They differ on 2 of 4 dimensions.
Joins in · Likes the familiar · Keeps some space · Regular hours
In the morning it makes a round of the house to see what everyone is doing. It likes being near people but has its own seat and would rather not be held. It wants the old toy, and if dinner is late it comes to tell you.
Read the type guide · ESTJ
Prefers quiet · Likes the familiar · Stays close · Regular hours
In the evening, when you sit in your usual seat, it comes over and lies down against you. It hangs back when there are many people but likes to stay close to the ones it knows. Where and when it rests hardly changes.
Read the type guide · ISFJOn these dimensions the two type descriptions lean the same way. Similar habits can mean easy company, and also wanting the same spot at the same time.
It sits by the ball track it has always used and waits for you to start the usual round.
The cloth ball it has always played with still wins, all the more with your hand nearby.
A new cat, new furniture or a new smell is a big change for either of them. Change one thing at a time, and keep each cat’s own bed, blanket and favorite toy where they have always been.
At night it is in the basket at the end of the hallway, right on time.
It sleeps on the folded blanket beside your reading chair, in the same place each night.
Meals, play and naps may fall at the same times for both. Feed them at set times in separate places, so a shared routine does not turn into a contest over one bowl.
On these dimensions the descriptions lean in opposite directions. A difference is not a problem; it shows where each cat may need a choice of its own.
You start tidying the shelf and it comes to stand beside you, checking where everything goes.
It skips the busy rooms and sits beside you on the sofa while you fold the blanket.
Their days may cross only now and then, and that is fine. Keep a resting place the quieter cat can reach without passing through the busy part of the home, and let the more social one come to you for company.
It takes the stool next to your chair, facing the same way as you, without leaning in.
It leans its cheek into your hand and keeps it there for as long as you stay still.
Closeness that one cat offers, the other may not want. Watch whether the cat being approached stays, moves away or turns its head, and make sure it always has a way out.
These steps are the same for any two cats, whatever their types. Go at the pace of the less comfortable cat.
This compares type descriptions for fun. How two cats actually get along depends on each cat and their home. How it works
