Are Your Cats Similar Or Different?

[Sonatine]

I've been wondering. Do you go for (or get chosen by) cats that have similar personalities, or who are very different from each other?

My two are both female rescues close in age (2.5 and 1.5) who like to play, but that's where the similarities end. Even the way they play is different. Amelia is very much a hunter. After the first few minutes of crazy jumping and chasing, she likes to watch the toy, stalk it carefully, and set up the perfect pounce. Mischief is more of the "pounce and pray" type. She just launches herself at the toy and flops over. It's especially funny when they play with the same toy. Little Amelia will be setting herself up for an ambush only for Mischief to just plow through and ruin it. I can almost hear her indignant scoff.

Amelia is graceful. You wouldn't think that the little squatty short tailed cat would be the one to climb and jump so fluidly, but she does, and she doesn't knock anything over unless she wants to. Mischief is long-bodied and elegant in appearance, but she falls off of things, trips over things, and sometimes misses "jumps" that are shorter than the length of her own body. It's so funny!

At the rescue, Millie was known to be quiet and sweet. She's turned out to be sweet, but a real firecracker. Mischief was known to be a sassy troublemaker (and occasional bully) who was very well loved by the folks at the cat cafe, but had been returned from two previous homes. Here, she seems a lot less sassy and a lot more derpy, and she's sorta whipped by the other cat.

Even their meows are different. Mischief has this tiny little squeaky meow, and an adorable little trill, while Amelia's meow can only be described as imperiously demanding.

They're both just so different, but we're still a little family and I love it.

 

[jcat]

Our current cat, Mowgli, is the complete opposite of our last cat, Jamie. The only things they had/have in common are being large males that didn't/don't like other cats at all, as well as being mommy's boys. Jamie was rather high-strung and could be difficult to deal with. Mowgli is about as laid back as a cat can be. Jamie was a very picky eater; Mowgli is a little glutton. Jamie was always very playful; Mowgli is very lazy and will stop after a few minutes, if you can get him to play.

 

[Maria Bayote]

Each of my cats have different personalities.

Barley is the laid back, quiet type of a fella who prefers to be left alone. But he is a very sweet guy when he is in the mood. He is not demanding for anything and waits patiently for his food to be served. He is also the most accepting cat I have known. He will most probably accept any kind of newbies; whether its a cat or a dog or probably even a snake.

Bourbon is a different thing. She is the most territorial and grumpiest cat of them all. When she needs anything and is not granted immediately, she will throw a tantrum. She only chose one human to be near with, and that is me. With others she lashes out, including other pets. I have always believed she is my spirit animal. We share a bond that is very hard to explain.

Pepsi is the laziest one, but also very friendly. He gets along with all of our dogs and maybe thinks he is also a dog. He spends his daily life lying down or inspecting the rooms.

Graham is the smallest one. Since she is still a kitten, I am not sure what character she will turn out to be when she grows a bit older. For now she is very sweet, likes people and very vocal unlike my other 3 cats.

 

[taralynnallred]

I first adopted Mavis, who seemed calm and very docile as a kitten. The foster home she was at had a little boy who used to carry her around like a baby. When she came to my house, she immediately walked in like she owned the place, and was very confident right off the bat. The only time she really cuddles is when i’m Lying down on the couch or in bed. She now no longer likes to be picked up. She is so so so sweet but demanding, if that makes sense, and loves loves loves to play, and is a picky eater, and barely ever makes a sound. The first time she meowed I thought there was another cat in my house. She is my princess fluffy baby and I love her more than life itself. (She is the pic on my avatar)
Kevin I adopted two weeks later, after careful deliberation and meeting many cats, to the point that the shelter must have just rolled their eyes whenever they got an email from me. I wanted a cat who would get along well with Mavis and was sweet and calm, loved to play, and was gentle with playing, I didn’t want Mavis hurt. He is a ginger tabby who lives up to the stereotype, pretty much completely he is fat, a glutton, very chill (to the point of being lazy) even when I try to get him to play, it isn’t for very long.
Mavis has turned out to have a bit of a high strung nature to her, so Kevin is the perfect complement to her. He never reacts to her when she hisses at him (not that it happens a lot).

 

[rosegold]

I tend to gravitate towards shyer, calmer, more aloof/independent cats. Friendly but not overly demonstrative, just occasionally cuddly and affectionate with “their person”. Same with dogs. All my cats and dogs have fit this personality to some degree. I’ve never had a pet with a “Golden Retriever personality” and I actually prefer it that way! I think lots of people want super cuddly, adoring pets who are glued to their sides... But I personally don’t mind being constantly rejected and ignored by my pets who think they’re royalty. It adds to their charm.

Chai was certainly very shy and independent for the most part, since she was a former feral... although she became very affectionate after being socialized, more than my other cats. She LOVED being petted, but she wasn’t constantly demanding attention. She was very quiet and sweet.

Chilli is very chill. She is very well-behaved and likes to be near me, but isn’t demanding or needy at all. She goes through phases of being more/less cuddly. She will usually come on the bed to cuddle and purr for a few minutes every night, but when she’s done, she’s done.

Clove is definitely the opposite of calm and undemanding... but otherwise she is pretty similar. She likes playing a lot more than being pet, and is pretty independent and skittish/shy around strangers and new situations. But like Chilli she does have her cuddly moods and is definitely a mommy’s girl.

I think I’ll always be drawn to the shyer ones. They are just so special!

 

[NY cat man]

First off, all of our cats found us, as they were all ferals. While some are similar, all are different in many ways.
The oldest, Burdock is a laid-back lap cat, while the next oldest, Prancer, is the aloof queen bee
The 3 littermates, Digger, Stretch, and Bashful, are very different, as Digger is a very active cat, while Stretch likes to lounge, and Bashful occasionally will head-butt for attention, but normally occupies her perch in a cat tree.
And Miss Eleanor is a cross between Burdock and Digger, in that she is active, but also loves to occupy any available lap.