I’ve never had a pet in my life, until last year, when I decided I needed one really bad.
It was hard to decide between getting a cat or a dog, and although I thought I liked dogs better, the cat won for the following reasons:
- You don’t have to walk her outside the house twice or three times a day
- You don’t have to wash it
- It doesn’t bark, so neighbours won’t get annoyed by the noise (although this was a fake reason - a cat in heats can cry really loud, and it lasts for hours)
- It doesn’t want to jump in your lap whenever you less expect that
- You can leave it alone at home for several days, provided you leave enough supplies of food and water.
I’m very happy with my decision. Our cat is very, very nice, friendly, playful, and we love her a lot. And you know what? I discovered cats are smarter than I thought they were. However, their memory is short: if you upset a cat today, she’ll remember that for only a couple of hours. Tomorrow she’ll be again ready to play and get upset once more 
Nice kitty!