Best Cat Breeds: Friendliest & Most Affectionate

Is there a best cat breed?

Not one that suits everybody. The best cat for a retired couple in a Brisbane unit is not the best cat for a family of five with a dog in a Perth backyard. What a breed gives you is a set of odds: a Ragdoll is more likely to be calm, a Bengal more likely to be busy, a Siamese more likely to talk. It does not give you a guarantee.

The research backs this up. A large published study of breed behaviour, by a University of Helsinki team in Scientific Reports (2019), surveyed the owners of 5,726 cats, which the authors describe as Northern European cats, and found differences between 19 breeds and breed groups in ten behaviour traits. It also found that behaviour is only moderately heritable (estimates of 0.4 to 0.53 for seven traits, measured in three breeds) and that substantial genetic variation exists within each breed. In plain words: genes matter, upbringing matters too, and two cats of the same breed can be very different animals.

Closer to home, the “Feline Five” study from the University of South Australia (2017) rated 2,802 pet cats in South Australia and New Zealand and found five broad personality dimensions: neuroticism, extraversion, dominance, impulsiveness and agreeableness. Every cat sits somewhere on each of them, whatever its breed. That is why the advice throughout this guide ends in the same place: use the breed to narrow the field, then choose the individual cat.

Which cat breeds are the friendliest and most affectionate?

The table sums up what the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), one of the major pedigree cat registries, says about each breed's temperament, alongside what the 2019 Finnish study found where it measured the breed. Breed names follow the Australian cat councils; Australia's Coordinating Cat Council of Australia (CCCA) publishes the standards breeders here show to. Registry descriptions are written by breed enthusiasts, so read them as what the breed is selected for, not a promise.

Temperament wording is from each breed's CFA profile, read on 10 November 2026 (Burmese, Birman, Tonkinese, Maine Coon, British Shorthair, Siamese, Devon Rex, Sphynx, Persian, Abyssinian, Russian Blue, Bengal). Study findings are from Salonen et al. (2019), which measured breeds and breed groups that had enough cats in a Finnish owner survey.

What did the Finnish study of cat breed behaviour find?

The 2019 Finnish study is the most useful single source, because it compared breeds on the same questionnaire while allowing for age, sex, weaning age, outdoor access and other cats in the home. Its headline findings:

• Friendliest with strangers: Burmese were the least likely breed to be shy with strangers. Russian Blues were the most likely.
• Most likely to seek people out: Korat and Devon Rex cats. British Shorthairs had the lowest tendency to seek human contact, although they were also among the least aggressive.
• Calmest: British Shorthairs were the least active breed. Cornish Rex, Korat and Bengal were the most active.
• Least aggressive: a cluster of British Shorthair, Norwegian Forest Cat, Ragdoll, Persian and Birman scored lowest on aggression, extraversion and fearfulness together. Turkish Vans and Angoras (rare in Australia) were the most aggressive.
• Watch-outs: Burmese and Oriental breeds (including the Siamese) were the most likely to groom excessively, and Oriental and Persian cats were the most likely to have an owner-reported behaviour problem.

Three cautions before you lean on these results. They are owner reports, not observations. They come from Northern European cats, whose breeding lines and living conditions may differ from Australia's. And the authors stress the variation within breeds: a shy Burmese and a bold Russian Blue are both perfectly normal.

Which cat breed suits your lifestyle?

Start from how you live, not from the breed you like the look of. The table matches common Australian households to the breeds whose registry descriptions and study results fit, with the type of rescue cat to look for alongside.

Matches are drawn from the CFA breed profiles and Salonen et al. (2019) cited above. They describe tendencies, not rules; ask the rescue or breeder about the individual cat.

An indoor cat of any breed needs more than a quiet home. The RSPCA's cat buyer's guide says contained cats need chances to stalk, pounce, climb, scratch, hide and explore, and recommends an escape-proof outdoor enclosure where possible. If you are choosing a cat for an apartment, see the indoor cats listed in Sydney or in Melbourne.

