Cat Personalities

[The Snark]

Can anyone offer an explanation as to why cats can have extremely different personalities?

Ex: All three cats raised in the exact same environment from young kitten on.
Cat #1, See Kow. Total indifference to environment. Demands her head and only her head gets petted. Human interaction limited to occasional snuggling and/or curling up around feet. Sleeps anywhere from high traffic zones like stairs to the back of the closet with complete indifference. Finicky fussy eater: each kibble must be removed from the bowl, dropped on the floor and chewed thoroughly. Laconic max. May be picked up and will lie in repose in your arms on her back.

Cat #2, Gnarly. Extreme neurotic. Paces and circles constantly when awake. Makes ~20-100 trips around the refrigerator per day. Must sleep up high in an isolated location. Will only tolerate being petted if she can lean against something for support. Barely eats. Too neurotic to stay in one place and eat for more than 30 seconds. If picked up she wants down immediately.

Cat #3, Snit. Boisterous, outgoing, playful, extremely curious. Sleeps where he can keep track of the action. Follows people around. Enjoys watching people do things. All human activity in the house must be supervised. Eats like a hungry dog, cleaning the bowl in a minute or two. Pet him anywhere. Loves tummy rubs. Can be picked up, cuddled and held in any position but prefers to ride on shoulders or even head so he doesn't miss out on the action. Must be locked out of the room if the human is sitting. He will inevitably end up getting on your lap and in your face.

HUH?

 

[EtienneN]

I dunno man I’ve only ever had Ragdolls and they have all been extremely laid back almost to the point of having 0 self preservation instinct. My female ragdoll now is 13 but in very good health and she is the most talkative and vocal pet I’ve ever encountered. She can even pitch the inflection of her meowing to sound like a question! She also plays fetch better than one of my dogs. The only thing I wish I could change is that she has separation anxiety. She has the saddest sounding meow ever when I leave. I often wonder how long she sits and cries whilst I’m gone. She has plenty of toys and things around her with my scent on them. She just hates to be alone.

 

[pannaking22]

My cats were basically opposites before (not litter mates or anything), but it's been interesting watching how the one we have had longer has changed to match the new cat better. He's become a lot more chatty with lots of little meows as he does things. Both really hate when the missus and I leave, doubly so if it's overnight. They both attach themselves to us for several days after that because they're afraid we're going to leave again. The newer cat is a weird combo of all your cats, Snark. Sleeps anywhere, pulls individual kibbles out of the bowl to eat, paces and circles constantly, wants down immediately if picked up, playful, curious, sleeps where she can keep track of everyone, follows us everywhere, likes to cuddle and has started jumping up into laps for extra pets.

 

[The Snark]

So cat personalities are basically 'off the shelf' mix and match with some variations. Like a simplified MMPI?
My other, using her deep space telemetry tracker sensing my conundrum and confusion here, just winged from way out in left field, categorization of our three cats: Snit: day off - wheeee!!!, See Cow: holiday - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and Gnarly: vacation - huh wha?