Anonymous wrote:I have had shelter/adopted from friends cats and most of them have been very doglike.

Yes, my brother adopted a shelter cat who was very doglike. He'd come running whenever anyone came home, wanted to be around people all the time, and loved being cuddled. He also enjoyed being bathed. Weird cat! He was a sweetie.

I think my brother had the opportunity to play with or observe the cats before picking one to adopt. And he could tell this was an outgoing cat. Maybe you could get a cat from a shelter where you have some opportunity to pick a doglike one?

I am another person who’s had a Siamese cat and found him to be very dark like. He was extremely affectionate, love to be in my lap at all times, but also played fetch with balled up pieces of paper. I could just crumple a piece of paper and he would come running from whatever room he might’ve been in. I was a single woman when I had him I got him when I was a teenager and he passed away fairly young at the age of 10, so I don’t know if he would’ve been a good family cat as this particular cat was definitely a one person cat. And I’m not a cat expert so I don’t know if that’s a breed characteristic or just my particular cat

I will second the maine coon if you want a dog in a cat body. That said, Maine coon is an expensive cat and rescues usually have mixes and are picky about new owners. That is my experience. I also second a Siamese, preferably Apple head.

Oh yes, we have a Ragdoll. She's about 1.5 years. And. She. Is. NUTS. Gorgeous. But completely insane.
She is obsessed with me, tolerates my husband, and does not like our DC at all (she sometimes stalks her like a tiger).

She does fetch and sometimes "barks" (meows loudly) to be fed. She is about 15 lbs and we think she is now full grown.

We all love her though. She has been wildly entertaining during Covid.

I have had shelter/adopted from friends cats and most of them have been very doglike.

A Maine Coon might be a good choice.

They are also long haired but relatively low maintenance. Ours (we assume that’s what he is from his appearance;we adopted him after some college kids of our acquaintance could no longer care for him)exhibits all of the breed characteristics. He is very large, around 18 lbs and not fat. Very curious, loves to play and is quite obsessive about playing fetch. He talks a lot and has a wide range of vocalizations including chirps, trills, and very loud noises best described as yodeling. He tends to comment on everything happening in our house. He is also quite social in a dog like manner. If someone comes to the door he will come running from anywhere in the house to greet the visitor.

He gets along well with our other cat who weighs at most 7 lbs so they are an odd looking pair. He does want to hang out with people and he really, really likes to sleep on top of his humans. This is not practical given his size but he can usually be convinced to find a more acceptable spot. He loves to play with water though we have never actually tried to bathe him. He prefers not to be picked up but that’s fine because he’s heavy enough to be in bad back move territory.

He is everything you could want in a dog but in cat form.

We have 2! They are beautiful...seriously beautiful...but very standoffish and you need to maintain their coats / fur a lot. BTW- we have brother and sister and they are both beautiful but very different. and we love them.

Go with a Siamese. Totally dog like, with the maintenance of a cat.

The Blue Russian I've been intimately antiquated with had unbelievable anxiety. It was severely stressed out the second anything moved - a foot, a dustbunny. God forbid you drop something, it would run and hide and you wouldn't see the cat for hours. It had issues.

We had two Ragdoll kittens, then one, then zero (screw you, feline infectious peritonitis). They were extremely sweet, wonderful cats but I would not advise having only one. The socialization gene is very real and our cats did great together, but once we were down to only one, it was a bit stressful. How long are you contemplating leaving it alone? Ours wanted be with someone all the time. Not necessarily on your lap (in fact rarely), but nearby. If he found himself alone in a room, he'd come around crying until he found another human. If we left the house we could hear him crying at the door. I was really worried about what was going to happen when we weren't all WFH anymore, but then FIP unfortunately "solved" that problem

Also, Ragdolls are one of the breeds at higher risk for FIP. Which is a journey I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

Blue Russian - total dog. She plays fetch obsessively.

Scottish Folds are very dog-like too if you’re looking into different breeds to research.

My Siamese is a bit like a dog. Follows me around. Fetches. Cuddles. Talks constantly.

+1 for Siberians. We love ours, he cuddles and talks to us.

I don’t have one, but my Siberian is very dog-like. He loves cuddling, goes limp when you pick him up, plays fetch, comes when called, greets you at the door. So that’s another option to look at.

Does anyone have one? I want a pet that is similar to a dog but can be left at home a bit longer. Online these sound like the right fit.