When I moved to Santa Fe 12 years ago I had three cats. Four years later they had all gone to (as I like to call it) that great litter box in the sky. By then I was beginning to travel more and it was convenient not to have to arrange for cat care.
Since this stay at home thing, I've been thinking about getting a cat. Tomorrow I'm visiting a local animal shelter to look at a couple of cats. One is 13 years old, the other 17. If it's feasible, meaning if they can get along, I may bring them both home. I personally prefer older cats, in no small part because they often have trouble being adopted. I know. Before I moved here I did volunteer work at a local animal shelter, and was always disheartened at how older cats would just stay there.
I'd been checking the shelter's site regularly in the past month. The first time I looked, they had three and a half pages of cats available for adoption. Right now there's half a page, seven cats available. I'm sure numbers for the dogs are similar. I have seen a couple of times that a lot of people are adopting cats and dogs these days.
I may have to completely forgo a couple of longer trips, 2 or 3 weeks each, that I'd hoped to do next year, but heck, we may not be doing that sort of thing for a several more years. Plus, I must be doing the right thing because I am just about giddy with delight at the prospect of having a cat or two.