We have a rottie. I was really apprehensive but DH talked me round and zero regrets. They're really misunderstood and misrepresented which is a shame because they're an amazing breed.
We have a girl and she's nice and petite, weighs maybe 39kg. She's incredibly strong though and has no understanding of her size so could definitely take me off my feet. Because of their strength and reputation, we've put a lot of time and effort in to socialisation and training and it's paying off but it's a constant work in progress and we're building on what she knows every single day. Training really never stops. She's more clever than I could have imagined and absolutely loves training which is great because she needs quite a lot of mental stimulation or boredom and restlessness quickly sets in. She's never ever been destructive so when she's restless, it's demands for play rather than getting in to mischief.
She has lots of energy but it comes in bursts. She does well with moderate exercise and gets two (maybe 30/40mins) walks each day, with much longer walks on the weekend where she can run and swim. In between she's really lazy and loves to relax and nap so we can manage it round our work from home routine which is great.
We're very mindful of what some people perceive rotties to be so we work really hard to ensure we're never in a situation where something happens and it's the fault of the out of control rottie. We've experienced a few incidents with aggressive or out of control off lead dogs lacking recall and we find she's not interested at all, she's never retaliated and she'll just lie down or walk away and that's very much her nature.
She loves other dogs if they'll run and play with her but isn't bothered if they don't have the same bouncy energy, in which case she'll walk past without a second glance. She does have the rottie rumble though which can make people nervous.
She boarded with our dog walker and got on well with the family dogs (one older mid size and one young small) as well as the dog walker's toddler and baby and the other client dogs. No cat experience but wouldn't expect her to be any different.
She's also the biggest softie and a complete bundle of love. She's like a mini human. Loves human contact and is constantly full of hugs and kisses. She can be infuriatingly stubborn when she wants to be though and will sulk all day if either of us goes out because she likes us all to be together. She's also really independent so has no problem entertaining herself.
Down side is that we have experienced a few health issues since she's been a puppy and I don't think that's uncommon for the breed. I think rotties tend to have quite sensitive tummies and we're no stranger to the vet as a result so I'd recommend good insurance cover. We've discovered she's allergic to chicken and beef which rules out a lot of dog food and treats but it's not impossible. Just something to be mindful of.
Whilst there are obviously the negative perceptions of rotties, our experience is that it's only from people who don't know or understand the breed. We don't see many rotties around but so many people have crossed the road or across restaurants to tell us how much they love rotties and what an amazing dog they are which is nice to hear. Anyone that's ever had one seems to have had several.
I absolutely love our rottie and would definitely get another (although one at a time is plenty). They need a lot of work but you get out what you put in and it's worth every second.