5 Friendliest Cat Breeds in Australia

If you’re looking for the friendliest cat breeds in Australia, you’re in luck. Our country has at least 45 recognised cat breeds and many of them are known to be pretty darn amiable. Whether you want the most friendly cat breed as a best bud or one for the entire family (and/or even one that’s allergy friendly too) you’ll be spoilt for choice.

“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.”
– Leonardo da Vinci

In short, most cats are purrfectly friendly. Of course there might be the odd exception; perhaps a cat that’s had a bad experience… But all they need is the reassurance of love (and possibly a visit from a pet behaviourist) to find their inner friendly feline self.

That said, some cat breeds are renowned for being the most friendly. With that in mind, here’s PD’s guide to the friendliest cat breeds in Australia

5 of the most friendly cat breeds in Australia

Finding the friendliest cat breed for you is simple. Just go with your heart, your personality and your lifestyle. For example, do you want a kitty friend who’s famous for cuddles, gossip, tricks, foldy ears or something else?

Whether you’re a first time pet owner or introducing a new kitten to your cat you can use this guide as your starting point.

#1 Ragdoll

The Cat Fanciers’ Association voted the Ragdoll the most popular for three consecutive years! She’s one of the friendliest cat breeds and most popular cat breeds. What more could a pet parent ask for.

Ragdolls delight in being held like a baby and flopping in your arms. Placid and playful, they’d happily follow you around the house and snuggle under covers anytime.

Keeping it low

A fun fact is that Ragdolls like sitting at eye level with you. Or otherwise, prefer to stay on the ground. Generally they prefer not to sit higher than you! They’re easy to train and if left to their own devices will follow you around. They’ll probably even greet you at the door when you arrive home.

Like Siamese cats, Ragdoll kittens are born snowy white. As they grow they begin to develop cute little colour points on their legs, tails, ears and face. This usually starts to happen when they’re about eight weeks old.

Colour combos

These friendly cats develop one of several distinct colour point patterns:

• Colourpoint. Similar to Siamese cats, a single colour deepens on the nose, ears, tail and paws.
• Mitted. White paws and abdomen. Deepening colour point on nose, ears, tail and ankles. A white stripe from belly to chin and sometimes a white line or spot on the face.
• Bicolour. White abdomen, legs and inverted V on the face.
• Blue Point. Their chest and tummy are a blue grey, with slightly darker points of the same colour.

With such a friendly (and floppy) demeanour you can see why the Ragdoll is considered one of the friendliest cat breeds on the planet. Adopt one as a one on one BFF or a family friendly pet.

#2 Maine Coon

The Maine Coon is one of the most family friendly cats around. Not only is this breed unusually big – a giant domestic cat some would say – but they also enjoy playing and doing tricks like dogs do. This makes them a larger than life BFF or a great playmate for your kids.

Because they grow to be so big they also have a longer initial growth stage. Which means they need a special diet that’s formulated to give them enough minerals to aid their musculoskeletal system as it ratchets up in size.

As one of the friendliest and biggest cat breeds on the planet, these guys have an interesting origin story. Unlike most cat breeds that are intentionally designed through a deliberate process of selective breeding they started via natural selection.

Read more about this friendly cat breed in our guide to the Maine Coon cat breed.

#3 Scottish Fold

Like Ragdolls and Siamese cats, Scottish Folds are born with physical characteristics that develop and evolve as they grow up. But unlike the Siamese and Ragdolls, it’s not the colour point coat colour that changes…

With the Scottish Fold, it’s the foldy ears that develop – well, half the time anyway.

Kinky ears for the win

Yep, Scottish Folds have straight ears when they’re born. Then at about three weeks roughly half the litter will have ears that start to fold over forward. If this is not cuteness, who knows what is.

Besides being sought out as a family friendly cat breed, this cat with the oddly folded ears is also highly sought after for cat exhibitions and cat shows. Those ear kinks are an extremely prized trait, but the little guys whose ears don’t fold are seriously just as cute!

Eyes on the prize

In addition to gloriously (potentially) folded ears, the S.F. also has spectacularly big and round eyes. Kind of unusual in the cat world because it contrasts with the usual slanty cat eyed look.

As one of the world’s famously friendly cat breeds, S.Fs are known for being playful, loving and tender. They can learn to play fetch and will curl up on your lap at any chance they get.

