[Flames in 07]

a) like dogs there is a wide range of behavior across breeds. Do your homework on what breed you'd want. Some are dumb, some are quite smart, some are high maintainance, some are independant etc. It's a bit of a simplification but siamese, torti's and anything orange will be higher maintainance, and if it is white or black, and as a kitten is disproportionately big paws it will be a hunter and look to kill anything in sight, but will be quite relaxed around people and independent.

b) don't declaw them, it's not humane and a lazy thing to do. Just trim their nails and they are fine

c) don't let them outdoors on their own, for all the reasons noted above

d) the biggest trick with cats vs a dog is to teach it your are the boss, it's hard to develop a heirarchy with them, and probably impossible if you don't get a kitten. I figured out about 1 month in if you grab them by the scruff when you are looking to teach them something that helps.