What's the friendliest breed of cat?

[TuttiFrutti]

We've only ever had moggies but have always admired the look of exotic breeds. We are thinking vaguely of getting two kittens this time round, but they would have to get on with our dc aged 5 and 7, and we'd prefer friendly cats which wanted to sit on our laps/be with us/play with us in the evenings. We've had some moggies like that and some which were very stand-offish.

Preferably not too mad either, I don't really want the sort of cats that climb up the curtains, although maybe that's inevitable with kittens?

Is there any breed anyone can recommend?

[prettybird]

The only one of ours that has "kneaded" is our current male - but that might be because he spent c.2 weeks at the vet school when he was c.6 weeks old with a rare syndrome which he nearly died from (presented as rear leg paralysis - turned out he couldn't metabolise extra-rich breast milk and the "cure" was to put him on to adult food ). He particularly like cashmere and mohair

I have uploaded a couple of pictures on to Flickr of the handsome "moggies" :)

[NotWankinginaWinterWonderland]

My girl does this, she left home way too young, I was very naive, she is a PITA at times but very loving, she ruins all my clothes with the 'kneading ' though and the sucking on my necklace can be irritating!

[prettybird]

None of our cats have ever been interested in climbing the Christmas tree (and we get a c.10 foot real one! ) - but I do make sure that the lower decorations are all unbreakable.

Handsome cat would go off with anyone - he's soooo friendly, talks to everyone and goes visiting. Gorgeous cat is more circumspect - she'll come and sit on your lap like a shot, but she'll only approach you outside on her terms.

[RugBugsWearingLittleSantaHats]

milktraylady We have the shorthaired Tiffany! A silver shaded brown tortie burmilla, they are so beautiful and unusual! Bless her she does not have the muscular body of a burmese but I adore the soles of her little paws.

Runs off to proudly add pic to my profile

[NotWankinginaWinterWonderland]

Aww they are very handsome prettybird I do love boys, cat-wise. Mine especially, not too clingy but there if I want him

[NotWankinginaWinterWonderland]

I love Tiffanys too, I almost bought one. She was super pretty!

[cozietoesie]

Lovely, just. A blue and a tabby ? (Wasn't sure from the pics.)

[bureni]

I love the NFC breed, very large furballs with an easy going temperament but not that common in the U.K, they tend to be very large and heavy with large paws and a giant bushy tail but are slow growing for a cat and tend to take 7-8 years to fill out fully. Certainly the nicest pet I have ever owned but they do like their freedom and spend a lot of time outdoors so not really for indoor types imo.

[prettybird]

Yup - a blue and a chocolate tabby point.

His breeder saw the boy again recently (we've got all 5 of our cats from her over the years) and said that if we'd ever wanted to show him, in her opinion he is Grand Champion standard as he's got a very fine face and his body is beautifully pale. Not much point though, as he's been "done". With his lovely temperament though, he'd have been a dream for the judges to assess. He never puts his claws out - has lovely velvetty pads.

OK, I tell a lie: he puts out one claw, onto my bare back when I'm in bed, when he wants me to lift the duvet so that he can decide not to go under!

[racingheart]

Our neighbours had an Ocicat. Looks like a baby leopard but is the friendliest, gentlest cat I've ever met. Bit like Burmese, in that it will follow you round and loves cuddles. They are beautiful. When they moved I really hoped they'd ask us to keep it but they took it with them.

[racingheart]

But if you want a moggy, you can't go wrong with neutered ginger toms. We always have them and they are angels. Our first one used to get hauled around by his tail by DS1 and just sat with a look of utter patience on his face. And he used to take flying leaps over the DCs cots to get from our bed to the windowsill, to make sure he never accidentally landed on them.

The tom we have now puts our DC to bed every night. He comes up with us and kisses each one in turn. He hates it if we take the DC out on foot when it's dark. He accompanies us way beyond his usual manor and screeches in panic. When DS1 moved into a new bedroom in the new extension on his own after years of sharing with his brother, the cat settled him in for a fortnight by sleeping with him. When DS stopped complaining of being lonely, he seemed to sense it and came back to keep DS2 company, who he usually slept with.

I will always want to have a ginger moggie in the house.

[NotWankinginaWinterWonderland]

I love my blue tabby boy, he is obsessed with my bed covers, he just lies in the middle when I change the sheets, very strange cat, he is the kind of cat you can take for a nap though, he goes to sleep, my girl ragdoll would play with my feet and hair etc, she is very playful! It's my tabby kittens I miss the most, I wish I kept more of them.