Oh so adorable

A Scottish Fold’s super soft coat can be long or short hair and come in all varieties of colour combos and patterns, including spots, stripes, tortoiseshell and calico.

They also have some super sweet quirks. Like sitting up like a human and eating with their paws, for example. Does this guy know how adorable a cat doing people things is? Too ameowzing for words.

Oh and speaking of being family friendly, like everyone else on this cat breed list the S.F. loves kids and other pets.

#4 Abyssinian

Keen to find a cat that suits an Egyptian cat name? Well the Abyssinian has looks to match. Aby’s eyes are green-gold, and her short fawn-like fur can come in cinnamon or blue shades.

Abyssinian cats are one of the friendliest cat breeds for sure, prized for being sporty, attentive and playful. In fact, they’re more likely to want to walk around the neighbourhood with you than sit idly on your lap! (Read about training your cat to walk on a leash before trying it out.)

She may need another friend

If you’re searching for a low level fitness partner for a bit of daily activity and bonding, this might be the friendliest cat breed in Australia for you.

She can get separation anxiety if you leave her alone for hours at a time so, if you’re at work all day, consider whether one kitten or two is best – two can become friends and playmates. Plus, when it comes to award winning pet insurance you might be able to get a multi-pet discount!

Abyssinians are amazing family friendly cat breeds because they can make great playmates for kids. They love spending time outdoors, preferably with some tall trees (or high perches if they’re indoor cats).

If your Aby cat goes exploring, keep her safe with a cat microchip and breakaway cat collar.

#5 Siamese

No we’re not making this up, Siamese cats are known for being big gossips. Given half a chance they’ll talk your ear off and are even known for their uncanny voice. We couldn’t possibly do it justice by describing it in words, so give it a listen here.

They’re also super intelligent – this Siamese cat even understands a bunch of human words.

As we’ve already mentioned, Siamese cats change colour over time, developing little dark ears, noses, paws and tails. In other words their extremities go deep, kind of like ours in the cold weather. This is no coincidence; in fact the colour producing enzymes that give Siamese these distinct colour points are temperature sensitive!

Find out all about why Siamese kittens change colour.

Most family friendly cat breeds in Australia

While not all the friendliest cat breeds in Australia are on the list above, it’s worth noting there are many more. And when you’re going further and choosing a family friendly cat breed, it might also come down to the individual cat personality match.

That’s right! Even though purebred cats are bred for specific looks or temperament, personality sometimes trumps everything. This is why, unless you’re buying a pedigreed cat from an ethical breeder, consider cat adoption and maybe even adopting an adult cat.

Read our guide to choosing the purrrfect family pet to suit everyone in your household.

Allergy friendly cat breeds in Australia

Many of us suffer from allergies. Sadly that can include allergies to cats. If your search for the friendliest cat breed also needs to be allergy friendly, here’s what you need to know.

Allergy friendly – or hypoallergenic – cat breeds are cats that are likely to cause fewer allergies. This said, it doesn’t mean they won’t cause allergies altogether. It just means the chances of getting allergies are lower, as is their severity.

Some of the friendliest cat breeds in Australia produce less of the protein that causes itches and sneezes. Less of this protein can be a winner for some and not so much for others. A great way to scope out your allergy radar is to spend some time with a potential cat mate before committing to making them your fur friend furever.

See if you can visit them at the seller’s house or in a protected area of a cat adoption café as many times as possible. You could also consider fostering a cat before putting your permanent pet parent hat on. Spending time with an allergy friendly cat breed gives you a chance to see if you’ll react and build up allergy tolerance. It also helps build a connection, obviously.

Need to know more? Read PD’s guide to Hypoallergenic Cat Breeds.

How to give your fur friend a soft landing

Since we could never fit all the friendliest cat breeds on one page (there are simply too many), here are some others to read about. Some friendly, some not so:

• Different cat breeds
• Famous cats
• (So-called) ugly cat breeds
• Hairless cats
• Cutest cat breeds
• Russian Blue cat breed
• Ginger cats
• Black cats

You might also want to find out: which cat breed are you?

No matter what cat breed you decide on – or whether you choose a moggie bestie – be sure to give them a soft landing. Having cat insurance in place helps you pay for big and little health bills for aches, scrapes, illnesses and more.

Your cat’s pet plan can help pay for X-rays, diagnostics, unexpected vet visits, surgery and, depending on the level of cover you choose, dental bills too! Why wait ’til it’s too late, get award winning pet insurance today.

It’s only a click away.