I want to get the feeling that it wasn’t designed by marketing folks. It should clear what the designers found important and what they wanted to build and that they had to compromise on other aspects.
It’s a bit vague, so I’ll give some examples. I loved the Alfa Romeo’s I had. They weren’t the most reliable, didn’t had the highest quality interior and were expensive to maintain. But the sound and throttle response were great and you felt that everything was designed around you: the driver. Some of them had designs where looks are more important than practicality.
Another car that I loved and was completely the opposites was a gen 1 Fiat Punto. That car was designed to be practical and could be repaired with ducttape. One of the few cars where a timing belt snapping wouldn’t ruin the engine. The air filter could be replaced without a screw driver (just undo 2 clips). It was boxy to make it as spacious as possible and light and high on its wheels so it could drive everywhere (road or no road).
My current Renault doesn’t have something special, something unique. It’s just a badly made annoying vehicle that gets you from a to b just like any other car. My previous Ford Fiesta was a bit better and at least had good handling and was one of the cheapest in its class.
I think it should be fine as long as the cat was always kept indoors and it gets enough attention and space to play. They should be treated differently to how many people treat their outside cats.
My indoors cat is now 5 years old and very much like how you described Buddy. He wanders around the house, likes to play and likes people (even strangers). He gives all the signals of being very happy and calm, isn’t easily scared or startled. Sometimes it seems his character is more like that of a dog than of a cat.
Many people have cats that are outside 20+ hours a day and don’t like ‘socializing’ with people. My parents had a few cats like that as well when I grew up and I don’t see the point of having one like that. They aren’t beneficial for the environment and don’t offer much as a pet either.