Temperament varies a lot from line to line. It does definitely vary by breed as well; flemish are usually calm, himalayans are usually friendly, britannia petites are usually mean little things. Pet lines of a certain breed are often mixed with something else and/or not selected much for temperament and so the temperament varies wildy. Only in the pedigreed purebreds, usually the show lines, do you see much consistency in temperament and even then it varies by lines sometimes. The entire reason I raise Himalayans is for their wonderful temperaments. Not all breeds, but many breeds, are also bred for that temperament; the britannia petites need to be alert to show well, angoras need to calm to allow for grooming, himalayans breeders don't generally tolerate aggression, and running breeds are bred to be active. The californians I've met have all been rather laid back, not friendly but not mean either. They do vary a lot though, because most people raising them for meat don't care about or select for temperament too much.
