Ok, here's what you do.  Find a breeder who will guarantee - money
back if not satisfied - that a specific kitten will grow up to have
the personality you want.  That breeder is dishonest, so scratch him
off your list.  Keep trying until you have a list of breeders who will
not guarantee the future, then pick one at random and pick a kitten at
random from that breeder.  This way you will have a no worse than
random chance of getting what you want, but will at least know that
the breeder is not totally corrupt.

If I wanted a particular kind of adult cat, I would go looking for
that kind of adult cat, and the places to find a specific kind of cat
are the pets ads in newspapers, on radio station chat shows, on local
web ad boards, and of course, in shelters - you can no more predict
what a kitten will grow up to be than you can predict what a child
will grow up to be, but you can tell a lot about what an adult is when
you meet it in person.

Saying that you wouldn't rescue family members means you would not
rescue an orphaned niece or nephew by taking him/her into your home.
It means you would never adopt a child in need. It says to me that
perhaps you are too cold hearted to get along well with cats and
perhaps should drop the whole idea - clearly you expect the cat to be
something that cats really aren't: you seem to be something of a hot
tempered control freak, and cats would just make you even more
miserable since they can't be controlled and will retaliate against
hot tempers.

T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu - e-mail must contain "T.E.D." or my .sig in the body)

You don't ask for a specific breed. You simply have a list of specific
personality traits you want. So why *not* check out a shelter?  Shelter workers
interact with the cats every day. They get to know each individual personality.
All you have to do is ask them. Buying from a breeder doesn't guarantee the
traits you want anyway.

Sherry

deserve support

Ah. I don't make enough money at my job. Please give me money. I deserve
support.

Only if you're open-minded, which the question proves you're not.

I'm not. You asked the wrong question - your set of requirements is not
specific to an individual breed - however it may be specific to an
individual cat. Hence going to a shelter will let you try out a series
of cats and you may be able to find one that fits your requirements.

You wouldn't offer a brother or sister a bed for a few days if their
house burnt down? I'm amazed.

I'm amazed.

While I recognize that animals in shelters need help - I am not willing to
go to the extent of adopting a pet from them. I don't 'rescue' my family
members. I didn't get my wife from a homeless shelter. Why should I adopt my
pet from the feline equivalent? I am more than willing and able to support
my local breeders, don't they deserve support as well?

I know that there are certain things that can be said about each breed. I
know that nothing is set in stone or guaranteed but I feel safe to say that
if I buy a Maine Coon I will get a bigger cat than if I had bought a
Persian. If I buy a Siamese then it is likely that I will get a more playful
cat than a Persian.

Is anyone here able to answer my question without getting on a soap-box
please, please?

You can't really anticipate what the cats personality will be like from the
breed. I've heard people say that calico cats are stand-offish but I have
one who's a real pet-me  pet-me purr monster.  She "adopted" the kittens we
found abandoned outside last fall and still mothers the one we kept.

Our kitten is a sketch. He's not going to be very large I suspect but he's
an incurable lap cat. When he's not sleeping curled up with his "foster mom"
he's either dragging his toy mice over for us to play with him or insisting
someone make room on their lap.

We had an absolutely huge very pretty DLH who really didn't like being
around people. He hid under the bed for most of the time. We loved him
anyway.

I still miss my part persian SPCA cat. He looked a sight when we brought him
home. He was dumped at the SPCA because of fleas. He wasn't a lap cat but
slept on the bed with us and couldn't resist a wiggling toe. That poor
matted scruffy looking cat ended up as an absolutely magnificent goof ball.
I'll miss him forever.

If you want to buy a cat then contact some breeders.

You may also want to check out www.petfinder.org many organizations give you
a little background on the cats and tell you a little about their
personality. You can find all kinds of cats there and can do a search for
cats fitting your breed, size, gender and age preferences. However, they are
shelter cats.  Just keep in mind all shelter cats aren't there because they
were behavior problems. Like I said our Fluffer had fleas (easy enough to
take care of). There are others who have gotten booted out of their homes
when they get pregnant (easy enough to take care of - they do know what
causes that) or others who's owners have died or moved into housing where
they cant' take their animals. Others have been turned over to the shelter
because a family member was allergic.

No matter where you get your cat there is no guarantee that it will meet all
your requirements. If you spend your money to buy one from a breeder what
will you do if it doesn't purr loud enough or doesn't grow to be as large as
you want?

If people got a little testy with you it might be because you sound like you
consider shelter cats not as good as ones from a breeder. In most cases the
only thing not as good about a shelter cat was the previous owner.

W

I think your a bit of a snob <G> (no malice intended).  Seriously,
cats in shelters or with rescue groups aren't damaged or irregular
merchandise.  They are just as good as cat's bred in Beverly Hills.
The only reason most suggested to go to a rescue group is because
you were looking for personality traits, not specific physical traits.
It's much easier to peg what kind of personality a year old cat is going
to have (and how big it will be) than to guess that of a 10 week old
kitten which is the age most breeders sell their cats.  Just seems like
you are more likely to get what you want.

True, one breed will give you better odds of getting a specific trait
over another breed but if you want killer odds you will read the
suggestions offered you more carefully.

I did.  I even told you that I didn't have an issue with people buying
pure breds over adopting strays since ALL cats need good homes.
But like everyone else in here I know the best odds of getting an
absolute type of personality is to get one that has an established
and well known personality...and by "one" I mean one cat, not one
breed.   BTW...I have a friend with a Persian that plays all the time.
She says he is a freak of nature because she wanted a lazy cat that
sat in her rocker and looked cool when she got him (although she
brags about his antics all the time)

AG

Go to our local shelter. There you can hand pick the perfect cat for you.
You will also be saving a life.

    Glad I could help.  :)

    It's called submissive urination, and it's extremely common in
Cockers.  It's not lack of housebreaking, it's a behavioural issue --
Cockers tend to be *extremely* submissive, and when their pack alphas
get home (their people) they tend to get overexcited and show thier
submission by peeing.  Perfectly common and correct in the dog book of
manners, not so good for people.

    Have fun with your research, but I still think your best bet
is to go with an adult cat.  Kittens are always somewhat of a
crapshoot because they don't have fully formed personalities.  Go with
an adult cat from a rescue group that uses foster homes instead of a
shelter, and tell them what you're looking for.  They'll be able to
match you with a cat that will fit your bill.  :)

Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat?  Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

Go to your local shelter and get a cat from there.  They come in a variety
of shapes and sizes.  Do you want an adult or a kitten?  Kittens can change
their personalities, while adults are pretty much "developed".  You should
be able to find a cat at your local shelter to fit your needs.  Try to use a
shelter that fosters out cats - this means that the cats have spent time in
a foster home, and the foster parents have worked with them to keep them
social.   And just an idea - for some reason males seem to be the most
affectionate, although females can be too.  I have a calico who is moody as
can be - one minute she's sweet as pie, next minute she's PMS'ing (she's
fixed) - I've heard that's the way calico's are, so you may not want to look
at a calico.  Good luck in your search.

And any time you introduce a new feline to your house, do it slowly so they
know where to find the litter box!

I would go for a Jack Russell...