My boyfriend, me and a cat.

[Gabriel]

Absolutely not! No cat in your home right now! I am not saying this because of anything about him or you, I am saying this for the welfare of the animal. People who do not have the means to take care of a pet should not be adopting an animal. It is not fair to the animal. One of the biggest reason for abandoned pets and strays are from people who thought they could pull it off when they were barely making ends meet in taking care of themselves. It's one of the biggest reasons why those cats he loves so much at the shelter are there in the first place. Be firm and put your foot down and do not allow this. You can revisit this debate with him later when your situation has improved. If you are going to be coupled with an animal lover, it is something you are going to have to seriously consider some time in the future.

Make sure your BF reads this, it's the best advice he's going to get. I'm an animal lover, we have 2 dogs and a cat - but we can afford them. Our cat cost us a $150 adoption fee to the shelter. We spend about $60. per month for food, litter, and incidentals. Annual vet bill for rabies and boosters runs around $130. And God Forbid she gets sick. The cat we had before was a Little Old Lady with cardiomyopathy and IBS and every 6 months she need a complete workup which ran $300. - $400. If you aren't in a position to provide ALL of the care an animal needs or potentially may need, it isn't fair to get one.