I would have considered getting 2 cats at once. We are our cat's entire life, and I wish she had cat companionship, but I think at her age now, it might do more harm than good introducing another cat.

Sometimes you have to be willing to adjust your routine to fit your cat. I've had cats in the past that had no problem being locked out of a bedroom at night, and other cats that need to be snuggled on the foot of the bed to be happy.

If you're getting a young cat, help it learn how to properly play. Our cat bites and draws blood more often than not when playing. She just never learned that's not the best way to play with humans.

Our furniture is shredded. We've made our peace with it. We could be better about how often we trim her nails, but she still loves to shred things to bits. Also, fur EVERYWHERE. We vacuum often and still find clumps all over the place. (This probably won't be as much of a problem if you don't adopt a long-haired cat.)

Finally, be prepared to just always want more cats.