Everytime I walked down the stairs my all white cat would jump out and thrash my legs with his claws. Snowball, my three year old daughters dream cat had turned into a nightmare. I had not done my reseach on kid friendly cats and had adopted the prettiest cat I meet that was all white. Dispite out efforts over many months we finally had to find Snowball a new home with a single person who knew how to handle challenging cats. While I admire people who can reform and help challenging cats it was not the experience I wanted for my childs first pet. I also had another baby on the way and couldn't dedicate the time to helping it. A few years later at my friends house they raved and raved about their Siberian Forest Cats, what wonderful personalities they had, what a close friendship. I thought at first they were just good cats like some of the dear cats we had before having children and like the ones I had growing up which I loved dearly. After 2 more sets of friends raved to me about their Siberians I was very interested in having some. Through a series of events just after moving we decided to bring home our first Siberians. At the time my youngest child was four years old. My Siberians far exceeded my expectations. They were so gentle and sweet. After the inital warm up of a new home they showered us with affection. When they played with me or sat on my lap they didn't every put their teeth or claws into my skin. I only got accidently scratched when playing with a toy with them at high speed. They were so careful with the children and comforting. I saw the children become even more happy with the love of a cuddly pet. They were also much quieter then other cats I had experienced, which makes them a good cat for condos or high density neighborhoods. They occasonally express their quiet greetings in the morning but they were never demanding or loud about anythings. They are very easy going, happy relaxing alone for part of the day and happy to lavish us with their affection when we arrived. Happy to let the kids carry them around and contiue to be gentle. The Siberian Forest Cat personality far surpasses their glamorous looks and big fluffy tail. Also they are low shedding and I was so surpried how much less they shed then any other cat breed I had in the past. The hypoallergenic element is just icing on the cake with their kid friendliness. I am so glad I came across these cats while my kids were still young.