Bastet, Concerning cat personalities; generally I have found that even from the same litters of kittens that some are affectionate and some are not. Much of it depends on the personality of the cat. If you go to an animal shelter and seek out a kitty there are several things to watch for when choosing an affectionate furkid. (1). go by each cage and check for any cat that wants to come home with you. This is easily done because they will often begin to grab at you and meow as you walk by their cage. Beware of any furkid that stays or attempts to hide in their cage, regardless of how much you may want them. (2) Pick up the cat from the cage, and see how it reacts to your cuddling. Check for purring and cuddling or sometimes they will actually wrap thier paws around your neck. (3) Caress their paws. This is very important because if a prospective family member constantly withdraws or resists its paws from being caressed, the cat will probably not be very affectionate. (4) Walk by the other cages while holding your prospective pet and check for its reactions to the others. If it growls and hisses, it may be an affectionate kitty, but will have difficulty in adapting to other furkids in the house. This indicates that it would be best as a one-cat household. The ideal reaction will be one of inerest, but will not react to the other's protests at being confronted with another unknown cat. This is the method that I use when choosing my furkids of which I now have 11 and none of them fight each other, and all of my adoptees are lap kitties. Personally, I would always look for 2 furkids to take home because of the companionship that develops between them. Also, if you can take in 1 furkid, then taking in 2 would not be that much of a problem. When you have 2 furkids then they are not so dependent on you for play time and other attention needs.
As far as breeds go, I suggest that you look into adopting a Russian Blue. I currently have 2 of them and one is an adoptee. They are very loyal, affectionate very playful and curious, and make good lap kitties. They need not be pure-breds, as long as there is enough Russian Blue mix in them that they have the physical and personality traits of that breed of cat. The more pure the breed, the more silver-tipped fur they have. and their ears are set at about a 120-degree angle on the top of their head. Although neither of mine are pure breds, they both have emerald green eyes, which is another trait for Russian Blues.
Now, if you want a cat that plays in the water, this behavior is usually up to each individual cat, regardless of the type of coat color or breed. I have had cats in the past that liked to play in the water, and none of the others in the same litter liked to do that.
The problem with adopting a furkid from an animal shelter is that it is difficult to judge how they will react until after you get them home. They will adapt themselves to being confined to a small cage but their true character will come out until they are let loose in the house. This is particulaly true when dealing with male kitties. When I adopted Otis (a flame-point Siamese from a shelter, although he passed about 80% of the4-point examination, after I got him home, he immediately began to take on the dominant male role, of which there was none to fill that position He will attack any cat that hisses at him, but otherwise if they accept him and his self-appointed role, then there is no trouble from him.
The day that I saw Puma in the shelter (a Russian Blue mix), she immediately began to cry out and paw at me especially when I walked by her cage. When I picked her up, she actually wraped her front legs around my neck, and began to purr. She gave out a protest when I placed her back in her cage, in order to talk to the keeper to take her home. Since I have brough her home, she is one of the most affectionate kitties I have ever had. It is not uncommon for her to give me head bumpies, and kitty kisses. Also, if she is cold at night, she will come up to my head and begin to paw at the covers. Then I will let her in under the covers, and she will immediately go to sleep with her head against my chest. The only thing that I have to watch with her is when she becomes confused and scared, she has lashed out at me in the past, when trying to pick her up, but this behavior was only witnessed when she first came home with me.
When I adopted Chris (Christmas cat) -a swirl-orange tabby with white underneath -he passed 100% of the 4-point exam. But after I got him home he bagan to play with the cat toys and made himself at home almost immediately, although he was not that demonstrative at the shelter. Since I have had him, he as made his way into my heart as being one of my favorite furkids. He follows me around, regardless of what I am doing, and is nearly always by my side. He is usually sleeping next to the keyboard, like he is this morning, whenever I am gabbing on the 'net. Every night he sleeps on my bed.
I hope this helps in your decision making.
.........wayne
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