[Nobhead]

Male persian. We had a beautiful blue tabby persian boy called Leo, he was gorgeous, he would cuddle up in bed with you purring and dribbling on the pillow next to you. He was so docile grooming him was a breeze- we could even bath him. Unfortunately though he had polycystic kidney disease and we lost him when he was only 5 years old- it broke my heart, it was 9 years ago and I still fill up when I think about him.

[milktraylady]

Yay some Tiffany fans here
The loveliest cuddles and has funny playful moods. She went through a phase of playing fetch with mini present bows- sooo cute!

Of the people I know who had rescue moggies, they (the cats not the people!) were a bit nuts and never really worked out.

I couldn't have a moggy, because I knew I couldnt see all the cats needing homes without taking them ALL home! Bizarre logic but there you go.

Have fun chosing OP!

[sashh]

Have you thought of a mum and kitten? Shelters are always full of mums with kittens, the kittens are rehomed easily, but the mums are often left behind.

If you do that, hopefully, mum will pass on some of the temperament to her kittens.

So you have an idea of what the adult will looklike but all the fun of the kitten.

[MrsMushroom]

My Siamese is like a gregarious, cuddly best friend. He's GORGEOUS and loves talking and sitting with us in the evenings.

[MrRected]

Norwegian Forest Cats - much the same as Maine Coons just a little smaller.

Beautiful, dog-like (mine follow us around the garden), super friendly and very gentle with kids.

My girl is known to drape herself half over the back of the sofa and half over our shoulders (and those of unsuspecting guests who sit on the sofa)....

[MrRected]

Agree that NFC's hate being cooped up indoors. IMO it would be cruel to keep them as indoor pets. I tried with mine and they both pined, one of them was particularly poorly. As soon as I let him out and let him have fresh air, he started eating again and was soon well. Baffled the doctors, but I really believe that he despised being locked inside and it exacerbated whatever virus he had.

[NotWankinginaWinterWonderland]

Mums and kitten are often not a good mix, cat mums are not like us and by 15/16 weeks my Mum cats were practically picking up the kitten and throwing it out, the babies tend to feed off Mum also unless they are completely desperate, I had some Mums doing this up until week 16,they don't look like they enjoy it and only do it for a couple of second then get up and leave the kitten lying. Some Mums and kittens are different is they have had a period of separation.

[Paiviaso]

I'm really surprised you've had multiple bengal recommendations, considering you wrote, "nothing too mad." While bengals are my breed of choice, I have to recommend against bengals if you are looking for a friendly but calm lap cat.

You could do one of those questionnaires Which cat breed is right for me?

[kiwigirl42]

I had a ginger tom for 18 yrs - he was king of the manor! We adored him. I now have a black and white moggie (who is always in bed with me) and 2 male Ragdolls - one seal 8 yr old and my son has a 2 yr old lilac point who is a cheeky little ratbag! I adore my big placid seal point boy. He was a rescue from an ad on the internet and had socialisation issues as he'd been left alone so much until we got him age 2. I don't work so they are never alone for long and he is a totally different cat now. Really friendly and engaged. They all get on well with visitors and love our labrador, although Flea, the little Ragdoll, tries to take her down like a buffalo with his paws round her neck. They play really rough! My son, age 13, adores him and is so proud of 'his cat'. I let them go outside as we have a fairly enclosed garden and back onto allotments. Its lovely to see Sparky the seal point relaxing under the apple trees in summer, as he'd never been out before we got him. They are quite low maintainence. They don't get really knotty like persians - the main thing is combing under the ruff in winter when they can't reach down far enough.
I can't say enough good things about Ragdolls and would never have another breed now.

[FTRsawMammykissingSantaClaus]

After much delay and swearing there are some photos on my profile of my kitties

[Fluffycloudland77]

They are GORGEOUS.

What happened to all those kittens?

[FTRsawMammykissingSantaClaus]

fluffy I still have them all!! They're not ready to go until the second week of jan and I've got no takers yet

[Fluffycloudland77]

Good grief I'm going grey with 1 cat, we used to have 4 when I was young, I dont know how my mum coped.

I'd love a kitten but I suspect my cat is a kitten serial killer in waiting so we dont dare.

What happens if they dont get re-homed?