They differ on 1 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 · Keeps some space · Regular hours
It naps on the same level of the cat tree and keeps choosing the same old toy. It comes out at about the same times each day, and when it has had enough company it goes back to a quiet spot on its own. It does not need someone beside it all the time.
Read the type guide · ISTJOn 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.
It walks past the newer toys to bat the worn cloth mouse on its usual mat.
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.
It takes the stool next to your chair, facing the same way as you, without leaning in.
It keeps you company from its own stool beside your armchair, with a clear gap between you.
Each may want a seat of its own instead of a shared one. Separate perches within sight of each other let them be in the same room without touching.
At night it is in the basket at the end of the hallway, right on time.
Evening means the same bed, the same blanket and nearly the same hour.
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.
Mornings find it on the same window seat, by itself, looking out.
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.
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
