Hi all. Hope this is allowed here. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a cat for the past several months now. I’ve actually never really interacted with cats, though. I don’t even know if I’m allergic to them. I visited my coworker a couple of times and one of her cats rubs up against my leg to either greet or mark me and then goes elsewhere.

Some info on me:

  • Early 30s, lives alone, works ~40 hours a week in a NON wfh job (so I will not be home for significant portions of the week)
  • I do not have much of a social life, so most of my time outside of work is spent at home
  • I am very comfortable financially to own a pet. I frequently pay vet bills for my mom’s dog who has ailing health.
  • I own my own place, ~1200 sq ft (111 sq m), and do not plan to leave any time soon
  • I do not plan to move, have a partner, or have children
  • It is impossible for me to ever wfh with my career and I do not want to change my career
  • I am familiar with taking care of dogs, and took care of my mom’s dog on my own temporarily for 1 year without issue
  • I am only interested in owning a single pet, not two (I know people frequently get 2 cats to keep each other company)
  • I am interested in an adult cat, not a kitten
  • I don’t do lengthy traveling, however I frequently visit my mom (and vice versa) for a couple of days at a time

One big important thing to note is that my mother and I take turns visiting each other every couple of weeks. It involves us traveling a couple of hours by car and then one of us staying with the other (either my place or my mom’s place) for 2 days. My mom has a dog who is quite old and has ailing health, so I’m not sure how much longer she will live. Her dog is a small dog ~15 lbs, but is not necessarily great with other animals. She is ok with other dogs if they do not antagonize her, but I don’t know if she would fight with a cat or not as she has never met one. Her dog also has bad separation anxiety. I have enough rooms in my house that I could separate the cat and dog when my mom visits, but idk if that is a ok or not. It also means that I might leave a cat home alone for a couple of days when I visit my mom. I have read that people can do this with cats, but I don’t know if it is a good idea. I would plan to purchase pet cams, auto feeders, etc.

I still haven’t had the balls to go down to the local Human Society and ask them about cats and cat adoption, but I don’t know. I am thinking about going there tomorrow. Is my situation too complicated for me to have a cat? I feel like mentally it would be nice to have a companion to come home to every day. One of the reasons why I’ve never bothered to look into getting a pet is because I live alone and don’t work from home and because my mom and I visit each other. Although I have experience with dogs, it seems like a cat might be more doable for my life situation.

Would this be too poor of a life for a cat?

Thanks for your time, all.

  • dingus@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    0·
    4 days ago

    Jeez, alright, man. I get it. My lifestyle would harm a single pet. That’s why I never considered having a companion until meeting my coworker’s cat. I’ll drop the idea.

    • BeN9o@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      3 days ago

      Don’t listen to one person, lots of cats love being the only cat, I had two at one point, ended up having to separate them because one wanted to play all the time and the other hated it and wanted to be left alone! Just like people, you can’t put everyone under the same umbrella. Some cats want company, some don’t. You need to find one that suits your needs.

    • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      1·
      4 days ago

      Don’t listen to that fool. You are perfectly qualified to care for a cat. I’m probably less qualified than you, and my cats are happy and love me.

    • masterspace@lemmy.caEnglish
      01·
      4 days ago

      I edited my comment after with this because I thought I was coming off too harsh against the idea, and even this I would soften further:

      Edit: it is different if you adopt an elderly isolated cat that would otherwise be put down. In that situation, you’ll still be providing them with a life, but if you do get through to them, they will bond to you, and it will still make leaving for trips difficult, even if they’re used to your daily absence. A support network is inherently more flexible and robust then a support pair.

      The fact that you’re putting this much thought and consideration into it, signals that you would probably be a very good cat owner, and I don’t think you should write the idea off.

      Just, try and find a cat that seems independent, and 6 months or a year in, look back and reconsider if it would actually be that much harder to add a friend to the mix.