I prefer male cats. I think they have a little more personality. Having said that I have one of each at the moment. My female is at least 11 years old (not exactly sure because we adopted her as an adult) and likes to sleep a lot and she doesn't like the kids much. My male is coming up to 12 months... And he is very active and very affectionate... It gets quite annoying! I am sure he will settle down soon