[scottmandue]

Male/female cats have distinctive personalities, heck every CAT has a distinctive personality.
I have been serving... I mean living with cats for decades and this is my advice.
Get a young cat, yes, old cats need homes too but the unfortunate the reality is they may have been abused and have behavior problems. If you want to save an older cat great but I would not recommend it for a first time pet.
Get a mixed breed/mutt cat... pure bred cats sometimes have medical/mental issues.
Get it neutered ASAP, a un-neutered male will start to mark his territory (pee on things) when he matures. I have had two males that did not mark because they were neutered in the first year. Un-neutered female will go into heat and draw every male cat within a ten mile radius to pee on your front door.
Immediately get a cat box and clean it every day... We keep a clean cat box and our three kids use it 100% of the time.