Is there such a thing as a house being TOO clean?

[VegasDave]

It's not a bad thing in your situation. Seriously. I mean, apart from the fact that I love cats and think they're cool to have around.

My sister lived on her own and was a bit of a neat freak like you describe. Long story short, she is now married with 4 cats. Because she came to love the cats for who they are, there is really no choice but to accept a bit of chaos and let go of the compulsion.

So apart from having these critters which she loves in her life, my sister says she is much less controlled by compulsion - which is a good thing. Mind you, her neat-freakishness was never at a point where she called it OCD. Maybe none of this applies if you've got honest-to-gawd OCD. I don't know.

But that is her story. Her house is still clean enough. It's a normal house.

Honestly, I'd consider having a cat, but a few things hold me back...

1. Apartment I live in requires you to put down a deposit and pay a fee to have one.

2. My girlfriend (who I'm hoping will move down at some point) doesn't really like them.

3. My mother is very allergic to them, so if she came out to visit it would be very uncomfortable for her.

4. Food, litter, etc. = more spending I don't really want at the moment.

I miss my dog back at home really bad. Pets are great. I just think the cons outweigh the pro's at the moment

[RogueScholar]

Those are all good reasons, but none of them would hold me back from having a cat. If having a cat is going to have any bearing on your girlfriend moving in with you, then you need a new girlfriend. And with your mother, it's always better to pay for your parents to have a hotel when they visit. When I lived in Portland, my parents visited me twice in six years, and it was well worth it to pay for a nice hotel room for them.

As far as the expense, I guess everybody places different priorities on things, but I'd figure that with you cutting fast food out of your diet that you could easily spend that money on a pet. It's amazing how much more money you have when you start cooking for yourself. Finally, having a pet is a downpayment on not needing a shrink later in life.

[VegasDave]

Those are all good reasons, but none of them would hold me back from having a cat. If having a cat is going to have any bearing on your girlfriend moving in with you, then you need a new girlfriend.

Right, because you love cats, while I've never had one and don't really care.

I'm actually considerate of my girlfriend. She isn't petty enough to let something like me having a cat deter her from moving out here, but at the same time if she is considering it and this is going to be her home too, she should have some say in whether or not we have a pet?

I mean if it was REALLY important to me, I'm sure she'd support it and wouldn't care. But it pretty obviously isn't important to me at all, if I'm siting cost of upkeep as a reason not to have one.

[RogueJuror]

i love ducks as pets, ducks make good pets