Next week, after the shelter spays her, I am hoping to bring home a not-yet-named brown tabby girl.
I am really, really scared it's not going to work out. She seems like a great kitty, just wanted to sit in my lap and be lovey, was gentle and cooperative when I trimmed her nails, and when I talk to her she looks right at me like she's listening to what I'm saying... but I am afraid that I am misjudging her, that when I get her home her personality will be different! Or that we'll have a couple good years together and then her personality will change...
I've always heard that male cats were more cuddly, less moody, and better at getting along with other cats, which is why when I went looking I assumed I was going to get another boy. But I was pleasantly surprised to meet a female cat this cuddly and non-grouchy, and I really like her... I just hope there isn't bipolar-kitty hiding under that sweetness! Whenever someone talks about a cat that's decided it likes/hates specific people, or really can't get along with another cat, or... it always seems to be a female!
I don't want an aloof only-cuddle-when-they-decide-to cat, a cat who gets annoyed/grouchy/nippy easily, or a cat who can't get along with certain people or other cats... she doesn't appear to be any of those things *now* but she's only about a year old -- does her being female mean she's more likely to become those things in the future?
Has anyone had a female cat change personalities like that as she got older? How common is it to have a female cat who is (and remains) a sweet, gentle, non-moody cuddle-bug? If I want a cat that is likely to get along with any significant others (and cats of significant others) that come into my life in the future, would I be better off waiting until I meet a male cat I like?
(Background info, lest I sound crazy above... this is only my second cat. The first cat I adopted turned out to have major litterbox issues and after a few years of trying to solve them I eventually had to make the heart-wrenching decision to send him away to a sanctuary. So I am really, really nervous about getting a second cat now, lest something "go wrong" there and I end up having to choose between getting rid of another or being stuck with a cat I don't like...)
I am really, really scared it's not going to work out. She seems like a great kitty, just wanted to sit in my lap and be lovey, was gentle and cooperative when I trimmed her nails, and when I talk to her she looks right at me like she's listening to what I'm saying... but I am afraid that I am misjudging her, that when I get her home her personality will be different! Or that we'll have a couple good years together and then her personality will change...
I've always heard that male cats were more cuddly, less moody, and better at getting along with other cats, which is why when I went looking I assumed I was going to get another boy. But I was pleasantly surprised to meet a female cat this cuddly and non-grouchy, and I really like her... I just hope there isn't bipolar-kitty hiding under that sweetness! Whenever someone talks about a cat that's decided it likes/hates specific people, or really can't get along with another cat, or... it always seems to be a female!
I don't want an aloof only-cuddle-when-they-decide-to cat, a cat who gets annoyed/grouchy/nippy easily, or a cat who can't get along with certain people or other cats... she doesn't appear to be any of those things *now* but she's only about a year old -- does her being female mean she's more likely to become those things in the future?
Has anyone had a female cat change personalities like that as she got older? How common is it to have a female cat who is (and remains) a sweet, gentle, non-moody cuddle-bug? If I want a cat that is likely to get along with any significant others (and cats of significant others) that come into my life in the future, would I be better off waiting until I meet a male cat I like?
(Background info, lest I sound crazy above... this is only my second cat. The first cat I adopted turned out to have major litterbox issues and after a few years of trying to solve them I eventually had to make the heart-wrenching decision to send him away to a sanctuary. So I am really, really nervous about getting a second cat now, lest something "go wrong" there and I end up having to choose between getting rid of another or being stuck with a cat I don't like...)