Want a second opinion? The what cat breed am I quiz asks about your home and routine and suggests cat types to look for.

Why does the individual cat matter more than the breed?

Because a large part of a cat's personality is set by its own genes and its own early life, not its breed name. The RSPCA says the critical period for kitten socialisation is roughly 2 to 9 weeks of age, and that what a kitten experiences then can shape its behaviour for life. A well-handled moggy and a poorly socialised pedigree can turn out the opposite of what their breed profiles suggest.

This is where rescue has a real advantage. An adult cat's personality is already there to see, and many rescue cats live in foster homes before adoption, so the person caring for the cat can tell you what it is actually like. Questions worth asking:

• Does it seek out laps, sit beside people, or keep its distance?
• How does it react to visitors, noise and being picked up?
• Has it lived with children, dogs or other cats, and how did that go?
• How much play does it want each day, and how vocal is it?
• How does it cope when everyone is out?

Those answers tell you more than any table on this page. If you already have a cat, the RSPCA Knowledgebase adds that matching play drive matters: a high-energy newcomer can stress a low-energy resident.

What about domestic shorthairs?

Most of the cats Australian rescues list are domestic shorthairs, followed by domestic medium and long hairs. These are cats of no particular breed (moggies), and their personalities range from shy to bold and from lap cat to adventurer. That range is the point: with so many to choose from, you can find one that matches almost any home on the lifestyle table above, which is rarely true of a single pedigree breed.

They are also the easiest cats to find in every city, and the cheapest to adopt. If you like the look of a particular breed, a domestic shorthair or longhair of similar colouring and build is often listed nearby; our guides to what a domestic shorthair is and moggy colours and patterns explain how shelters label them.

Do some cat breeds live longer or stay healthier?

On average, yes, but averages are not promises. The UK VetCompass life tables (Teng et al., 2024), built from 7,936 confirmed deaths among cats under UK primary veterinary care in 2019, gave a life expectancy at birth of 11.74 years for cats overall. Of the 12 breed groups analysed, Burmese (14.42 years) and Birman (14.39 years) had the longest, and Sphynx the shortest (6.68 years). The study also linked being purebred, being entire (not desexed) and a non-ideal body weight to a shorter lifespan.

Those are UK population figures, and Australian lines may differ. What matters for one cat is its own health checks, a healthy weight and desexing. For breed-specific health problems and the tests good breeders do, see the breed adopt-or-buy guides linked below, and talk to your vet before you commit to a breed.

Should you adopt or buy a purebred cat?

Adopt first if you can, and buy from a registered breeder if you have your heart set on one breed. The RSPCA says rescues do sometimes have particular breeds and that some breed-specific rescues exist, but advises that if you cannot find the right cat over time, a responsible breeder is another option. Pedigree cats are a small share of rescue listings, so a specific breed can mean a long wait.

These are reference figures from the organisations named, not quotes. Fees change and vary by cat, age and promotion; confirm on the cat's own listing.

Breed guides with dated prices, health tests and what rescue versions look like: Ragdoll, Maine Coon, Bengal, Birman, Burmese, Tonkinese, British Shorthair, Siamese, Persian, Russian Blue, Devon Rex and Sphynx.

If you do buy, check that the breeder is registered with an Australian cat council (the CCCA, the Australian Cat Federation or ANCATS and their member bodies), visit in person, meet the mother, and never pay a deposit for a kitten you have not seen. Scamwatch warns against unusually low prices and requests for unusual payment methods. Our guide to kittens for sale: adopt or buy covers the red flags in full.

Find a cat near you

Each city page lists rescue cats and kittens, refreshed regularly, with every listing linking straight to the rescue. Breed pages show any pedigree cats listed right now.

Looking for one breed? Try the Sydney breed pages for Ragdolls, Burmese, British Shorthairs or Maine Coons, and set an alert. For size, see the guides to the largest cat breeds and small cat breeds; if allergies are a concern, read hypoallergenic cats in Australia first. Still choosing between species? Take the dog or cat quiz or the adoption readiness check, and budget with our guide to what a cat costs in Australia.