very hands-off and hoity-toity, and my mom’s current almost-white cat is very skittish and hands-off (although she did have a rear tendon bitten by a dog in a very stupid incident with a very stupid boyfriend of my mom’s, which could account for it). However, the cat I grew up with didn’t have an excuse! She was just very prissy.
My best ever experience with a cat was her brother, a male gray tabby named Zeus (despite being the runt of the litter… we didn’t name him, but I appreciate the sense of humor of the person who did). He is still alive and very affectionate! Even though he has some respiratory issues in his dotage. He’s almost 20. My sister takes care of him. He was always a doll and the good experience I had with him (starting when I was 8 years old) is the primary reason I want to get a pet of my own now.
Now that you’ve said that and I’ve had a chance to consider it, I do think I’d be more inclined to gravitate toward a male tabby type, just because I’ve had such good experiences with them. Female cats in general that I have known seem more territorial, more prissy, and less lovey. I like lovey.
There’s also the general stereotype of neutered males on average being more demonstrably affectionate than females. But I can certainly say that my current piebald orange tabby is the biggest character of any cat I’ve ever owned.
Interesting construction ( not picking on you, it just tickled me ).
Blue/gray-eyed white albinos are pretty much never deaf, as albinism involves a different genetic mechanism to shut down melanocyte activity, as opposed to dominant or piebald ( “giant spot” ) white cats. But they are also relatively uncommon compared to other blue-eyed white cats. So “often deaf,” yes, but “all are often deaf,” no.
I think it’s a really dominant trait in them - Jim’s cat is only 1/4 Siamese, and she’s still one of the mouthiest cats I’ve ever known.
We have two calico ladies (one black and orange, one dilute peach and grey), and their reputations for divas are well-earned. They do, however, have A LOT of personality, and are both very affectionate.
One of mine is a neutered male tabby (brown) and he is a total sweetheart. Very extroverted, craves attention and affection, shows patience even with my hyper dog who likes to nudge him and try to provoke him. He’s one of the most good-natured creatures I’ve ever known.
My other cat is a female tabby and while she is shy compared to my other guy, she’s still very friendly once she feels secure. She is a lapcat. She’s sitting on my lap with me now.
There is no question that adult cats can bond closely to their new owners!
( not picking on you, it just tickled me ).