cat personalities... how to tell

So, I hope to be adopting a cat in the near-ish future. In the past when I adopted my dog as a puppy I did my own variation of a personality test, it worked really well, but I think consistent training was also a key factor in how my dog developed. Anyway, I was wondering if there are any ways to tell what type of personality/behavioral tendencies a cat has. I will not be looking at kittens. And I know cats act much more different in shelter situations than dogs do. So I don't want to ignore a cat who seems like it would not be a good fit when in reality it would be the perfect cat.

Or, am I just crazy to think that I can apply the same philosophy of chosing a dog to chosing a cat (because really, there are hardly ever any similarities )

Mods, if this needs to be moved, please feel free to do so. I wasn't quite sure where to put it.

Thanks!

well if you are planning to adopt from a shelt/rescue group usually the staff will be able to tell you what the cat's basic personality is like, what kind of personality are ya looking for?

one who is open to new people I suppose, and of course lovey (not to be interpreted as needy). The cat I used to have was very loving towards me, but would run away at the site or sound of someone new... or really anyone else other than me. While I am honored to have been his person, in the future I'd like a cat who is not scared of other people.

Even when they're kittens it should be pretty obvious what their personalities are if you visit them often enough that they're comfortable and just being themselves, as opposed to being cautious and curious about you.

In my baby's litter of four, there were these two (brother and sister, our babes) that were simply imseparable, and it was pretty clear that they were both interested in people and very sweet. The remaining two consisted of a rather noisy, complainy boy and a girl that just wasn't interested in the people or things around her.

It really depends, though, because sometimes the personality changes a bit after getting fixed. For instance, our boy Hobbes had little or no interest in stopping for attention when he was a kitten, but within a week of getting fixed, wouldn't leave my side, and would (and still does) sleep on or next to my lap (always with a paw touching my leg, or some such) for hours at a time. Sunny (our girl) hasn't changed much since getting spayed, though. She's gotten a bit more aloof (as most females do), but overall still craving love and affection from her mama (and ONLY from her mama...she doesn't really ask for love from anyone else).

They remain inseparable, though. That hasn't and I'm sure won't change. If they fall asleep next to each other, and one of them gets up and leaves the room to go eat, the other will wake up alone, and go around the house crying for the other until they're found again. It's really cute.

Originally Posted by rubysoho

one who is open to new people I suppose, and of course lovey (not to be interpreted as needy). The cat I used to have was very loving towards me, but would run away at the site or sound of someone new... or really anyone else other than me. While I am honored to have been his person, in the future I'd like a cat who is not scared of other people.

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That's true...I know what you mean. We were really picky in bringing home our babies. We were fortunate that my then-boss had a couple of pregnant female kitties, and we got the picks of either litter. I had the great opportunity (since I worked in his home office) to spend lots of time with them and be around them since the very beginning (literally, I was there for the births of both litters), so I got to see their personalities emerge, and they all were very used to me and my scent by the time we picked which babies we wanted to live with. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and was so neat!

Our babes consider me their mama all the way...let me tell ya!