I like walks on the beach

An AP story describes how animal shelters have developed personality tests for cats and dogs, although the article focuses mostly on cats.

"People come in and say, I had a black and white tuxedo cat before, so that's what I want," says Jim Monsma of the Washington Animal Rescue League in Washington, D.C. "But cats are not all the same. They have widely divergent personalities."

That's why the shelter is now using the Feline-ality program, developed by behaviorist Dr. Emily Weiss of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Part of the ASPCA's Meet Your Match program, which also includes Canine-ality for dogs, the program assesses a variety of behaviors in individual cats.

It rates the animals on confidence and sociability, which Weiss' research has shown are independent of each other. The program then tallies those assessments to place the cat into nine personality categories, which can be matched with a family's situation and desires.

It just so happens that my cat has a tuxedo pattern on his belly. But I thought cats only come in one personality: Annoying.