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   Getting a Cat found in House & Home  :  Pets  :  Cats A   A   A
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How to Choose a Type of Cat

Before adopting or buying a cat, you must plan carefully to make sure the cat is healthy and has traits that suit you and your family. There are seven main issues to consider:
  • Kitten or adult cat
  • Male or female
  • Purebred or mixed breed
  • Indoor or outdoor
  • Personality type
  • Grooming needs
  • Compatibility with other pets and children

Kitten or Adult Cat?

Here are some key pros and cons to consider when deciding between a kitten and an adult cat.

 
Adult Cats
  
Kittens
Pros
  • Often easier to assess main traits, such as personality
  • Require less time, energy, and expense
 
  • Very playful, energetic, and affectionate
  • You can care for the cat throughout its entire lifespan
Cons
  • Not as energetic and playful as kittens, so less appealing to kids
  • May keep to themselves and be less affectionate than kittens
  
  • Require more time, work, and expense than adult cats
  • May grow up to have a less desirable personality than it had as a kitten
 

Male or Female Cat?

As long as you intend to spay or neuter your cat, choosing a male or female cat is a matter of personal preference.

Spaying and Neutering

Neutering (usually called spaying for females) is the surgical process used to sterilize cats. If you don’t plan to spay or neuter your cat or are undecided about whether to do so, consider that every year millions of unwanted cats are euthanized in the United States due to overpopulation. In addition, sterilization frequently eliminates undesirable gender-related traits, such as:
  • Males: Roaming, unprovoked aggression, malodorous spraying on carpet and furniture to mark territory
  • Females: Loud howling, escaping to attract males during fertile periods, unplanned litters of kittens
Unless you intend to breed or show your cat professionally, you should definitely have it sterilized. In turn, this makes the decision whether to get a male or female cat simply a matter of choice.

Purebred or Mixed Breed Cat?

Also known as pedigreed cats or show cats, purebred cats belong to a specific breed—a specific variety of cat that is bred carefully over time to preserve certain traits (see Ten Popular Cat Breeds). These traits include personality, coat and grooming requirements, and compatibility with other household pets.
Cats that are not purebred are called mixed breeds. Here’s how they compare:

 
Purebred Cats
  
Mixed-Breed Cats
Pros
  • Main traits, such as personality, are consistent and predictable
  • Typically come from nurturing homes
  • Can be bred or shown professionally
  
  • Readily available at local shelters
  • Affordable to acquire
  • Adopting a mixed breed may save it from euthanasia
Cons
  • Expensive ($500–1,000 and up)
  • Often difficult to find local breeders
  • Can require frequent, expensive care
  
  • Can have troubled pasts that lead to behavioral issues
  • Traits not as predictable as purebreds’
 

Indoor or Outdoor Cat?

A simple statistic can help make this decision easy: indoor cats live for 15 years on average, whereas outdoor cats live for only 2–3 years on average because of safety risks such as cars and predators. If you purchase a purebred cat, you’ll likely have to sign a contract to keep your cat indoors exclusively.

Your Cat’s Personality

Cat breeds have very different personality traits: affectionate, loyal, intelligent, gentle, strong-willed, active, and so on. Cats express their personality type in two main ways:
  • The demands they place on you for attention and affection (jumping into your lap)
  • The frequency and volume of their vocalizations (meows, purring, and other sounds)
Before you get a cat, consider whether you’d like a quiet, low-maintenance, couch-potato–type pet, such as a Ragdoll, or a highly active pet that’ll ask for your attention day and night, such as a Siamese (see Ten Popular Cat Breeds).

Your Cat’s Grooming Needs

The degree of care a cat’s coat needs is determined by the length of its hair. Long-haired cats need daily brushing in order to keep their coats in clean and healthy condition. Some short-haired cats can go for months without brushing. There are also hairless cat breeds that don’t need brushing but do require other grooming due to the oils their skin exudes. Make sure you’ll have the time to meet the grooming needs of the cat you choose.

Your Cat’s Compatibility with Your Home

Cats can tolerate almost any condition in a household, including the presence of other people and pets of various types and sizes. That said, some breeds take to children and dogs better than others, so be sure to consider the makeup of your household before selecting a particular breed or mixed breed to bring home. Cats that are fiercely loyal to their adult guardians, such as Siamese, are not the best choice for busy households.
 
 
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