Hi Stevo and
to Purrs, sorry to hear you have a huge cat shaped hole in your life... I hope we can help.
As you may have gathered from wandering around here, Purrs is predominantly a cat rescue site, so of course all the advice you'll get here will be focused upon the welfare of any animal you may decide to adopt as your own, and will ensure that if you ultimately decide to take a cat or cats on at this stage of your life that they will give you what you need for the rest of their lives and never end up back in rescue.
You have obviously given this such a huge amount of thought, and it's to be applauded that you've taken so much time to digest and analyse the potential problems your cats may encounter in fitting in with your lifestyle, and you also seem to realise that there are simply no guarantees with animals: kittens or untested adults may wreak havoc in your home (one of the many risks associated with buying animals from pre-loved sites or the notorious "Bumtree" as we like to call it), your furniture could be trashed, your carpets and wallpaper ruined, but in my experience these things tend only to happen when a pet is mismatched with it's owner's lifestyle.
As you've lived with kittens before you will know how much energy and attention they require from their slaves, and if they are to become successful house cats they will need more stimulation in their early years than you may be able to offer with your job taking you away for half of their tiny lives, so maybe an older cat or pair of young adults would suit you better?
This is where your friendly neighbourhood Cat Rescue should come to the rescue (no pun intended).
These cats will have been properly raised by their natural mothers and further assessed by the Rescue and so will have cat manners - i.e. will know that it really hurts to bite, that there is a pecking order, that human hands and feet are generally not toys etc... Most importantly, you know what you're getting before you take it/them home and have a built in support network if things don't go immediately to plan.
The Rescue will assess you, your home, your lifestyle and responsibilities (and yes, to a certain extent your financial position as they need to be sure you can afford general upkeep as well as any unexpected vet bills and/or insurance for the animal). They will also assess your home for dangers and will advise whether you should consider keeping the cat/s indoors permanently (if you live by a busy road for example) or if you have a garden and willing to have a cat flap installed and therefore could accommodate a more independent animal. The "Homecheck" assessment is not a judgement of your character, please understand this, and it's important to know that different Rescues have their own policies, some more strict (and frankly occasionally bizarre) than others. So just because one organisation (I'm thinking the larger National organisation here, naming no names...) turns you down does not mean the right cat isn't out there somewhere for you, and an independent rescue would probably be more relaxed about any such "policy" that may not fit your profile, OK?
On the question of neutering (I think you referred to it as having their knackers cut off) all cats should be neutered, and this is not an "option" with rescue cats, but is essential. It will be a prerequisite that if you take un-neutered kittens from a Rescue that you promise to have the neutered when they are old enough (usually around 5-6 months) and supply proof that you have done so.
The crisis in the UK with overpopulation of stray cats is purely the neglect by careless owners and unscrupulous breeders who have allowed cats to breed (and this includes boy cats, Stevo) until the situation has got out of control.
Seriously, if all the Tom (male) cats were neutered it would immediately stop ALL the problems you currently see on your Estate - the fighting stops, they don't wander looking for new mates or territory so they don't spread disease or continue to fertilise local stray females. So now you can see what I'm talking about?
You'll also quickly discover that "Pedigree" cats may not always deliver best value for you, don't be fooled by the ads on Bumtree and think an untested £450 "pedigree" kitten will behave any better than a fully vaccinated, neutered, microchipped Rescue cat available for a modest donation.
Different breeds have different traits, so for example if you like your cats to be talkative and boisterous, you can't go wrong with a Bengal, although many Bengals like to be lone cats later in life so may fall out with their siblings once fully grown. Persians maybe too placid for you and need more grooming that you can devote to their wellbeing, Siamese may prefer the lofty heights of your curtain pole to your lap. Etc etc...
Conversely you might also choose a cat because of it's breed traits only to find him to be an oddball and completely off-character. Again, your Rescue can help to choose a specific cat to suit you rather than generalising what breed may or may not suit, and highlights the risk you face as a new owner of what can go wrong if you choose unwisely.
So, I know this hasn't answered all of your questions, but as you're obviously a deep thinker, I'd like to point out some of the cats currently lookin for homes here in our Purrs Registered Rescues, to give you a flavour of what may bring you your ideal pairing...
I'm starting with this pair of girls who were born in rescue and so have always been indoor cats, one of whom has very slight special needs...
http://www.pawsinncatrescue.co.uk/index.php?route=shelter/cat&path=46&cat_id=343Or how about a pair of gorgeous ginger ninjas... actually just have a ride through this thread and read up what these cats have to offer...
http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,41837.0.htmlyou may be miles away from this specific Rescue, but you may get some ideas as to what sort of cat would suit you, how much time and effort you can spare them and if an older, more mature and settled animal would suit you better than a pair of rambunctious young cats.
This is our sister site, CatChat, and this is where you'll identify your local cat rescue, just click on the map in your region and wait a second or two, and a list will appear.
Bear in mind all our rescues are full to bursting so not every cat available will be posted on the websites, but you'll be able to identify your local shelters and their contact details from here
http://www.catchat.org/adoption/index.htmlGood luck with your search, do keep up this thread and let us know how you get on and what you decide. Feel free to bring back any and all questions you have, you'll get as many opinions as answers on here because there are often many solutions, and the vast wealth of experience, I've found since joining Purrs, is unbelievably helpful.