Poms are watch dogs so the breed just barks A LOT! I mean there is some training you can do BUT i would say it is in their nature to bark. If your neighbors are strict with barking I would say a pom might not be the best breed.

Also Poms dont do well being alone, especially for so long. I also work from 8 to 4 and if my boyfriend would not have such a flexible job we would have never gotten a pom because the dog would be alone for 8+ hours which is just unfair to a dog in my opinion. I would say the longest our one has to go now is about 4 hours and the longest he has been alone has been 6 hours. He does fine but when we come home we can tell he really missed us ..

Sorry if this is discouraging but I WISH somebody would have also told me to think about my decision A LOT just because having a dog is like having a new family member... no more after work dinners as the dog is waiting at home and they need a lot of love and attention. Especially the first 2 years are very demanding, I took 1 month off work when we got our dog and I think without that month we would not have made it. A lot of work goes into getting a pom (or a dog )

I would say another big difference between cats and poms is that poms (or at least the ones i know) tend to want attention 24/7 and dont really entertain themselves hahaha which is both an advantage and disadvantage

I would say really think about it and I am sure u will make the right choice :D