"THE CAT QUESTION"
As for cats, after living with five over thirty years, I do consider myself a bit of an expert on them. Unlike what many people believe, cats are social animals, and enjoy human company, (they accept you as a large and eccentric cat) one of their own species.
I know many people who work at home who report that their cat prefers to sleep in their office or studio during the day when they are working there, for the company - which is nicely complementary for your reason for wanting a cat, to have a living thing around as a companion.
If you are out a lot, then it may be better to have two cats, which can keep each other company, or amused, while you are out - and certainly you have to make sure when you do come in that they get attention, groomed, played with, and given a lap to sit on if they are into that.
Cats are adaptable; if they have not been born and raised feral, and particularly if spayed or neutered (and they should be, to keep down the population) they don't mind being indoors.
If you have a farm in the country, fine, they go out to amuse themselves, but cities are too dangerous.
What matters most to them is that they have one or two meals a day, a clean water bowl, AND A CLEAN PLACE TO SHIT.
(You have to keep it clean. Daily.)
Beyond those necessities, a scratching post is advisable (ideally next to where they are fed, which allows you to train them to it by putting a tiny bit of food in the bowl each time they use it), and they love having kitchen counters, cabinets, bookshelves, televisions, computer monitors, windowsills, etc, to jump up on to watch you, or to sleep on.
(Windowsills also allow them to keep an eye on the outside world too).
Radiators are nice to sleep under in winter months. They can be quite happy indoors, even in two or three room apartments.
Cats are not people. They are what they are: sentient animals certainly, each with its own catonality. They will bond to you, and you to them. But again: they are not people.
Bodmin
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